Potential Anxiety Treatments
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT has been shown to be a useful and effective method for treating anxiety disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive- compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorders, phobias, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Because of its proven efficacy, the therapy option is one of the most commonly utilized forms of therapy for anxiety.
CBT is a form of psychotherapy that is based on core psychological principles like the ideas that psychological concerns can be traced back to unhealthy thoughts and behaviors, and that people who suffer with mental health issues can develop effective coping mechanisms that reduce their symptoms significantly. The therapy involves discussions with a therapist to discover the thoughts, ideas, and behaviors that are causing their concerns and ways they can change these thoughts, ideas, and behaviors to work for them rather than against them.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy that is use to effectively treat certain anxiety disorders, like post- traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, and specific phobias. This form of therapy was formed to help people experiencing deep fears that are impacting their quality of life.
Many people who experience fear and phobia related anxiety can have a tendency to avoid their fears, rather than face them. While this may keep them comfortable in the short-term, it certainly will not help the person overcome their fear and anxiety.
In exposure therapy, you therapist will find a strategy of exposure that will be helpful to you, with some methods including directly facing one’s fear, virtually facing one’s fear, imagining facing one’s fear, and bringing on physical sensations that are related to the person’s fear.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
DBT, while originally intended to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD), has developed into an effective treatment for a wide variety of mental health conditions, including anxiety. DBT is based on the idea that one can find healing from their mental health disorder by learning to accept your anxiety as you work to change it around. This form of therapy uses mental health tools like mindfulness, building resilience, learning how to set effective boundaries, and emotional regulation.
Additional Coping for the ACB Individual
People who experience anxiety because of racism may find an outlet in a supportive community. A support network can prove invaluable. Connect with people who understand the intersection of race and anxiety, and treat anxiety as a serious challenge.
When we experience emotional reactions in the face of racism, we can deliberately practice being compassionate with ourselves and recognizing that the anxiety, anger, sadness, etc. that we feel is an understandable reaction during and in the wake of these painful experiences.
Emotions provide us with important information and help us adapt to the life challenges that racism may cause. However, cultural and societal norms often tell us that feeling anxiety, sadness, or anger are signs of weakness or evidence of having lack of self-control.
Black individuals who experience racism and emotional reactions to racism, are often told that they are “overreacting” or “hypersensitive” which perpetuates the self-perception of emotion as weakness or as being out of control. Specifically, when we experience emotional reactions in the face of racism, we can deliberately practice being compassionate with ourselves and recognizing that the anxiety, anger, sadness, etc. that arises is an understandable reaction during and in the wake of these painful experiences. Self-compassion is described as the appreciation of our emotional responses to racism as being understandable, natural, and part of our human experience.
For example, in the face of a racist experience, a Black woman can acknowledge that she is angry and appreciate that this anger is a natural and understandable response to an unjust situation rather than viewing her emotional response as being unreasonable or something to “get over”.
Medication
While some people are able to find relief from their anxiety through therapy alone, others may need medications to help them find healing. The medications a person experiencing anxiety may be prescribed include:
- Benzodiazepines: these are sedatives with relaxing effects that can help relieve certain symptoms of anxiety
- Buspirone: this medication is thought to have an impact on the chemicals in the brain that affect mood
- Antidepressants: anxiety and depression can, at times, go hand in hand. This is why some people may need antidepressants to find anxiety relief.