All of us have felt anxiety at some point in our lives. The heart and breathing rate accelerates. We have a vision of the world and of ourselves. In some people this state of anxiety is punctual and temporary, but for others, this anxiety becomes a constant in their lives, affecting their work, social and family environments.
And while on the one hand, some people advise taking medication, others advise you to go to a psychologist and others tell you that it will pass and that you don’t need to do anything. So, Is anxiety overcome little by little? It cures? If so, what is the best option when addressing it? Keep reading Psychology-Online so you can answer these and many other questions you may have about anxiety.
Does anxiety cure itself?
The first answer is it depends. If your anxiety is specific, probably yes. At some point we can all have one and it usually ends in the same way it began. In fact, on many occasions, the desire for it to end soon can feed it and make it last longer over time, so sometimes the best thing is to accept that emotional state and let it pass on its own.
However, If you have more constant anxiety, if you don’t find a solution it can become chronic., becoming a . Anxiety occurs because we have dynamic thinking focused on a catastrophic future, so it is important to change this dynamic if it happens to us frequently, so that this way of thinking does not become even more established. In this article you will find the.
Is medication necessary to treat anxiety?
Again, the answer is, it depends. In most cases anxiety can be addressed with psychological treatment and medication is not necessary.
If you are wondering how to overcome anxiety without medication, you should know that sometimes it is not possible. Sometimes, because anxiety becomes chronic or because it is sometimes necessary to lower the level of anxiety in order to begin a psychological approach, different types of medications are used.
- Anxiolytics. Some of them are created specifically for the treatment of anxiety, that is, anxiolytics.
- Antidepressants. But in other cases the medications used are antidepressants. This is because in some anxiety disorders the lack of transmission of (popularly known as the happiness hormone) is the cause of it. Antidepressants, specifically SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), facilitate this transmission of serotonin in our brain and would help reduce anxiety levels. In this article you can see.
In any case, it is important to know that this medication has innumerable side effects and that, in some cases, it is addictive, so you should try to avoid using it and, if you do, do so for a short period of time. Here you can see, for example, the .
Psychological treatment of anxiety
For most cases, this is the best option when treating anxiety. Not only does it help manage symptoms and thus reduce anxiety levels, but it addresses the cause in order to prevent it, something that cannot be done through medication, which is limited to temporarily reducing symptoms. How to control anxiety naturally?
- Meditation and relaxation. With psychological therapy the person would be taught to live in the present moment. By not anticipating a catastrophic future, anxiety would be reduced. offers a multitude of exercises aimed at this purpose.
- Cognitive restructuring. In addition, the thoughts that are causing the anxiety would be analyzed and the person would be helped to transform the thoughts into more realistic ones.
- Acceptance and commitment. As a complement, we would work with the person on their personal values. Anxiety is surely keeping you away from your loved ones, your hobbies, your partner, and preventing you from doing your job well. This incongruence would be reflected to the person and helped to focus on those important aspects in his life instead of focusing all his attention on his anxiety. That is, the person would be reactivated.
What other things can you do to deal with anxiety?
To deal with anxiety, in addition to going to a professional, you can do different activities that can help you:
- Physical exercise. Exercising can give you great benefits as it helps your mind disconnect from problems. Furthermore, on a physical level there is a discharge and relief. Stress, anger, anger, sadness, all are discharged on physical activity, thus preventing this discharge from occurring on a loved one or on oneself.
- Leisure time and relaxing activities. In addition, try to have moments for yourself and for your rest every day, doing pleasant and relaxing activities such as reading or painting.
- Social relationships. Spending time with our loved ones can help reduce overall anxiety levels.
Anxiety recovery time
The answer to the question if anxiety can be cured is yes, with proper treatment and time, anxiety subsides and does not significantly affect the person’s normal life. Is anxiety completely eliminated forever? In general, anxiety is not completely eliminated. Symptoms of anxiety may occur, but they do not prevent the person from leading a normal life. When does anxiety pass? The approximate duration of psychological treatments for anxiety that have been shown to be effective is between 6 months and 1 year, although it depends on many factors of anxiety and the person. Therefore, we can conclude that yes, anxiety is overcome little by little in the majority of cases that receive adequate treatment.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- García-Pérez, L., & Valdivia-Salas, S. (2018). Intervention in social anxiety disorder through acceptance and commitment therapy: a systematic review. Behavioral Psychology, 26(2), 379-392.
- Montelongo, RV, Zaragoza, ACL, & Bonilla, GM (2005). Anxiety disorders.
- Robles Castro, JY Anxiety in adolescents from a national educational institution in Imperial, Cañete, 2020.