Podcast 21: Mental Health: Treating Anxiety
Anxiety is a very common psychological state. In this podcast, Drs. Berney and Richard start by differentiating the terms worry, stress, and anxiety. They then move in to talk about how anxiety is treated and why it is important to seek support from a professional when struggling with uncontrolled worries.
The treatment of Anxiety is a three pronged approach. First we must “Stop the Panic.” This first component helps relieve acute anxiety responses so that we can function and make better decisions. The second prong is to restore serotonin levels in the body. As Dr. Berney and Dr. Richard explain, serotonin is depleted when we are under long term stress and anxiety. The purpose of this component is to boost serotonin so that you can better regulate your mood and response to environmental stimuli. The final component is therapy to reduce anticipatory anxiety. Anticipation is a major part of anxiety. All of the “what ifs” result in a tendency to catastrophize. Therapy can help minimize the impact of these automatic thoughts and reorient you to a healthier way of thinking.
This podcast was edited by Mr. Andrew Rasmussen.
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