Anxiety Disorders

The good news is that there's treatment for anxiety and that you don't have to suffer. Remember, this isn't about weakness. It's about changing brain patterns and research shows that our brains have the ability to reorganise and form new connections all throughout our lives. A good first step is to do the basics. Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep, as your mind is part of your body. It might also help to try meditation. Instead of our heart rate rising and our body tensing, with mindfulness and breathing we can slow down the fight-or-flight response and improve how we feel in the moment. Cognitive behavioural therapy, a form of talk therapy, can also be fantastic. In it, you learn to identify upsetting thoughts and determine whether they're realistic. Over time, cognitive behavioural therapy can rebuild those neural pathways that tamp down the anxiety response. Medication can also give relief, in both the short term and the long term. In the short-term, anti-anxiety drugs can down-regulate the threat-detection mechanisms that are going into overdrive. Studies have shown that both long-term medications and cognitive behavioural therapy can reduce that over-reactivity of the amygdala we see in anxiety disorders. High blood pressure and diabetes, they can be treated or managed over time. And the same is true for an anxiety disorder too.