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Intervention for Anxiety
Everyone experiences anxiety at times; it is part of life. However, sometimes anxiety becomes so great that it interferes with our ability to enjoy our lives, to pursue our studies, to participate in social activities, to enjoy sexual relations, or to drive a vehicle. Anxiety often interferes with sleep, and thus reduces our ability to perform effectively at home, work, or school. Sometimes, it is expressed through nightmares that terrorize us, while at other times, it may take the extreme form of panic attacks, reactions so frightening that the individual fears that he or she is having a heart attack.
Medications are useful in controlling and suppressing anxiety in the short-term. However, psychologists do not prescribe medication, and medication by itself is not usually the long-term solution. In order to overcome the anxiety reaction, the individual needs to learn first how his or her thoughts, perceptions and actions serve to elicit and maintain the anxiety reaction, and then how to change that process so as to initially control and then eliminate the anxiety response. That is the goal of psychological treatment.
Clinicians at Fleming Vigna Balmer are well-trained in the treatment of anxiety, whether it be generalized anxiety, school anxiety, panic attacks or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) produced by trauma such as motor vehicle accidents, assaults, or the sudden, violent death of a loved one. Treatment involves relaxation training, cognitive-behavioural techniques (designed to assist the individual in identifying and changing faulty perceptions and interpretations, as well as overcoming negative thought patterns that serve to perseverate the anxiety), and systematic desensitization of the anxiety response to stimuli that trigger it.
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