Anxiety disorders mostly improve with psychotherapy, medication and/or lifestyle changes, along with learning coping skills and using relaxation techniques at home. While it is difficult to prevent anxiety disorders, therapies tailored to the client—whether offered in individual or group settings or both—can help teach cognitive and behavioral skills for dealing with stressful situations. Recommendations:
Seek professional treatment, if your or your child’s anxiety appears worse than normal, through excessive worry, feeling irritable or having trouble with drinking or drugs.
Get help early. Early diagnosis and treatment can help reduce symptoms and prevent anxiety from getting worse.
Stick with the treatment plan to help prevent relapses or worsening of symptoms.
Model healthy coping skills, if parents seek treatment for their child.
Treatment options—based on the extent the anxiety disorder affects daily functioning—may take trial and error to discover what works best: psychotherapy, medication or a combination of the two.
Psychotherapy
In addition to traditional “talk therapy,” evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment options include:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): The most effective form of psychotherapy, CBT is generally a short-term treatment that teaches specific skills to manage anxiety and help return to normal life. This can include exposure therapy: Asks clients to confront their fears, moving successively from less frightening to more difficult situations, mastering them at each step until they no longer interfere with daily life.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): A form of CBT to treat mood disorders, suicidal ideation and personality disorders and to change behavioral patterns such as self-harm and substance use.
Social skills training: Teaches new ways to act (like using eye contact and asking appropriate questions) in many different situations through practice and rehearsal.
Applied relaxation training: Helps clients learn to relax while in the situations they fear.
Medication
A number of scientifically studied medications have proven useful for anxiety disorders, each with benefits, risks and possible side effects. The main classes of drugs are:
Antidepressants: Antidepressants, including medications in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) classes, are most common.
Buspirone: An anti-anxiety medication called buspirone may be used on an ongoing basis. As with most antidepressants, it typically takes up to several weeks to become fully effective.
Benzodiazepines: Because they can be habit-forming, benzodiazepine or sedatives offer relief of acute anxiety on a short-term basis. These medications are not recommended for anyone struggling with alcohol or drug abuse.
Alternative medicine
More research is needed to fully understand the risks and benefits of herbal remedies as treatments for anxiety. So far, studies have mixed results, with several study participants reporting no benefits.
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- Herbal supplements, such as kava and valerian, increase the risk of serious liver damage.
- Passionflower or theanine may have a calming effect, but are often combined with other products. It’s hard to tell whether they help.
Before taking herbal remedies or supplements, talk with your doctor to make sure they are safe and won’t interact with other medications.
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
Most people with anxiety disorders need psychotherapy and/or medications to get anxiety under control. But lifestyle changes can help reduce anxiety by prioritizing how you manage your time and energy. Here are steps that can reduce the impact of symptoms of anxiety:
Keep physically active. Exercise is a powerful stress reducer and may improve your mood and help you stay healthy. Develop a routine to keep physically active most days of the week. Start out slowly and gradually increase the amount and intensity of your activities.
Keep a journal. Keeping track of your personal life can help you and your therapist identify what’s causing you stress and what seems to help you feel better.
Make sleep a priority. Do what you can to make sure you’re getting enough sleep to feel rested. If you aren’t sleeping well, see your doctor.
Use relaxation techniques. Visualization techniques, meditation and yoga are examples of relaxation techniques that can ease anxiety.
Eat healthy. Healthy eating—such as focusing on vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fish—may be linked to reduced anxiety, but more research is needed.
Avoid unhealthy substance use. Alcohol and drug use and even nicotine or caffeine use can cause or worsen anxiety. If you’re addicted to any of these substances, quitting can make you anxious. If you can’t quit on your own, see your doctor or find a treatment program or support group to help you.
