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For a person with an anxiety disorder, seemingly ordinary activities can cause undue tension or worry. As anxious thoughts multiply, they can turn everyday living into a struggle.
If you’re living with anxiety, you may feel helpless and alone. You’re in good company, though; studies show that 18.1% of American adults have an anxiety disorder. Due to the prevalence of this condition, mental health experts have a wide range of treatments that can help.
One of the most popular treatment options for anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Through CBT, you can begin to reframe your thoughts and reclaim your life.
How Anxiety Affects Your Life
It may seem that everything in your life is more difficult when you have an anxiety disorder. Mental health plays a significant role in all of your experiences, such as controlling your thoughts to managing your behavior and maintaining physical wellness.
When you have anxiety, your thoughts may regularly spin out of control. You may have trouble distinguishing between rational and irrational thoughts, and you may obsessively worry or stress over the things on your mind.
If anxiety is a regular part of your life, you may be keenly aware of the circumstances or activities that trigger it. As a result, you may try to avoid those situations. For example, if social interactions are anxiety-inducing for you, you may frequently cancel plans with friends.
Anxiety can harm your relationships in other ways too. Some people find themselves regularly snapping at the people around them or projecting their tense feelings onto them.
Physical symptoms of anxiety may include:
Anxiety often co-occurs with other mental and behavioral health disorders. Many people who have depression also have anxiety. You may be more likely to experience a substance abuse disorder as well. This can be a result of trying to dull your symptoms through self-medication. Having more than one disorder at a time can increase and exacerbate symptoms.
Anxiety doesn’t discriminate; it can affect people of any age, and you’re never too young for an anxiety disorder. Research shows that 31.9% of teens between the ages of 13 and 18 have experienced an anxiety disorder at some point. Because of the debilitating effects of anxiety and the prevalence of co-occurring conditions, it’s wise to seek anxiety treatment early, no matter the age of the person who is suffering.
What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
With mental health disorders, thoughts can easily race out of control, and unhealthy patterns of thinking and behaving can take root. To treat the disorder, you’ll need to learn how to adjust your thought patterns. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a tool that can help you accomplish that goal.
Working with a therapist, you’ll begin to identify your faulty thoughts. Once you recognize them, you can begin to analyze them more objectively. The more you discuss your patterns of thinking with your therapist and practice using your CBT skills in your daily life, the more control you’ll begin to gain over your mental health disorder.
CBT can benefit many aspects of your life. You may learn more about why the people around you act the ways that they do, and that can improve your relationships. Instead of continuing to avoid stressful situations, you may explore techniques for handling them. You may also practice calming strategies that you can use when your muscles start to tense or your heart rate begins to rise.
CBT for anxiety is done under the care of a licensed therapist. You’ll receive tools that you can use at home, but it’s important to maintain a relationship with a mental health provider throughout the treatment process to ensure you’re on the right path.
What Is CBT for Anxiety Like?
When using CBT for the treatment of anxiety disorders, one strategy that you’ll work on is replacing unhealthy thoughts with healthy ones. Your therapist may ask you to identify a stress-inducing circumstance and list your worries that automatically crop up in response. You’ll then practice thinking of healthier responses to the reality of the situation. For example, if you avoid taking the bus because you’re afraid that you’ll miss your stop, you might remind yourself that you have a bus schedule on your phone and can ask for help as needed.
You’ll learn to reframe more general thoughts as well. Do you often talk down to yourself? With CBT for anxiety, your therapist will encourage you to replace negative self-talk with healthier ideas. For example, instead of saying, “I never do anything right,” you can tell yourself, “Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.”
Another strategy that you’ll learn in cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety is mindfulness — keeping your thoughts centered on the present moment. The future is often filled with uncertainty, so thinking about it for too long can allow one worry after another to flood your head. Grounding yourself in your present surroundings and circumstances can help you regain control.
For those times when anxiety really has you in its grip, you’ll practice tools for relaxing your body. This may include guided breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation.
CBT for Anxiety and Addiction
CBT is often used in anxiety treatment because it’s effective. With therapy sessions, at-home practice and plenty of support, your CBT skills will help you gain control over your anxiety disorder.
CBT is often used in addiction treatment as well. This type of therapy can help you identify your substance-use triggers and establish new patterns of thought and behavior. If you have co-occurring conditions — both anxiety and addiction — it’s even more likely that CBT will be a part of your therapy plan.
If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health, help is available. Reach out to Mission Harbor Behavioral Health to learn more about how cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety can make a difference in your life.
The facilities at Mission Harbor are staffed with trained experts to best assist patients with their mental health issues. We are capable of dealing with any and all cases with a licensed staff, equipment, and approved techniques. Our mission is to help those who want to help themselves, and we support your decision in seeking help.
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