TREATMENT FOR ANXIETY WITH DALLAS PSYCHIATRIST DR. SEHDEV
Everyone experiences moments of worry from time to time, but an anxiety disorder is different. Those with an anxiety disorder experience a chronic state of worry or episodic experiences of intense panic that interrupts their daily life.
When anxious, many patients experience both mental and physical symptoms. There may be feelings of worry or dread, and inability to shift thoughts away from concerns, irritability, and disaster thinking. They may have an elevated heart rate, difficulty breathing, sweating, and nausea – some of the many symptoms common in those who suffer from anxiety.
The intense combination of mental and physical symptoms of anxiety can leave you feeling as though you’re experiencing a loss of control, cause you to withdraw from your routine, and affect your quality of life. At Aware Behavioral Health, Dallas psychiatrist Dr. Sehdev is experienced in identifying and treating anxiety disorders to help his patients overcome their struggles with anxiety.
TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
There is more than one form of anxiety, and as a psychiatrist in Dallas that provides anxiety treatment services, Dr. Sehdev uses his experience to diagnose your anxiety as a way to guide treatment. Some of the types of anxiety include:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder – With generalized anxiety disorder, you may experience anxiety consistently or frequently without a specific trigger to bring on the symptoms.
- Panic Disorder – A panic attack involves intense, paralyzing panic with physical symptoms like chest pain, a racing heart, sweating or chills, dizziness, and numb extremities. A single attack can last for a few minutes, and recurring panic attacks can be debilitating.
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – After experiencing a traumatic event, certain triggers can bring back memories of the event and an intense stress response.
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – OCD typically presents as having obsessive thoughts characterized by anxiety until a compulsion is acted upon that temporarily relieves the worry.
- Social Anxiety – Social anxiety, sometimes called social phobia, is an intense anxiety around other people that can be limiting personally and professionally.
- Phobias – Phobias are a debilitating fear of a particular object or situation. If the target of your phobia is something often encountered, an untreated phobia can force you to change your lifestyle around it.
Many types of anxiety are self sustaining. Your worry about a potential episode or loss of control due to anxiety fuels more anxiety, resulting in a cycle that can be impossible to break from without outside help. It is not unusual to suffer from a combination of multiple anxiety disorders as well, leaving you with little relief from the mental and physical symptoms.
HOW WE TREAT ANXIETY DISORDERS AT AWARE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
All types of anxiety disorders generally respond well to treatment. At Aware Behavioral Health, we can often reduce and make it possible to fully manage the symptoms of anxiety so that you can regain the control anxiety takes away.
We begin with a diagnosis, especially if this is the first time you are seeing a psychiatrist since experiencing your current symptoms of anxiety. The type of anxiety disorder you are experiencing and the unique way you experience it informs Dr. Sehdev’s treatment plan.
Medically assisted treatment, often called MAT, is effective in reducing the symptoms of various anxiety disorders. When choosing what we believe will be most effective, Dr. Sehdev consults your medical history, mental health experiences, and any additional health concerns. Depending on your needs and symptoms, anxiety disorders can be most often treated with:
- Antidepressants – Commonly prescribed for depression, antidepressants are also approved and highly regarded for anxiety use. They address anxiety by changing the neurotransmitters in the brain that cause symptoms.
- Benzodiazepines – These are sedatives that maximize the effects of neurotransmitters and help to calm frantic thoughts and relax the body.
- Buspirone – Buspirone is another medication that affects neurotransmitters to reduce symptoms, both physical and mental, of anxiety.
- Beta-Blockers – This medication blocks adrenaline, which reduces heartbeat and lowers blood pressure to combat the physical symptoms of an anxiety episode.
These medications often take effect within days or weeks after you begin taking them. Once we have managed the symptoms in the short term, Dr. Sehdev works with you to address the long term management of your anxiety. This can include a combination of medication and talk therapy.
Treatment for anxiety may also incorporate various psychotherapy modalities to determine any underlying experience, thought processes, and emotions that contribute to the anxiety disorder. Understanding the reasons behind anxiety often makes it possible to alter thoughts or behaviors and potentially limit both anxiety triggers and symptoms.
WHY SEEK HELP WITH ANXIETY FROM DR. SEHDEV
Anxiety can be a temporary or lifelong condition. It often requires intervention to break the mental patterns behind your anxiety. Psychiatric treatment for anxiety disorders can help you face and overcome the challenges that anxiety holds you back from while making you feel more in control.
When working with Dr. Sehdev, you can be certain that you are in a judgment-free environment with a psychiatrist that puts your mental well-being first. Dr. Sehdev supports you by ensuring that you feel heard and understood. He also helps you understand the causes and effects of the anxiety you are experiencing and creates a treatment plan that is adapted to you.
Aware Behavioral Health is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with easy access to Grapevine, Southlake, and Bedford. For added convenience, Dr. Sehdev can meet with patients through telepsychiatry appointments to provide treatment for anxiety from the comfort of your home. Call today to set up an appointment.