6/24/2017 Therapy 

for Anxiety, Types of Anxiety, Anxiety Treatment

Log In
Search our Therapist Directory
Enter ZIP or City
Membership Information

Find a Therapist Explore Therapy Issues Treated PsychPedia A-Z Blog About For Therapists

GoodTherapy.org > Issues Treated in Therapy > Anxiety

Find the Right Therapist
Anxiety Search
Enter ZIP or City

208 9 0 6 0
Therapist   Treatment Center
Advanced Search
Anxiety is de෬ned as nervousness, apprehension, and self-doubt that may
or may not be associated with real-life stressors. Everyone experiences
some level of anxiety periodically, but when feelings of dread and worry are
unfocused, overwhelming, recurring, and not directly linked to stressful
events, anxiety may leave a person severely impaired. When anxiety
interferes with daily function, the support of a quali෬ed mental health
professional can often be helpful.  

Symptoms, Signs, and Related Conditions How Does Anxiety Develop?

Generalized or Free-Floating Anxiety Therapy for Anxiety
Medication for Anxiety Case Examples of Anxiety

Symptoms, Signs, and Related Conditions

Anxiety symptoms include obtrusive, obsessive, worried thoughts, confusion and di෬culty concentrating, pacing or
restlessness, irritability, frustration, and despair. A person with anxiety may feel tense, with uncomfortable physical Anxiety Articles
sensations such as trembling, sweating, a racing heartbeat, nausea, and di෬culty breathing. The severe and sudden onset of
Mental Health Aftere෬ects of
such symptoms is often indicative of a panic attack. Anxiety can also lead to headaches, insomnia, digestive problems, and Orlando Massacre, and Other News
lightheadedness.

Anxiety is at the root of many mental health conditions, including panic attacks and
Stressful School Year? Use Summer
phobias, and it is often directly correlated with other conditions, such as obsessions
to Help Your Student Manage
and compulsions, posttraumatic stress, and depression. The Diagnostic and Statistical
Anxiety
Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), lists the following mental health issues as anxiety
disorders: Fidget Spinners for Mental Health
Issues, and Other News
Separation anxiety
Selective mutism
Panic Childhood Chronic Illness Linked to
Speci෬c phobias Adult Depression, Anxiety
Social anxiety
Agoraphobia
3 Tips for Talking—and Listening—
Medication/substance-induced anxiety
to Your Anxious Teen
Generalized anxiety

How Does Anxiety Develop?

Is Shyness Something Parents
Anxiety, not unlike the ෬ght, ෬ight, or freeze response, is a survival mechanism that allows people to protect themselves in Should Be Concerned About?
order to avoid su෬ering, but sometimes a person repeatedly and unnecessarily experiences extreme levels of the fear and
worry associated with anxiety and feels helpless to alleviate the symptoms.
See More...   
A person’s predisposition toward anxiety is based both in biology and environment. In other
words, anxious behaviors may be inherited, learned, or both. For example, research
demonstrates that anxious children are likely born to anxious parents, but those parents may
also model anxious tendencies, such as avoiding or fearing potential threats, that then instill Featured Contributors:
the same fear and avoidant behaviors in their children. Growing up in a stressful environment Anxiety

may also predispose someone to anxiety because anxiety becomes a way to anticipate danger
Kristine Tye, MA, LMFT
and ensure safety.

Anxiety can also develop as a result of unresolved trauma that leaves a person in a heightened
physiological state of arousal; when this is the case, certain experiences may reactivate the old
Vicki Botnick, MA, MS, LMFT
trauma, as is common for people experiencing posttraumatic stress (PTSD).

http://www.goodtherapy.org/learn­about­therapy/issues/anxiety 1/3
6/24/2017 Therapy for Anxiety, Types of Anxiety, Anxiety Treatment

Excessive Anxiety: Causes and Contributing Factors

Find a Therapist
How ‘Should’ Messages Set the Stage for Anxiety
Are You Feeding Your Anxiety? Enter ZIP or City

Generalized or Free-Floating Anxiety Advanced Search Join GoodTherapy.org!

