Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is an effective technique to reduce anxiety that involves decreasing tension throughout the body while calming thoughts of anxiety.
Anxiety
reduction techniques are learned skills that a person can use to help overcome anxiety and its associated mental and physical symptoms, such as tension, worry, and nervousness. These techniques include relaxation, visualization and imaging, diaphragmatic breathing, stress inoculation, and meditation. A great deal of research has accumulated on the efficacy and effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and phobia specific.The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of two of the most commonly used CBT methods for treating anxiety disorders (exposure and cognitive therapy) and to summarize and discuss current empirical research regarding the usefulness of these techniques for each anxiety disorder. In addition, we discuss the difficulties that arise when comparing active CBT treatments and suggest directions for future research. In general, CBT appears to be effective and effective in treating anxiety disorders, but dismantling studies are needed to determine which specific components of treatment lead to beneficial outcomes and which patients are most likely to benefit from these components of treatment. Over the years, a large number of diverse protocols have been created to provide CBT to patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GA), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD), specific phobias, and social anxiety disorder, as well as those with symptoms of nonspecific anxiety.
There is a wealth of information about these treatments and their use, and comprehensive books are dedicated to describing CBT-based therapies for each specific anxiety disorder. Therefore, a systematic review of CBT treatments for each anxiety disorder is beyond the scope of this article. However, despite the large number of diverse CBT protocols for treating anxiety disorders, there are important similarities between these various treatments that provide a basis for discussion. Treatment of GAD also involves a significant cognitive aspect, such as the use of cognitive techniques to reduce excessive worry.
For example, Craske and Barlow's GAD treatment manual teaches patients to learn to change thought patterns that lead to anxiety, challenge thoughts that overestimate risk, and identify and change catastrophic thinking. 26 Cognitive therapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of patients with GAD. The results of a meta-analysis suggested that cognitive-behavioral therapy showed better long-term results than relaxation applied in patients with GAD, 51. During systematic desensitization, also called graduated exposure therapy, levels of fear are raised, starting with the least fearful exposure. This approach also involves the use of relaxation techniques.
In general, relaxation techniques involve refocusing attention on something calming and increasing awareness of your body. It doesn't matter which relaxation technique you choose. What matters is that you try to practice relaxation regularly to reap its benefits. While in a state of deep relaxation, the hypnotherapist uses different therapeutic techniques to help you face your fears and see them in new ways.
Mindfulness techniques can be beneficial for patients with anxiety by helping to increase relaxation and eliminate negative or stressful judgments. Similarly, among children with anxiety disorders, responsiveness to CBT during childhood has been associated with reductions in anxiety during adulthood (Benjamin, Harrison, Settipani, Brodman, & Kendall, 201. This technique involves teaching a person to breathe sufficient amounts of air to help your blood is filled with oxygen and is properly purified. In general, after participating in these anxiety reduction techniques, many people report a greater sense of well-being and relaxation. Psychodynamic therapy, which has its roots in Freudian theory, involves building strong partnerships between therapist and patient in which patients can develop the psychological tools needed to deal with fears and anxieties.
Once a person begins to implement these anxiety reduction techniques effectively, he can discover an old or hidden psychological pain. Biofeedback uses sensors that measure specific physiological functions, such as heart rate, breathing, and muscle tension, to teach you how to recognize your body's anxiety response and learn to control it through relaxation techniques. Once you have relaxation techniques and a hierarchy of fears, you can gradually begin to expose yourself to your fears. As you learn relaxation techniques, you may become more aware of muscle tension and other physical sensations of stress.
In this anxiety reduction technique, a person is trained to focus his attention on one thing at a time. Once you know what the stress response feels like, you can make a conscious effort to practice a relaxation technique the moment you begin to feel symptoms of stress. In a randomized, controlled study of 488 children with anxiety disorders, CBT, both alone and in combination with antidepressant therapy, was associated with significant reductions in anxiety severity compared to an untreated comparison group (Walkup et al. As with many other skills, effectively reducing anxiety with these techniques requires patience and practice.
Cognitive techniques are routinely used in the treatment of social anxiety disorder to help the patient identify and change the cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety. . .
