Most of the time, the cause of an anxiety disorder cannot be exactly identified. It can be a specific cause, but it can also be a series of circumstances that we alone will not be able to solve. What is certain is that anxiety is motivated by a failure in our relationship with the world.
Not knowing how to face problems, having a wrong behavior towards life, can generate certain changes in the chemical processes of the brain that destroy our emotional balance. There are so many factors that influence the appearance of an anxiety disorder that we alone cannot analyze them. We need a psychologist to treat and overcome anxiety.
The need for a psychologist to overcome anxiety
Treating or relieving this something that can be done with medication or even natural remedies. However, we do not achieve anything by hiding these symptoms, but we must go to the root of the problem that generates anxiety. And regardless of the specific cause that may have brought the anxiety disorder to the surface, the true source lies within us.
It is not easy to enter our inner world, not even for ourselves, so we are going to need the help of a psychologist to determine the origin of this anxiety and also to teach us how to manage it. Because that is the goal of all anxiety treatment, to manage it. And it is that neither we can nor should we completely eliminate that defense mechanism that is anxiety.
The psychologist will be the one who determines the most appropriate treatment for our specific case, be it cognitive therapy, shock therapy, support groups or whatever they deem appropriate. In this regard, a study ruled that “psychological therapy that uses a cognitive-behavioral approach is very effective for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Of the patients assigned to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) 46% showed a clinical response after treatment, as opposed to 14% in the waiting list or treatment-as-usual groups and symptoms of anxiety, worry and depression also decreased significantly.
The therapy will also provide us with the resources we need to combat anxiety episodes and will teach us some techniques to manage panic attacks. But the main function of the psychologist will be to teach us to face life in a different way, without so many worries, without so many nerves, more relaxed.
How a psychologist can help you with anxiety problems?
Psychological therapy is necessary to overcome an anxiety disorder, at least if you don’t want to go through this bump by putting a Band-Aid that will fall off in a short time, making the wound bigger. The psychologist delves into the cause of anxiety, so do not be surprised if you go to therapy for anxiety problems and problems begin to arise that you had not even realized.
Anxiety is like a roller coaster and when you are at the top, with the peaks of panic and anguish, the ideal is that you have professional help. The psychologist will accompany you all the way, he will propose different techniques or tools to learn to manage anxiety and you will keep the ones that are most useful to you. Don’t expect a miracle, because overcoming anxiety will take time and it’s an uncomfortable path.
The discomfort lies in the number of things that you are going to have to learn in therapy, but above all, in the number of things that you are going to have to unlearn. And you better have professional help because for a while you are going to doubt everything, even yourself. You will have to understand the reason for some of your behaviors and you will have to change many of them if you want to get rid of anxiety. Wouldn’t someone better help you on this path?
Although perhaps the most important thing is the security that the providers in this storm of uncertainty that you are experiencing, as well as the light that it sheds in the midst of so much darkness. Can’t see things clearly because of anxiety? Well, with the help of your therapist you will gradually clear up all the confusion.
The advantages of going to a psychologist when you have anxiety
We can start with the risks of not going to a psychologist when you have anxiety, if you prefer. You may suffer isolated anxiety attacks and the truth is that nothing happens, but if your life is becoming a cloud of anguish, fear and indecision, it is better that you ask for psychological help so that your anxiety problem does not lead to another type of disorders.
Hand in hand with anxiety often come phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, hypochondria or mental blockage. But anxiety’s, so the sooner you ask for help, the less risk you’ll take.
Psychological therapy will help you overcome the anxiety disorder while you are experiencing it, you will be able to leave behind the and incapacity that anxiety produces, you will regain confidence in yourself and you will be able to make decisions again, to carry the reins of your life. And if the psychologist is an essential help throughout the process, perhaps the most interesting advantage is that of investing in the future.
Because going to a psychologist when you have anxiety is precisely an investment in the future. An investment in your mental health that will and that will give you the tools you need to face life, to overcome frustration, to manage uncertainty. Write down well all the resources that your psychologist proposes during therapy because you can use them later.
Obstacles to access a therapy that combats anxiety
Despite the fact that psychological therapy is essential to overcome anxiety, there is an obstacle around this treatment that is rarely discussed. We refer to the difficulty in receiving adequate psychological treatment free of charge. And it is that the health system considers the psychologist not as a necessity, but as an option.
If the first step when we notice the first symptoms of anxiety is to go to the family doctor, access to a psychologist is much more complicated if we do not have the financial resources to pay for one. The truth is that a large part of the doctors “solve” the anxiety problem with, which the only thing they can do is alleviate the symptoms, but does not combat the anxiety.
Even on the rare occasions when the family doctor refers us to a psychologist, the healthcare system is not prepared for continued psychological treatment, nor for frequent follow-up, which would be more effective in avoiding relapses. Faced with this inconvenience, we can opt for the new online psychotherapy, which, although it is not free, is.
