Orange County Anxiety Treatment

MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychological disorders in the United States. About 31 percent of the population will experience this mental health issue at some point in their life. Anxiety tends to give a false perception that there is no hope for treatment. The good news is anxiety treatment does exist, with the best prognosis out of any psychological disorder.

At SoCal Empowered, our knowledgeable care team specializes in diagnosing and treating mental health issues such as anxiety disorders. We are pleased to offer care for those struggling with this mental health disorder. It is our philosophy to welcome all treatment approaches that successfully achieve long-term recovery.

Located in Orange County, Lake Forest is an ideal area to receive anxiety treatment. Our mental health clinic provides a structured environment licensed under rules set forth by The California Department of Social Services (DSS). Contact us today to learn more about Anxiety Treatment in Orange County, CA.

What is Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety is a mental health disorder that brings feelings of worry, anxiety, or fear, which significantly affects an individual’s daily activities. It is normal to experience some emotions of anxiety, worry, and nervousness. However, when these feelings impair your work, school, and personal life, it then becomes problematic.

An individual suffering from anxiety usually portrays unrealistic fears that are blown out of proportion from the actual circumstance. Sufferers anticipate failure and disaster in everything they do. Often, individuals who suffer from anxiety have a hard time identifying the causes of the disorder.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Listed below are some of the most common forms of anxiety disorders.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

GAD can be characterized by excessive worrying and long-lasting anxiety, over normal or unthreatening events and objects. Often, an individual who suffers from this disorder will experience fear at a petrifying level. They are continuously worrying about their health, money, family, school, or job, and are unable to find healthy coping mechanisms.

Panic Disorder

People who suffer from panic disorder experience panic attacks. These attacks are when the individual experiences a period of intense fear, which can occur unexpectedly or by a trigger. It is common for the sufferer to worry about when the next attack will arise and try to prevent it from happening. The time and effort spent worrying about these attacks cause significant problems to the individual’s life, such as developing agoraphobia.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD arises when an individual has been exposed to a traumatic event and experiences severe anxiety attacks and/or flashbacks. However, they usually become triggered by a non-threatening event.

Social Anxiety Disorder

An individual with social anxiety disorder has a severe fear of social situations. They fear rejection, being judged, and embarrassing themselves. Their sensitivity to others opinions is so exaggerated that they are unable to enjoy social events. This anxiety disorder is apparent in many places, such as a workplace or school environment.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Individuals who suffer from OCD experience uncontrollable compulsions that drive ritualistic, repetitive, and highly disruptive behaviors.

Agoraphobia

An individual suffering from agoraphobia has a fear of open spaces. They are scared of any unpredictable environment which often keeps the sufferers housebound. Agoraphobia is an intense fear of two or more of the following situations:

Public transportation
Open spaces
Enclosed spaces
Standing in line or being in a crowd
Being outside of the home alone

Specific Phobias

When a person has an extreme fear of a specific object or situation. A few examples of common phobias are flying, driving, spiders, heights, and enclosed spaces.

Who Can Suffer From Anxiety?

Both men and women can suffer from different types of anxiety disorder, ranging from mild to severe. However, anxiety is more common among women. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 23.4 percent of women and 14.3 percent of men experienced an anxiety disorder in the past year.

Amongst adolescents, depression is the most common mental health disorder, with anxiety affecting more teens. One in four adolescents will experience symptoms persistent with an anxiety disorder. Teens who experience this mental health disorder may turn to drugs and alcohol to numb emotional pain. Due to this, it is crucial to seek anxiety treatment as early as possible.

Anxiety Treatment and Therapies

There are different techniques used to treat anxiety disorders and vary depending on each person’s individual needs. Typically, anxiety treatment consists of medication, psychotherapy, and sometimes both. Medication can be prescribed to help ease anxiety symptoms and is not a cure for an anxiety disorder. A doctor may prescribe an anti-anxiety medication, antidepressant, or a beta-blocker.

The most commonly prescribed anti-anxiety medications are benzodiazepines. They work more quickly than antidepressants in relieving anxiety. One drawback of benzodiazepines is that a person’s body can become dependent on them. Meaning, once an individual stops using them, they may experience side effects such as withdrawal symptoms.

Beta-blockers are usually used to treat high blood pressure but can also help relieve the physical symptoms of anxiety. They do not affect the psychological parts of anxiety, such as worry and fear. Some physical symptoms of anxiety that can be relieved using beta-blockers include rapid heartbeat, shaking, trembling and blushing.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)

One type of psychotherapy technique used for anxiety treatment is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). This relaxing technique enables the person to identify and change their thoughts and behaviors that contribute to their anxiety. CBT teaches the person anxiety management strategies and develops greater confidence in one’s ability to cope.

Exposure therapy is a form of CBT that can reduce the person’s response of fear and anxiety. During exposure therapy, the person is exposed to their feared object or situation in a gradual process. Eventually, hoping that the repeated exposure reduces their fear and decreases avoidance.

Get Help At Our Anxiety Treatment Center in Orange County

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ORANGE COUNTY, CA

If you or a loved one is battling an anxiety disorder, SoCal Empowered is here to help. We provide individualized treatment plans to replace negative thoughts associated with this disorder with healthy coping techniques and medication. Give us a call today so that our professional care team can help you overcome your anxiety disorder and achieve recovery.