Holistic Therapy to Treat Anxiety

By Stephen Daniels

Anxiety is a frequent response to stress. When stress levels become too intense to cope well, anxiety can reach a level that interferes with daily life. This is particularly true now, in the current economy, when financial difficulties are affecting so many households.

Difficulties in handling the monthly bills, fretting about job security, and the risk of foreclosure all put people at risk for anxiety. Worries about other personal problems can also add to underlying issues.

Symptoms of anxiety can be emotional, mental and even physical, or a combination of all three. Sufferers often describe feeling trapped or overwhelmed. You may feel afraid without understanding why, or be concerned about losing control of day to day events. Big mood swings and bouts of sadness are common, as is a feeling of unreality. Anxiety can interfere with normal thought processes and short-term memory, which makes it even harder to handle immediate concerns.

Anxiety can cause physical symptoms, including dizziness, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and even difficulty breathing. Some people report headaches or a ringing in the ears, and some have an increase in allergy symptoms. It is also common to have bad dreams, or trouble sleeping.

When emotional and physical symptoms occur at the same time, many people find it difficult to cope on a daily basis. It can become overwhelming to make everyday decisions. You may feel trapped, unable to see your way out of your predicament. These are signs to seek help.

A crisis intervention approach is one method to help deal with the many components of anxiety. Crisis intervention looks at the problem head-on, not as a collection of separate issues. Discussing your concerns with an experienced counselor gives you a chance to examine your situation in a supportive and constructive environment. This helps break the cycle of worry and fear, and allows you to begin the healing process.

While anxiety can be created by situations in your daily environment, it is sometimes insufficient to address those issues. Often our past plays a role. It is important to examine the underlying factors that might have contributed to create your anxiety. Emotional associations from the past, ways of dealing with problems, even basic attitudes toward life can be intertwined. Becoming cognizant of these factors and learning to work with them is one of the keys to recovery.

Anxiety can be treated in many ways. It is important to find a method, or combination of methods that works best for you. Complex problems need a variety of solutions. A holistic approach is often most effective.

Holistic therapy looks at the entire person. All the dimensions of life are considered, whether social, spiritual or emotional. It is very important to achieve a balance for life improvement, above and beyond treating the symptoms. Your mental and emotional well-being is influenced by the sum total of all the factors in your life.

Holistic therapy can help you to understand and find more effective ways to manage your life. Learning to find a balance and use your inner strength will result in the inner stability you need to endure unstable periods. Sometimes it takes a strong want to change your life, and the help of the right counselor, but there is hope for a future free of anxiety. - 29881

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