by Briar Miller

Created on: January 23, 2008

Who needs to be getting anxious about anxiety medicine? First off, you are not alone in making your choice. You will already have a diagnosis from your doctor if you are considering taking medication for anxiety. Talk the thing over with him or her. Before you do though, it will be worth getting clued up. This way you will be able to have more control over your treatment, rather than feeling helpless in the hands of the medical establishment, thus avoiding adding to your anxiety.

There are several different manifestations of anxiety disorder including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, relating to traumatic events, and GAD, or Generalised Anxiety Disorder. There is also anxiety related to particularly stressful events like exams. This variation, along with individual variation, complicates the finding of the right treatment. The following will give you an overview of what kinds of treatment are available.

We'll look at non-chemical treatments first.

Cognitive-Behavioural therapy

According to The Anxiety Disorder Research Centre:

'Because anxiety is a 'behavioural' condition, it can only be successfully treated by behavioural techniques'.

Cognitive-Behavioural therapy is a method which helps a person rethink things. For example, anxiety is often rooted in things that happened when we were children, and we need to re-evaluate these things as adults in order to release the fear. Even if you do decide that medication would be helpful to you, it would still be a good idea to have this kind of therapy to help you deal with the roots of your problem. Your doctor may refer you to a therapist or, in some cases, you can do this work yourself through your computer or with books. Again, you doctor will be able to tell you about this.

Self help and support groups

There are many books and groups around the country. You will be able to find them via your local library, your doctor or you can look at web-sites like Social-anxiety.org.uk.

Self help can be very empowering and it helps to have other people to talk to who know what you are going through. Support groups will have access to all the information about what's available in your area. Don't let it get you down if you find you need extra help. The strongest thing is to do whatever you need to to get well.

Yoga and relaxation techniques

These can be very powerful tools in overcoming anxiety. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a relaxation therapist. You will find yoga classes at adult education centres.

Herbal remedies

There are

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