Are You Experiencing Anxiety Or Depression? 4 Tips To Seek Help And Treatment

If you’re experiencing anxiety or depression, it’s best to seek professional help and treatment. While these mental health issues can manifest differently in each person, managing or treating them is possible. Even if they feel out of control, there are still effective ways to manage them. 

Here are some tips to help you when you’re feeling anxious or depressed: 

1. Try Light Therapy

Phototherapy or light therapy can improve the quality of your sleep by using artificial light sources. You can use light therapy for SAD or seasonal affective disorder. Some people suffer from this kind of melancholy during the winter months when there’s less daylight, but it can strike any time of the year. 

Here are some reasons why light therapy is recommended for other types of depression and sleep disorders:

• It can increase alertness.
• It contributes to consistent and stable sleep patterns.
• It can regulate the mood by balancing the brain’s serotonin circuitry.
• It can synchronize the circadian rhythm or the brain’s 24-hour cycle with your body’s biological clock.

Significantly, the effectiveness of this treatment will depend on your circadian rhythm patterns, duration of use, and the light’s wavelength. On the other hand, circadian rhythms can affect your eating habits, sleep schedules, and hormones, which may impact your mental well-being. 

2. Go To Counseling

Psychological counseling is another effective way to seek help with anxiety or depression. One of the most popular counseling methods is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This treatment can allow you to identify and change troublesome feelings and harmful thought patterns. 

Cognitive behavioral therapy practitioners also hope to change how you react to situations or objects that trigger anxiety or depression. For instance, a psychotherapist will try to let you understand that panic attacks aren’t heart attacks. 

This CBT approach is best for individuals experiencing panic disorders. Alternatively, a CBT practitioner can help you become less reactive to things that may trigger your anxiety. 

3. Take Medication

If your anxiety or depression is too challenging to handle, you can consider taking medication. This means you’ll take pharmacological drugs prescribed by your psychologist or doctor to treat your depression or anxiety disorders. However, it would be best to understand the pros and cons of each medicine they prescribe so you can decide what medication is right for you. 

Here are some drugs that may help treat anxiety or depression: 

• Buspirone (Buspar)

It may be best to take this if you have chronic anxiety, but you must wait a few weeks to see its effect. 

• Anticonvulsants

These can alleviate specific anxiety disorder symptoms, although they’re for epilepsy. 

• Beta-Blockers

These drugs may help alleviate physical symptoms of anxiety, such as shaking, trembling, or racing heart. They’re a type of medication for high blood pressure that can help you relax during episodes of anxiety.

• Benzodiazepines

Klonopin or clonazepam and Xanax or alprazolam are some of these medicines that may help manage anxiety. Doctors don’t recommend you take them for a long time. However, some recommend them as an add-on to your anxiety disorder treatment, especially if you have persistent anxiety or depression. 

• Antidepressants

Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most common drugs your doctor may prescribe for major depressive disorder. 

They may not have a significant difference, but SSRI and SNRI may take a few weeks before you can see their results. Effexor or venlafaxine and Cymbalta or duloxetine are SNRIs, while Prozac or fluoxetine and Lexapro or escitalopram are SSRIs. 

• Other Antidepressants

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclic are some of these drugs. However, they inhibit unpleasant side effects like urinary retention, blurry vision, dry mouth, and drops in blood pressure. As a result, they’re less commonly used.

4. Consider Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is when you face objects or situations you fear. Your anxiety may diminish since you can increase your control over the situation. Therefore, your therapist may recommend repeated exposure. 

Although you can undergo this therapy as is, you can also use it in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy. Significantly, your therapist will suggest you confront the scary situation or object in real life or imagine them until you have control over them. 

Conclusion

Treating anxiety or depression takes time. However, with regular treatment, you may be able to get over them. This is vital so you can avoid the impact of such mental health issues on your memory function. In addition, it’s best to ask for professional help when you suspect you may be experiencing anxiety or depression.