Free-෬oating anxiety, also known as generalized anxiety, is characterized by a chronic sense of unease, doom, and worry that Mental health professionals who meet our

is not directed toward any one thing in particular. Many people often feel anxiety about speci෬c future events such as job membership requirements can take advantage
of bene෬ts such as:
interviews, dates, or ෬nancial concerns, but people experiencing ෬ee-෬oating anxiety feel generalized anxiety about any
number of issues or concerns for no obvious reason. In other words, the anxiety experienced may not be in proportion to the Client referrals
actual impact of a particular event.
Continuing education credits
The DSM-5 identi෬es generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) as excessive worry that impacts a person on an almost daily basis, Publication and media opportunities
lasts for six months or more, is di෬cult to control, and cannot be better explained by any other physical, medical, or mental Marketing resources and webinars
health condition. A person diagnosed with GAD must also display at least three of the following symptoms:
Special discounts

Frequent feelings of fatigue

Restlessness, feeling tense or on edge Learn More
Irritability
Di෬culty focusing, drawing a blank
Sleep problems
Muscle tension

There are many factors that can contribute to the development of free-෬oating anxiety. Living in stressful or abusive
environments may produce chronic anxiety, and sometimes anxiety becomes a habit. When someone is accustomed to
feeling anxiety about a speci෬c event, they may continue feeling anxiety even after the event has occurred. Additionally, some
psychologists have argued that the character of modern life subjects people to free-෬oating anxiety. Constant deadlines, the
need for everything to occur quickly, and the ability to compare oneself to others via social networking, or otherwise, can
cause chronic anxiety.

When a person cannot identify the source of anxiety, therapy can help that person develop coping skills for mitigating
symptoms. Deep breathing techniques, meditation, exercise, e෬ective planning, and assertive communication may each help
some people cope with chronic anxiety.

Therapy for Anxiety

GoodTherapy.org is not intended to be a
Because anxiety can interfere with relationships, sleeping patterns, eating habits, work, school, and routine activities, anxiety
substitute for professional advice, diagnosis,
is one of the most common reasons people seek therapy, and e෬ective therapy can signi෬cantly reduce or eliminate medical treatment, or therapy. Always seek the
symptoms associated with anxiety in a relatively short time, allowing a person to resume regular activities and regain a sense advice of your physician or quali෬ed mental

of control. Although people may not be able to identify the cause of their anxiety, after attending a few therapy sessions, health provider with any questions you may
have regarding any mental health symptom or
many people are able to pinpoint the source and a therapist can help a person work on those deeper concerns.
medical condition. Never disregard
The type of therapy that is most often recommended for the treatment of anxiety due to its demonstrated e෬ectiveness is professional psychological or medical advice

cognitive behavioral therapy, although most forms of therapy are well suited to addressing anxiety. Rather than treating nor delay in seeking professional advice or
treatment because of something you have
symptoms alone, as medications do, psychotherapy aims to identify and address the source of the anxiety. The self-re෬ective
read on GoodTherapy.org.
process of therapy helps people to understand, unravel, and transform anxiety and learn self-soothing techniques to use if
anxiety ෬ares up again.

The therapist and client will collaborate on a treatment plan, which may include other therapy treatments and lifestyle
adjustments to help relieve anxiety such as meditation, group therapy, stress-management and relaxation techniques, self-
care, exercise, family therapy, and eliminating or reducing intake of stimulative substances like ca෬eine.

Medication for Anxiety

Psychotropic medications for anxiety are designed to treat the symptoms of anxiety and allow a person to function and feel
better; they cannot, however, address the underlying emotional and psychological causes of anxiety or help a person learn to
cope with future scenarios that may provoke an anxious response. Common medications for anxiety include antidepressants,
such as Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, and Zoloft, and anti-anxiety medications like Ativan, Xanax, and Klonopin.

