Anxiety disorders can ruin a person's life when left untreated. Some anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder, can lead to conditions like agoraphobia, which can drastically limit a person's experiences. You're never too young to seek mental health treatment. Here are some ways that professional counselors can help teens and young adults who suffer from anxiety:
1. Help patients cope with stressors.
Stress is an unavoidable part of life. Teens and young adults are at a stage of life where they're encountering many new stressors for the first time. Teenagers may be anxious about going off to college or maintaining a high GPA. Young adults may have trouble adjusting to the rigors of adulthood. Fortunately, counseling can help patients manage these stressors. Anxiety counselors will help you come up with action plans to cope with challenges in your life. When you know what actions you need to take, your problems can seem less insurmountable and overwhelming.
2. Introduce patients to cognitive behavioral therapy.
Talk therapy is beneficial for anyone with mental health difficulties, but certain types of therapy are more efficacious than others. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is very effective in treating anxiety disorders in teens and young adults. CBT encourages patients to pay attention to their thoughts, noticing the ones that are untrue or unhelpful. In addition, people with anxiety are likely to engage in catastrophizing, which can worsen their anxiety. Over time, CBT will teach you to retrain your brain toward healthy thought patterns and away from anxiety.
3. Prescribe patients the medications they need.
Some people are reluctant to take psychiatric medication due to the stigma attached to these drugs. However, psychiatric drugs can be immensely helpful in the treatment of anxiety disorders. SSRIs can be used to rebalance a person's neurochemicals, allowing them to achieve a healthy mental baseline with less anxiety. Benzodiazepines can be used to stop panic attacks when taken on an as-needed basis. A psychiatrist can prescribe medication to help you combat your anxiety disorder.
4. Challenge patients in healthy ways.
People with anxiety disorders may naturally want to avoid situations that make them anxious. However, this avoidant behavior can easily become unhealthy. A certain amount of risk-taking is necessary for growth. Anxiety counselors can push patients outside their comfort zones using a type of therapy called exposure therapy. Over time, a person can become desensitized to the object of their fear. Exposure therapy can lessen the hold that anxiety has on your life.
Contact an anxiety disorder treatment service for more information.
