EMPOWERING WAYS TO MANAGE ANXIETY WITHOUT MEDICATION

Drawing of a man trapped inside a bottleThis article on managing anxiety was recently forwarded to me, and I thought I’d pass it on to you.  Our world has become so complex, over stimulating, and overwhelming that people are increasingly experiencing really terrible anxiety symptoms. I realize medication is sometimes necessary to control feelings of overwhelming anxiety and panic.  These days, though, I think we turn to medications too quickly before we see about managing anxiety without it.

This is an excellent piece that gives you ideas on how to manage your anxiety without resorting to medication. It’s a long article, but it’s an easy read and you’ll notice it’s divided into cluster areas so that you can read through the techniques are relevant to you. In each section there’s a description of the problem cluster and the types of symptoms associated with it.  Then there are 3-4 simple techniques one can practice to alleviate the symptoms they are feeling.

Now there are a couple of tricks to all of this.  Most importantly, you have to practice the techniques.  And that’s where therapy can be helpful.  Most of the techniques are really simple, but motivating yourself and maintaining the discipline to keep going can require a little help.  A good therapist who understands anxiety management techniques is your best friend when you’re trying to manage anxiety without medication.  When you’re really feeling anxious, the sense of dread or panic can get so bad that you can’t remember to breathe, or stop your thoughts etc.

The other thing you will notice when reading the article is that most of the techniques are supported by or supportive of other anxiety management techniques that are discussed and learned in therapy. For example, method 4, in which one learns not to listen to the voice of worry, is dependent on knowledge of how to progressively relax the muscles and then call up the relaxed state when ignoring the voice of worry. A professional can teach you that better than you can teach yourself.

So I guess my final word on the article and these techniques is that they probably help you and definitely won’t harm you if you do them on your own, but if you have a chronic problem with anxiety you will be best served by finding a good therapist that works with anxiety and helps their clients to manage it by using these sorts of techniques.  Either way, you can very possibly avoid a dependency on anxiety reducing medications that don’t serve to really help you to resolve the underlying anxiety. http://www.alternet.org/print/10-best-ways-manage-your-anxiety

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