Crisis Intervention for Anxiety

By Stephen Daniels

Anxiety is a common reaction to stress. When stress levels become too high to handle day to day well, anxiety can reach a level that could interfere with daily life. This is particularly true now, in the current economy, when financial worries are affecting so many homes.

Difficulties in paying the bills, concerns about job security, and the risk of foreclosure all put people at risk for anxiety. Worries about other personal problems can also add to underlying issues.

Symptoms of anxiety can be emotional, mental and even physical, or a combination of all three. Sufferers often describe feeling trapped or overwhelmed. You may feel afraid without understanding why, or be concerned about losing control of day to day events. Big mood swings and bouts of sadness are common, as is a feeling of unreality. Anxiety can interfere with normal thought processes and short-term memory, which makes it even harder to handle immediate concerns.

Anxiety can cause physical symptoms, including dizziness, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and even difficulty breathing. Some people report headaches or a ringing in the ears, and some have an increase in allergy symptoms. It is also common to have bad dreams, or trouble sleeping.

When emotional and physical symptoms occur together, some people find it hard to cope on a daily basis. It can become overwhelming to make everyday decisions. You may feel trapped, unable to see your way out of your predicament. These are signals that it is time to seek help.

A crisis intervention approach is one method to help deal with the many symptoms and issues of anxiety. Crisis intervention looks at the problem head-on, not as a bunch of separate issues. Discussing your concerns with an experienced counselor gives you a opportunity to examine your situation in a supportive and constructive environment. This should help break what feels like a never ending cycle of worry and fear, and allows you to begin the healing process.

While anxiety can be caused by situations in your daily environment, it is sometimes not enough to address those issues. Often our past plays a role. It is important to examine the underlying factors that helped to create your anxiety. Emotional associations from the past, ways of dealing with problems, even basic attitudes toward life can be involved. Becoming aware of these factors and learning to work with them is one of the keys to recovery.

Anxiety can be treated in many ways. It is important to find a method, or combination of methods that work for you. Complex problems need a variety of solutions. A holistic approach is often most effective.

Holistic therapy looks at the entire person. All the dimensions of life are considered, whether social, spiritual or emotional. The primary focus is on achieving a balance for life improvement, not simply getting rid of the symptoms. Your mental and emotional well-being is influenced by all the factors in your life.

Holistic therapy can help you to understand and find more effective ways to manage your life. Learning to find a balance and use your inner strength will result in the inner stability you need to endure unstable periods. Sometimes it takes a strong want to change your life, and the help of the right counselor, but there is hope for a future free of anxiety. - 30415

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