hometherapies psychotherapyanxiety states

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Anxiety states are defined as a state of continual irrational anxiety and apprehension, sometimes flaring up into acute fear amounting to panic, accompanied by symptoms of autonomic and endocrine disturbance; with secondary effects on other mental functions such as concentration, attention, memory and judgement.

With anxiety states, the therapist should consider anxiety itself dominating the clients subjective mental state.

The physical symptoms of an anxiety state, being the outcome of the normal adrenergetic component of anxiety; may manifest as

• tachycardia
• restlessness
• loss of appetite
• insomnia
• sweating
• tremulousness
• loss of weight
• episodes of acute fear leading to panic

Acute and overwhelming fear may be accompanied by physical sensations of choking, suffocation, tremulousness, sweating and impending collapse, specific fears, phobias and phobic states can be regarded as a variety of anxiety states in general.

Anxiety states are often accompanied by hypochondriacal preoccupations, relating to the physiological symptoms of anxiety or the unbearable apprehension and sense of impending disaster.

Treatment of anxiety states would include:

• Interpretive psychotherapy with a back up of supportive psychotherapy is the first line of approach whatever additional measures adopted if deemed necessary. Behaviour therapy has shown to be useful for monosymptomatic phobias by using techniques of flooding, desensitisation, relaxation under light hypnosis, modelling.
• Symptomatic medicinal treatment, liasing with the clients G.P. who could prescribe Valium or Librium. The prompter the treatment the better to prevent further complications.

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