Unwanted side e෬ects are common, and each person will respond to medication di෬erently, so it is important to track
changes in mood, behavior, and other symptoms in order to select the right medication. For someone who is paralyzed with
anxiety or who su෬ers intense panic, medication may be essential to leading a ful෬lling life.

Case Examples of Anxiety

Alcohol Abuse and Anxiety - Hayat, 23, experiences severe panic attacks whenever she fears she has failed at a
task or angered a family member or coworker. Whenever she receives criticism, she begins to have trouble breathing,
becomes sweaty, and may break out in hives. Her mind becomes completely focused on the o෬ense she has committed,
and she may cry, though she suppresses the tears and prevents catharsis. She drinks large quantities of alcohol to help

http://www.goodtherapy.org/learn­about­therapy/issues/anxiety 2/3
6/24/2017 Therapy for Anxiety, Types of Anxiety, Anxiety Treatment

numb herself to these feelings and may miss work for days, which furthers her anxiety, as she has little income.
Social Anxiety - Benji, 45, is popular at work and very competent, but he feels highly anxious whenever he is out in
public, especially around crowds. He races home each night, locks his door, and reads in bed, feeling ෬ne once he is
alone with the apartment secure. He cannot identify the cause of his anxiety, but in therapy, he discovers a great deal of
repressed anger that may explain his fear of being in public—people trigger his rage, which he has avoided for years.
"People-Pleasing” Anxiety - Anna, 26, comes to therapy because of intense anxiety. Anna has not experienced a
panic attack, but is often on edge, worried, stressed, and has a di෬cult time sleeping through the night. In therapy, Anna
discovers that although a part of her wants to marry her ෬ancé, Je෬, another part of herself, which she has suppressed,
is not in love with him. Identifying this internal con෬ict temporarily intensi෬es Anna's anxiety, because now she has to
face something she hasn't wanted face. Historically, Anna has been a people-pleaser. It's di෬cult for her to say "no" for
fear of hurting others' feelings and then feeling her own guilt. Anna gains awareness about this, and through the process
of unburdening her long-harbored guilt, Anna feels less anxiety over allowing others to feel pain. Although Anna hasn't
yet decided what she's going to do about getting married, she feels less anxiety now that she is no longer suppressing
her ambivalence and feels greater con෬dence about communicating how she really feels.

References:

1. American Psychological Association. (2009). APA concise dictionary of psychology. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
2. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. (5th ed.). (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric
Association.
3. Generalized Anxiety Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/generalized-anxiety-
disorder-gad/index.shtml
4. Hudson, J. L., Dodd, H. F., & Bovopoulos, N. (2011). Temperament, family environment and anxiety in preschool
children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39(7), 939-51. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9502-x
5. Kring, A. M., Johnson, S. L., Davison, G. C., & Neale, J. M. (2010). Abnormal psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
6. Tyrer, P., & Baldwin, D. (2006). Generalised anxiety disorder. The Lancet, 368(9553), 2156-66. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/199069841?accountid=1229

Find the Right Therapist Enter ZIP or City Search  

Last updated: 05-23-2017

About GoodTherapy.org Resources Subscribe to Newsletter

About Us Therapist Membership Find a Therapist Find a Treatment Center Enter email address
Mission and Vision Tx Center Membership Explore Therapy What Is Therapy?
Advertise Student Membership Elements of Good Therapy Types of Therapy Follow GoodTherapy.org
Press Room Partnership Information Modes of Therapy Issues Treated in Therapy
GoodCause Contact Us Dear GoodTherapy.org Warning Signs in Therapy

Copyright © 2007 - 2017 GoodTherapy.org. All rights reserved. Home Terms of Service Privacy Policy Sitemap Subscribe to The Good Therapy Blog

http://www.goodtherapy.org/learn­about­therapy/issues/anxiety 3/3