Interventions to Manage Anxiety Part 1: How do we treat anxiety?

The treatment of anxiety stems from the lens in which we look at it. If we define anxiety as the core problem, then our treatment will focus on removing the expressions of anxiety that we experience.

An alternative way to view anxiety is as a symptom to the core problem. Organic anxiety is a natural way for the body to signal that there is something is wrong. This in and of itself is a healthy response to perceived stressor.

Often, things pile up in our lives or we experience difficult circumstances, and our nervous system goes into overdrive. This can result in anxiousness seeping out where it does not belong, such as keeping us up at night, spinning scenarios over in our mind, panic attacks, anticipatory fears, etc.

When anxiety is viewed as a symptom, treatment is then organized into two categories. 

• First, we need strategies to help us physiologically calm. 
• Second, we need to identify and clean up the root causes of the anxiousness.  

Our end goal is to build our psychological resource kit to navigate life and to restore the organic anxious response back to its biological purpose.

Stay Tuned for Interventions to Manage Anxiety Part 2: What We Need to Get Started