What therapies have proven effective for the treatment of anxiety?

Hi. It’s Jenny at AnxietyBoss.com. Our question today comes to us from Joshua in Baton Rouge. What therapies have proven effective for the treatment of anxiety?

Well, there are many types of psychotherapy, which have been proven to diminish, or in some cases, extinguish anxiety. This is referred to as “evidence based practice,” which means that the techniques that are used have been verified through research to work for most people most of the time with minimal risk.

CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, is recognized as the treatment of choice for anxiety, and exposure therapy and systematic desensitization is specifically useful for treating phobias. CBT involves recognition of anxious thinking and replacing those troublesome thoughts with more realistic new thinking. This can relieve anxiety.

PMR, or progressive muscle relaxation, is a simple technique taught in the therapist’s office in which you contract a muscle group then relax it, starting from your head to your toes.
DB, or diaphragmatic breathing, is also easily learned in the therapist’s office in which you will practice taking slow deep breaths, holding them, and letting them out slowly by controlling your breathing. You can manage many anxiety symptoms.

Exposure therapy involves gradual or sometimes abrupt exposure to the feared stimulus, and systematic desensitization involves gradual exposure to the feared stimulus accompanied by the experience of relaxation or indifference instead of fear.

Also make sure you visit AnxietyBoss.com to find out more effective anxiety treatment options. Plus make sure that you take the anxiety test to find your anxiety level.