Francie And The Roots Of Anxiety: A Case Study

Anxiety can affect anyone at any age, at any time, as a consequence “In the United States approximately, 1.5 million percent of the population suffers from anxiety attacks or anxiety symptoms” (McCorkindale). Anxiety is considered a mental illness, which consists of a feeling of worry that some cannot control therefore a type of treatment should be provided right away. It is difficult for patients suffering from anxiety to reduce it if they don’t look for a solution or help to their specific type of anxiety. There are a few effective ways to control anxiety or even cure it, such as medication. In the other hand any type of treatment can help, and for many anxiety problems “therapy is a good place to start” (Smith). Therapy has proven to be very effective overall treatments available and should be the first choice for all patients.

CBT has a number of strengths; first beginning with its capacity to yield empirical results as to its effectiveness. Countless studies have shown CBT to be the most effective treatment for anxiety and depression (e.g., Oei & McAlinden, 2014; Tolin, 2010); this is likely the result of a number of factors. CBT is a collaborative, educational, time-limited model that demystifies the therapy process; changes are made with clients, not to clients, the strategies learned equip clients to better navigate current and future difficulties, and the setting of goals allows clients to clearly see their progress (Corey, 2013; Skinner & Wrycraft, 2014). An additional strength of CBT for anxiety and depression is its applicability to both individuals and groups; group CBT has a number of auxiliary benefits including, vicarious learning, a sense of cohesiveness that can increase motivation, social interaction and the opportunity to help others (Oei & McAlinden, 2014).

But with every medication comes side effects, and the effects include sexual problems, weight gain, and insomnia (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2011). One such study found that adolescents who received a combination treatment, that is with cognitive behavioral therapy and drugs, was the most successful. Randomized patients were to receive sertraline, CBT, sertraline and CBT, or placebo for 12 weeks (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 2009). It was concluded that 81% of the patients that underwent the combination therapy were able to greatly reduce their symptoms (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 2009). It has been shown that CBT in schools can greatly reduce childhood anxiety attacks. Sixty-one children, aged 7 to 11 years, were randomized to receive group CBT for children, group CBT for children plus parent training, or no treatment for 9 weeks. After a 12-month follow-up period, those who received CBT had significantly less anxiety severity than those in the control group. The authors noted that treatment effects of CBT can be maintained for a 12-month period in children who have anxiety (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 2009).

Social anxiety is a prevalent and common disorder amongst society. Social anxiety disorder is expressed as a fear in public and social situations for an individual (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). A person with social anxiety fears that a social appearance, outcome, or situation will lead a to negative response to their surrounding audience (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). However there are numerous treatments for social anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most efficacious treatments that a patient may receive (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. Cognitive behavioral therapy has numerous techniques that can be used on patients. The result of using cognitive

Meditative breathing is effective in treating anxiety for several reasons. First, meditative breathing reduced the person's heart rate and therefore has a positive effect on the physiological symptoms of anxiety. Second, meditative breathing is convenient and practical in that it can be performed in any location and takes little time to complete. Third, initial results are immediate- producing an instant calm when performed. Lastly, it can be combined with other treatment modalities (Vukovic, 2003).

The purpose of this paper is to examine different ways of using CBT in treating anxiety disorder. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most used approach in treating anxiety and depression. There are different styles of CBT that are used to treat different subtypes of anxieties. However, the main focus of this paper will be about incorporating different intervention programs to CBT to treat Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Many changes happen in the body when a person becomes anxious. One of the first changes is that the individual experiences an increased breathing rate. Breathing rapidly throws off the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body thereby, triggering additional physical anxiety symptoms such as dizziness, a feeling of suffocation, increased heart rate, and muscle tension. Learning to slow down breathing can help bring physical symptoms of anxiety back under control. In addition to

Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT) is an empirically supported treatment for a variety of disorder diagnoses. Although pharmacological treatments are the most widely used method of treatment in anxiety disorders in America, research has found that even though patients respond sufficiently to medication treatment initially some are unable

A couple of researchers at the Anxiety Disorders Research Center in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) examined weaknesses of CBT (Craske et al., 2014). Although CBT has been known for the most effective treatment for social phobia, not all patients show improvements after the treatment. Patients easily drop out during, or at the early stage of the treatment. Even patients who successfully finished the entire session tend to have a hard time continuing to use methods they learned and to maintain low level of anxiety, so the likelihood of reoccurrence exists. Therefore, alternative ways to solve these weaknesses are needed in order to develop the treatment itself and to provide the most matchable treatment method for each patient, according to the article by Craske et al. (2014).

Many patients’ who present stressed and anxious often have a fast respiratory rate and often after a while their breathing becomes compromised. By guiding the patient through a deep breathing exercise there can present a better outcome. Deep breathing can soothe and ease anxiety along with pain and stress. It can also help to deviate the patients’ mind to different, less stressful thoughts and times (Selimen, 2011). One of the many reaction’s the body has to stress and anxiety is muscle tension. Tension can lead to aches and pains in the muscles and can lead to more problems that can be prevented. Muscle relaxation is easy to learn and can be particularly helpful in cases when an anxious patient needs to release some tension or stress (Selimen, 2011). These techniques can help a patient to relieve anxiety and guide them on the road to health and

#*CBT is an intensive therapeutic approach that helps isolate thought patterns that contribute to anxiety. Over the course of therapy, you may learn to identify unhelpful thought patterns and learn techniques to change them.

The use of breathing techniques to control anxiety is nothing new, but the addition of a device showing how that breath work affects heart rate is. Physical and mental relaxation are proven results through the use of HRV biofeedback. HRV biofeedback devices allow the user to control the sympathetic nervous system response of fight or flight during an anxiety event resulting in a relaxed and present minded patient (Prinsloo et al.,

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is based on the idea that how we think and act both affect how we feel. Therefore, by changing thinking that is distorted, and behavior that is dysfunctional, we can change our emotions. Main CBT treatment strategies for childhood anxiety disorders include: psychoeducation, exposure, contingency management, affective education, relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, parental involvement, and relapse prevention (Ginsburg & Kingery,

Anxiety is not a choice, not a cry for help from teen girls looking for attention, anxiety

Hanna was referred by her GP, because she has been experiencing some anxiety difficulties. Client reports that she began to have anxiety five or six years ago. Reportedly, she recently moved out of her parents’ home and this may have caused the anxiety to escalate. This is the first time client has moved away from her parents.