Treatment For Anxiety
Once you are in the cycle of anxiety, you may begin to avoid people, situations, or things that increase your anxious feelings. This avoidance of anxiety can be subtle at first, as it may initially serve to reduce your anxiety levels in the short term. Over time, however, avoidance of anxiety reinforces the underlying fears that cause anxiety in the first place, perpetuating the cycle of anxiety.
Exposure therapy is one of the most effective therapies to reduce anxiety. Exposure therapy is a behavioral intervention often used as a component of CBT, where people are taught to slowly confront their fears in a safe environment.
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The first step towards facing your anxiety is to learn about how anxiety works and gain skills for coping with the symptoms through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
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Many people are not ready for exposure therapy and benefit from individual therapy to explore the underlying fears contributing to their unique cycle of anxiety. For instance, some conditions respond effectively to CBT, Inference-based CBT, or DBT, which are other evidence-based treatments for anxiety.
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When you are ready, and if it is appropriate for your situation, gentle exposure practice combined with psychotherapy, can help you face your fears, embrace uncertainty, and interrupt the cycle of anxiety.
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Participation in group therapy can create more opportunities for exposure practice and speed up treatment. When you start challenging your fears and learning new ways to think about your anxiety, many begin to feel relief right away.
What Is Exposure and Response Prevention or ERP?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD is an anxiety disorder where an individual experiences repetitive and intrusive thoughts or fears (obsessions) and urges to carry out certain repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions).
Exposure and response prevention or ERP is a type of exposure therapy designed to target OCD by facing the unique fear and interrupting the "response," or in other words, stopping the corresponding compulsive behavior, or associated mental act.
Exposure and Response Prevention or ERP is considered the gold-standard therapy for OCD.
What if I am not ready for ERP? Or, I was not able to get relief the last time I tried it for my OCD?
Almost half of those with OCD have difficulties with ERP. Sometimes it helps to try again with more preparation, more support, and by incorporating more practice into your day. However, ERP is not for everyone. There is a new evidenced-based treatment for OCD that incorporates a focus on the faulty reasoning and doubt that occurs in OCD.
To learn more:
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