Anxiety

When treating mental health conditions, a comprehensive treatment plan often combines therapy and medication management to create a well-rounded approach. This combination helps reduce symptoms, manage medications effectively, and achieve long-term improvements in mental health. Let’s explore how medication management can enhance therapy and lead to improved patient outcomes.

What Is Medication Management?

Medication management involves working with a healthcare provider to monitor a patient’s medication regimen, ensuring medications are taken as prescribed, while managing potential side effects and adverse drug reactions. Providers carefully consider the patient’s medical history and other factors to reduce drug interactions and maximize treatment effectiveness.

The Role of Therapy

Therapy helps individuals address negative thoughts, develop coping skills, and build emotional resilience. However, therapy alone may not be enough for some individuals. In cases of severe symptoms, medication can provide the balance needed to allow therapy to be more effective.

How Medication Management Enhances Therapy

1. Reduces Symptoms for Greater Focus Medications help alleviate symptoms such as anxiety or depression, allowing patients to engage fully in therapy. This reduction in symptoms supports a more productive therapeutic process where individuals can focus on developing long-term strategies for emotional well-being.

2. Minimizes Side Effects and Enhances Adherence One of the challenges of psychiatric medications is managing side effects. Through medication management, healthcare providers adjust the dosage or medication type to ensure patients can tolerate and adhere to their treatment plan.

3. Improves Communication Between Patient and Provider Regular follow-ups as part of medication management promote improved communication between patients and their providers. These check-ins allow for timely adjustments to medications and encourage patients to discuss concerns openly, ensuring their needs are met.

4. Supports Comprehensive and Long-Term Care Therapy and medication together create a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses immediate symptoms and builds a foundation for long-term recovery. Medications stabilize mood and alleviate distress, while therapy equips individuals with the coping skills they need to maintain progress.

The Benefits of a Collaborative Approach

The combination of therapy and medication management offers a powerful approach to treating mental health conditions. By addressing both the physiological and emotional aspects of mental health, this method helps reduce adverse drug reactions, mitigate drug interactions, and foster a healthier, more balanced life.

Is Medication Management Right for You?

If you’re managing a mental health condition, combining therapy with medication management may be the treatment option you need. At Dayspring Behavioral Health, our providers work closely with patients to design personalized plans that consider their unique medical history, goals, and long-term wellness.

By reducing symptoms, managing medications effectively, and fostering improved patient outcomes, this collaborative approach can make a significant difference in your mental health journey. Contact Dayspring Behavioral Health today to learn more about how we can help you achieve a brighter future.

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health conditions in adults, encompassing various types such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Effective treatment often involves a combination of therapy and medication management tailored to the specific type of anxiety and individual needs.

Understanding Anxiety Disorders

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Characterized by persistent and excessive worry about various aspects of daily life.
• Social Anxiety Disorder: Involves intense fear of social situations where one might be judged or scrutinized.
• Panic Disorder: Defined by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and ongoing concern about experiencing more attacks.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Features unwanted, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) performed to alleviate anxiety.

Medication Options for Treating Anxiety

1. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): Often considered first-line treatments for various anxiety disorders, including GAD, social anxiety disorder, and OCD. SSRIs work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain, which can help improve mood and reduce anxiety. Common SSRIs include sertraline, fluoxetine, and escitalopram.
2. Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs): These medications increase both serotonin and norepinephrine levels and are effective in treating anxiety and depression. Examples include venlafaxine and duloxetine.
3. Beta-Blockers: Primarily used to manage physical symptoms of anxiety, such as rapid heartbeat and trembling, especially in performance or situational anxiety. They are not typically used as a first-line treatment for generalized anxiety disorders.
4. Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs): These can increase the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain, improving mood. Though they can cause significant side effects, tricyclic antidepressants can be used longer than benzodiazepines.

Considerations in Medication Management

• Side Effects: Each medication class has potential side effects. For instance, SSRIs may cause nausea, insomnia, or sexual dysfunction, while benzodiazepines can lead to drowsiness and, with prolonged use, dependence. It’s crucial to discuss potential side effects with a healthcare provider to make informed decisions.
• Individual Response: Not all individuals respond similarly to medications. Factors such as genetics, other health conditions, and concurrent medications can influence effectiveness and tolerability.
• Duration of Treatment: While some medications provide rapid relief, others may take several weeks to exhibit full effects. Long-term use considerations, especially concerning dependence and withdrawal, should be part of the treatment planning process.

