A short article about how yoga may help with depression and anxiety.  Don’t forget to come back here and let us know what you think – leave a comment

A great article about one woman’s struggle with panic attacks and how she overcame them.  Read the article and come back and leave a comment.

The switch from talk therapy to medications has swept psychiatric practices and hospitals.  Many of the nation’s 48,000 psychiatrists, in large part because of changes in how much insurance will pay, no longer provide talk therapy.

A 12 week course of of talk therapy (CBT) when used to treat social anxiety disorder, produces changes in the electrical activity of the brain according to new research published in Psychological Science. In the new study, 25 people with social anxiety disorder completed a 12-week course of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT).

What Is Social Anxiety Disorder?

You are standing, frozen, unable to move from this spot in the back of the room. Your heart is pounding, you are sweating and your stomach is tied in knots.  Everyone is looking at you.  Are they laughing at the way you’re dressed? Or did you say something so stupid a few minutes ago that they think you are an idiot? You just want to run out of the room and run home to hide.

The truth is that nobody’s staring at you, and you didn’t say or do anything that you need to worry about. In fact, these people are your friends. You know that but it doesn’t make any difference, you still feel awful.  This is an example of social anxiety disorder.

Social anxiety disorder is a problem that is suffered by millions of people in the country today. Although some people are able to recover from the symptoms of social anxiety without getting any help or treatment, there are many other people that are not so lucky. If you are one of those people who are suffering from moderate to severe social anxiety you may find it is impossible to lead a normal life. Fortunately, with the right treatment and a strong support system in place you may be able to recover from your disorder and lead a happy social life.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

It’s really important that you seek professional help from a licensed therapist or a psychiatrist that has a background helping patients with social anxiety disorder.  Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an established treatment that is known to have good results with  social anxiety disorder so you should explore the possibilities of undergoing this type of treatment with your therapist.  Through cognitive behavioral therapy your therapist will point your thoughts in a more rational direction and teach you how to react differently to the situations that trigger your symptoms.

Your therapist may also prescribe certain medications such as antidepressants like Paxil or tranquilizers like Valium and Ativan.  These are used to help ease the symptoms of your social anxiety disorder so that the CBT is more effective.

Strengthen Your Social Support System

A strong social support system made up of family members and friends can do a great deal in helping to overcome the symptoms of social anxiety disorder. Their support will help with the recovery process and will help you to get your confidence back. Recovery isn’t going to be an easy journey for all of you, there will be times when you slip and the whole treatment process unravels. But knowing that there are people who are willing to go through the journey to recovery with you will make things a lot easier for you.

In addition to support from family members and friends, you should get in touch with some social anxiety support groups. Being with people who are suffering from social anxiety just like you are will help you understand your disorder better. Sharing experiences and ideas with people who are suffering from social anxiety can go a long way to helping you get to a point where you are living a normal life free of those social anxiety symptoms.

There are many organizations around the country that provide social support for people who are suffering from this type of disorder. Most therapists maintain close contacts with social anxiety disorder support groups around the country so your therapist should be able to help you find the right support group for you.

There are good reasons someone suffering panic attacks would take medication for anxiety attacks. But there are side effects that need to be considered before making the decision to take these particular medications.  And, anxiety attack medication should only be taken under the supervision of a psychiatrist that specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and is up to date on all the current research on anti-anxiety medications and therapies.

Anxiety attack medication should be taken in conjunction with therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy. While the drugs can control the symptoms of anxiety they do not treat the underlying problem, that is what the therapy and discussions with your psychiatrist will accomplish.

How Will The Medication Affect You?

Anxiety attack medication affects everyone a little differently so the proper dosage will be determined by your psychiatrist through a trial and error process. You will need to work closely with your doctor by discussing how the medication affects your symptoms and what, if any, the side effects are so that the effectiveness of the drugs can be evaluated.

Some anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines work as quickly as 30 minutes to an hour so they are very effective when taken during an anxiety attack. However, the concern with anti-anxiety medications is that while they work quickly to relieve symptoms they can lead to physical dependence.

It is important to be aware of the possibility of not only physical dependence on the drug but also the possibility of becoming psychologically dependent. If you have been taking anxiety attack medication and have come to rely on it to maintain your control over your anxiety attacks you may come to believe that you can only survive with the medication instead of relying on the therapy to treat the real, underlying problem.

Withdrawal Symptoms

If you have been taking anti-anxiety medication for a few months and feel that you have become too dependent on it you should decrease the dosage gradually under the direction of your therapist.

Once you have cut off your intake of an anxiety attack medication you will find that you will start to experience extremely stressful withdrawal symptoms such as increased anxiety, confusion, pounding heart, sweating, shaking and insomnia. And, worse still, your anxiety attacks will return to bother you once more which will then force you into resuming your intake of anxiety attack medications.

An anxiety disorder can be handled more effectively provided you are able to identify the exact causes of your distress; this is where therapy with a caring, licensed therapist or psychiatrist comes in. You also need to avoid becoming embarrassed by such disorders and instead must be ready and willing to take corrective action because such disorders can be treated and managed effectively as long as you know the causes.

Read this article about new research that describes two areas of the brain that can affect anxiety disorders.

This is an interesting article I came across on line that I found interesting.  If you suffer with, or know someone who suffers with OCD you should read this article.

This article is a good starting point if you think you are suffering from depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or bipolar disorder, or if you know someone who is.

I thought this was an interesting article, found on cnn.com, on how to deal with anxiety about taking tests.  I think that it may be applied in other areas of our lives where we experience anxiety such as speaking in front of groups (one of mine).  I think this article is worth a few minutes of your time.