How to Cure Anxiety

Anxiety is a generalized feeling of discomfort and apprehension that we experience as an emotional and physical response to supposed dangers. When we feel threatened, anxiety is not only expected but a crucial emotion for our survival.

It is natural to feel nervous, worried, or afraid from time to time. However, normal feelings of apprehension are not the same as anxiety.

When the duration or severity of these feelings of uneasiness are out of proportion to the circumstances, we become overwhelmed with concern, fatigue, and fear. When these responses go beyond normal feelings of discomfort, you may be experiencing generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, you will most likely experience a feeling of nonspecific distress most of the time. Also, these damaging feelings usually get worse over time, affecting your everyday life and health.

Anxiety disorders affect around 40 million adult population in the United States each year. However, anxiety is a highly treatable condition. Understanding the difference between normal feelings of apprehension and an anxiety disorder can help you recognize the condition and cure anxiety.

How to Treat Anxiety?

The two main treatment choices for anxiety disorders involve psychotherapy and medications. Correspondingly, specific lifestyle changes and relaxation techniques have proven to be handy tools for coping with anxiety.

When it comes to psychotherapy, the most effective treatments are:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and

• Exposure Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a short-term and goal-oriented therapy that helps clients focus on specific problems, change their dysfunctional thought patterns and behaviors, raise resilience and manage overwhelming emotions like fear, worry, grief, or anger.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is based on cognitive behavioral therapy, and it was initially developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. However, EMDR has also been used to generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, panic attacks, and other mental health conditions.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is the most effective for obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias. During therapeutic sessions, a therapist gradually exposes the client to a situation or object that triggers fear. The treatment's goal is to help the person become less sensitive to a feared object or situation.

Lifestyle Changes and Self-Help Strategies

The first step in curing anxiety is learning about your condition. To effectively cope with anxiety symptoms, you need to understand what triggers it. Identifying the situations or people that usually cause feelings of discomfort can help you set the boundaries, learn how to express your feelings assertively, and change your negative thinking patterns.

Lifestyle Changes

Studies show that regular physical exercise can alleviate feelings of fatigue and tension, boost your energy, and improve mood. Physical activity stimulates endorphins, the brain hormones, also known as “hormones of happiness.” Endorphins activate the body’s opiate receptors, causing an analgesic and calming effect.

Mindfulness Meditation and Relaxation

Research shows that mindfulness meditation and relaxation techniques such as deep breathing can reduce the brain's activity. The amygdala is the part of the brain in charge of processing emotions and triggering anxiety reactions. By reducing the activity of the amygdala, mindfulness indirectly alleviates your stress and anxiety responses. These techniques can also help you stay focused, overcome negative thoughts, increase optimism, and improve your self-esteem.