Integrating Medication with Therapy

Combining medication with psychotherapy, particularly cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), often yields the most effective results. CBT helps individuals understand and modify thought patterns contributing to anxiety, while medication can alleviate the physiological symptoms, creating a synergistic effect that enhances overall treatment outcomes.

Seeking Professional Guidance

It’s essential to consult with a qualified healthcare provider to determine the most appropriate treatment plan. At Dayspring Behavioral Health, our team offers personalized medication management services, working closely with individuals to assess symptoms, monitor medication effectiveness, and make necessary adjustments to ensure optimal results.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 40 million adults over the age of 18 suffer from an anxiety disorder. If you are one of them, you know how difficult your life can feel most days.

When anxiety strikes, the world around us can become a sort of funhouse, only not that much fun. It’s important to be able to self-soothe in these instances. But how can you calm an anxiety attack subtly when you’re out in public?

Breath Work

As soon as you feel the anxiety coming on, focus intently on your breathing and nothing else. Begin to take slow… deep breaths. Inhale for a slow count of three… hold for a count of three… and exhale for a count of three. Slow deep breaths send a signal to our body that we are not under attack and everything is okay.

Talk to Yourself

In your mind, remind yourself that you are having an experience but that you are NOT that experience. While you feel that something is wrong, remind yourself that you are actually safe and all is well.

Visualize

Think of something that calms you. This may be your childhood bedroom or your grandparent’s home. It could be your favorite beach or your own bathtub. Simply put yourself IN that space. Use your full imagination to feel yourself there and allow the calm to settle over you.

Practice Listening Meditation

If you’ve never tried listening meditation, I highly recommend it for everyone. But it can be especially beneficial when you are feeling anxious, and here’s why. Listening requires you to stop thinking. Try it now. Stop reading and instead listen to all of the ambient sounds there in the room with you, outside the door and window.

What do you hear?

Let your sense of hearing grow and grow, picking up more subtle sounds. The buzz of the lights overhead… the noise of the ice maker… a bee at the window… your dog’s collar down the hall…

It’s actually a very fun exercise to do. And in order to REALLY GIVE SOUND YOUR FULL ATTENTION, you can’t think while listening. It’s a bit like trying to juggle while standing on your hands, it simply cannot be done.

Much of our anxiety comes from our anxious thoughts. It’s our reptilian brain trying to keep us alive by alerting us to all of the dangers around us. But when we meditate, this mind chatter goes away.

When an anxiety attack comes on, life can feel unbearable. The next time this happens to you in public, try one or more of these techniques.

And if you’d like to speak with someone about your anxiety, please get in touch. I’d be happy to explore treatment options.

They say you can wake up on the wrong side of the bed. But many days it feels like you woke up on the wrong side of calm. And who can blame you? Life seems to have gotten more complicated, stressful and chaotic, making it more difficult to feel peaceful and calm.

But there are things you can do each day to get yourself on the right side of calm. Here are 3 of them:

1. Breathe Deeply

Many people are shallow breathers, meaning they take small, short breaths. But did you know shallow breathing is actually part of the “fight or flight” response?  It’s an evolutionary adaptation designed to keep us safe from danger, like that angry sabretooth tiger chasing us. When faced with danger, our heartbeat speeds up and we breathe faster in order to get more oxygen for fighting or fleeing.

Our bodies don’t recognize real danger (that tiger) from modern day danger (that stack of bills). And so we spend most days breathing like our life depends on it.

One of the quickest ways to calm yourself is to slow down your breathing. Many people scoff at the idea that breathing deeply and slowly will do much of anything. Those that try it know deep breaths have an incredible calming affect.

2. Get Familiar with Your Acupressure Points

There are key acupressure points located on your hands, face, and head. These points are near bundles of nerves that, when massaged or tapped, can help relax your entire nervous system.  This is why we instinctively rub our forehead and temples when we’re feeling stressed. You can subtly apply pressure to the meaty part of the hand between the thumb and forefinger when in a stressful meeting, at the airport, or any public setting when you need to calm down but don’t want to call much attention to yourself.

3. Focus on the Positive Things in Your Life

Every night before you fall asleep, think about three things that happened that day you are grateful for. They can be small, like that parking spot in front of the always-busy post office you got this morning, or big, like your son’s ankle was sprained not broken.

Feeling happy and grateful will naturally calm you down and give you a different perspective on things. And, doing this exercise night after night will train your brain to be more positive.

Have you tried these tips in the past but are still dealing with persistent anxiety and worry? Therapy can help you uncover the root cause of your anxiety and provide tools for coping.

If you or a loved one is interested in exploring treatment, please contact me today. I would be happy to speak with you about how I may be able to help.