Anxiety

Anxiety as an emotion is characterized by negative, unpleasant experiences for a person, which are caused by an irrational expectation of something bad and not related to objective real events. Anxiety differs from fear in that it is an objectless and unreasonable experience, while fear is a reaction to a specific threat.

Treatment of anxiety becomes necessary when it begins to affect the quality of life, often manifests itself and is not amenable to self-control. Normal levels of anxiety, especially as a reaction to new and unknown events, are temporary. With a prolonged nature, anxiety can have a disorganizing effect on life, contribute to the development of mental illness.

Risk factors for the development of anxiety:

• Heredity;
• Dysfunctional family;
• Chronic stress;
• Psychological and physical violence;
• Somatic diseases;
• Features of the nervous system;
• Low self-esteem.

Treatment of anxiety by a psychotherapist is recommended if it is not a symptom of a severe mental illness.

The symptoms of anxiety manifest themselves at the physical, mental and behavioral levels, while the frequency of symptoms, their totality and intensity are individual for each person.

• Sleep disturbances;
• Disturbing intrusive thoughts;
• Bad premonitions;
• Panic attacks;
• Nervousness;
• Concern;
• Suicidal thoughts.

• Weakness in the body or, conversely, excessive tension;
• Active sweating;
• Shortness;
• Heart palpitations;
• Feeling of “lump in the throat”;
• Dry mouth.

• Aimless walking or shifting things;
• Eating disorders (refusal to eat, compulsive overeating);
• Inability to stay in one body position for a long time (restlessness);
• Constant touching of the face, hair and other parts;
• Itching intensifies in stressful situations and, as a result, a violation of the integrity of the skin.

To find out how to get rid of anxiety, you need to understand the type of anxiety disorder that is determined during diagnostic measures. Anxiety disorders include:

• generalized anxiety disorder, in which anxiety occurs for a variety of reasons;
• anxiety-phobic disorders – agoraphobia, specific phobias (fear of animals, natural forces, medical procedures, individual situations);
• panic disorder, in which spontaneous panic attacks occur;
• social anxiety disorder associated with the fear of negative reactions in social interactions;
• post-traumatic stress disorder, which occurs as a reaction to traumatic events;
• emotional disorders, the onset of which is specific to childhood;
• situational or reactive anxiety related to external factors and situations;
• obsessive-compulsive disorder, which combines obsessive thoughts and repetitive actions;
• selective mutism, which is characterized by the loss of the ability to speak under certain stressful conditions;
• anxiety personality disorders associated with the peculiarity of a person’s character and personality;
• neurotic anxiety, which occurs as a reaction to an unknown or future danger.

When making the correct diagnosis, it is necessary to exclude a somatic cause, because many diseases of the endocrine, cardiovascular, digestive and other systems of our body have similar symptoms. For this, laboratory and instrumental studies, additional examinations are prescribed.

Since there are no objective biomarkers and unique symptoms in anxiety disorders, its diagnosis is based on symptoms that recur for at least six months or more and negatively affect the level of health and quality of life.

Diagnosed anxiety disorder is a chronic condition with periods of exacerbations against the background of triggering (provoking) factors and events.

The goal of treatment is to reduce the severity, if possible, eliminate the symptoms of anxiety and improve the patient’s quality of life.

In treatment, we use the following approaches:

Most anxiety disorders are related to the work of the psyche. This is a kind of response to traumatic events, not always realized by the patient. Therefore, a professional psychologist can help treat and overcome anxiety. Psychotherapeutic methods allow you to understand the causes of anxiety, work out new reactions to traumatic events and successfully cope with anxiety attacks.

By immersing a person in a comfortable state of safety and complete relaxation with the help of special medical hypnotics, it is possible to solve an urgent problem most effectively and quickly. Actively work out individual factors that led to an increase in anxiety, carry out a qualitative suggestive influence.

The peculiarity of “Ericksonian” hypnosis is its relative short-termism, so sometimes the totality of these hypnosis techniques is called “short-term therapy” – obtaining a quick therapeutic effect in a relatively short period of time. The effectiveness of the use of hypnotherapy in the treatment of various diseases has long been proven, and the positive therapeutic effect of this type of psychotherapy has been established in almost any disease where a violation of regulatory functions is noted in the pathogenesis central nervous system.

It is prescribed exclusively by a psychiatrist on the basis of research. If medications with mild sedation do not help, the doctor may prescribe drugs such as beta-blockers, tranquilizers, and antidepressants to have a mild and effective effect on the nervous system and to improve the patient’s condition.

Most often, the use of classical methods of treating anxiety and emotional disorders does not give the desired result, for this purpose, in the world’s leading clinics, substances are used that can temporarily change the level of consciousness and perception – psychedelics. At the Kartushynska Clinic, we offer ketamine therapy. By plunging into the depths of their own subconscious, a person can once and for all get rid of triggers and stimuli that cause the same active mental imbalance.