Anxiety Disorder - Cognitive-behavioral Therapy Works But You Also Have To Change Lifestyle!
The fact is that cognitive-behavioral therapy and medications work. Countless people all over the world have been helped by either one or a combination of both of these approaches. Research and clinical practice have repeatedly supported their efficacy. No self-respecting clinician who is knowledgeable about anxiety disorders fails to utilize them.
But not everyone who receives cognitive-behavioral therapy and/or medication achieves satisfactory recovery. And there are some persons who, having received good treatment, get better for a while and then relapse. Thus it appears that, at least sometimes, something more than CBT and medication is needed to ensure a lasting and high level of recovery.
The technologies of cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychopharmacology, while very helpful, might not always be sufficient.
If, for example, people didn't change their lifestyles, work on overcoming anxiety-prone personality traits such as perfectionism, address interpersonal conflicts at home or work, or find some larger meaning in their life, they might continue to remain anxious in spite of the best efforts of their cognitive-behavioral therapists and psychiatrists.
Rather than offering specific techniques to address physiology, thoughts, and behavior, the approach taken in these articles deals with the whole person. As you read through them, you'll be examining such issues as:
• how to simplify your life to achieve greater peace of mind
• how to address difficult personality issues that create anxiety
• what "alternative" therapies might be helpful
• how learning to meditate regularly can reduce worry
• how finding your unique life purpose and embracing a more spiritual outlook might offer a deep healing in your life
You didn't develop an anxiety disorder out of the blue. It happened because of an accumulation of stress over a long time, or perhaps just one major stressor, in combination with your genetic makeup; your childhood; and your particular lifestyle, priorities, personality, and interpersonal situation as an adult. Yes, of course, you want to get rid of your symptoms. But you might also view your symptoms as an ally.
Your symptoms are calling you to understand yourself better to really examine yourself and figure out what changes you need to make in yourself and your life to feel better.
Look at it this way: If your anxiety disorder didn't stop you in your tracks and call you to pay attention, you might have gone on in your habitual ways until something even more serious happened. Your body is giving you a warning signal that you need to make some changes.
The change required may be to deal with a long-standing personality pattern, resolve an interpersonal conflict, make a shift in your priorities and values, and/or find new meaning in your life.
When you figure out what is needed and make the necessary changes, your whole life works better and you start to feel better. Your problem with panic, phobias, or obsessive worry will certainly get better and so also may your depression, headaches, insomnia, and/or tendency to be short-tempered or irritable. All of you get better.
Download your free eBook "Stop Panic Attacks and Deal with Your Anxious Thoughts" here: FREE REPORT STOP PANIC ATTACKS or visit my blog: PANIC GOODBYE BLOG
- From Bertil Hjert – The author of the Panic Goodbye Program. Read more about my brand new course at: PANIC GOODBYE PROGRAM
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