support group
The goal of therapy is to help you find methods, strategies, and solutions that help you deal with and overcome the symptoms of your anxiety. For many people, individual therapy can be an excellent setting for this. One option that you may also wish to consider, however, is attending group therapy. There are many different types of therapy that can involve people besides just you and your therapist, and you may find that they can offer you better chances of improvement, especially if combined with individual therapy.
It is important to note that individual therapy is best for cognitive behavioral therapy skills, exposure therapy, and many of the other personal aspects of your treatment. This is an essential part of alleviating and eliminating the symptoms of anxiety. For some patients, however, adding in group therapy, couples or family counseling, or even a support group can offer added benefit that may help improve the long term chances of recovery.
A Look at Group Therapy
Group therapy can be very beneficial for people who experience anxiety or panic disorders. This form of therapy allows you to share your thoughts and feelings with a group of people who all share experiences and symptoms that are similar to yours. While this form of therapy can be intimidating, especially for people with social anxiety, it can also be incredibly helpful.
Entering into crowds or social environments can be very hard for people with anxiety, especially social anxiety. With group therapy, however, you can feel confident that everyone in the room understands your fear and anxiety and that they are not judging you negatively for the way you feel. It can be a great introduction back into social settings for people who have avoided them.
Group therapy also offers a place where you can feel completely comfortable expressing your thoughts and your symptoms. It is a fantastic way to be reminded that you are not along in your diagnosis and that there are not only people out there who share your diagnosis, but that there are people in your own town, city, or even neighborhood who battle the same symptoms that you do.
When you engage in group therapy, you will find that it can be a great way to share your experiences in a safe and welcoming environment. You can voice your fears and frustrations and even share your successes. You can tell others what has worked for you and gain the benefit of learning what is working for other people. You can even role play situations that you fear in a completely safe environment with people who understand your symptoms and who can offer feedback.
Group therapy is also an excellent place to make friends. It is often far less costly than individual therapy and can make a great supplemental treatment. For many patients, the dynamic of being around others can help greatly reduce anxiety over time and can help better prepare them for social situations outside of the therapeutic environment.
When you attend a local group therapy session for anxiety and panic disorders, you also gain the benefit of being able to share relevant local information. These groups can be a great way to learn about the best doctors in the area or to find out about practitioners who practice a holistic or medication free approach to treating anxiety disorders.
Support Groups Can Help, Too
Support groups are another excellent option for people with anxiety disorders. These groups are often offered completely free of charge on a regular basis. There are many resources online that can help you find support groups in your area. Support groups offer many of the same benefits of group therapy, but without teaching new therapeutic techniques. The goals of the two are very different.
While group therapy is aimed to help everyone learn new techniques and behaviors, support groups are designed to help bring together people with shared diagnoses, symptoms, and concerns so that they can offer one another support to help aid in their recovery. Support groups can be a great place to talk about what treatments are working for you, what doctors seem to offer the best approach, or what you think might be able to help other people in the group.
The bottom line is that support groups enable people with panic and anxiety disorders to empower themselves. These groups help you to help yourself as well as others on the road to recovery. They can help offer you support and strength, answer questions based on the experiences of others, and keep you from feeling isolated or alone because of your symptoms.
What About Shared Counseling?
Another common option for people suffering with anxiety disorder is to consider family or couple’s counseling. Anxiety disorders don’t just affect the person who has been diagnosed, they affect everyone who lives with or cares about that person. Anxiety can greatly alter your mood and personality, it can lead to withdrawal from social activities, and it can make it harder for loved ones to understand and communicate with you.
Shared counseling sessions, whether with your spouse, your parents, your children, or your best friend, can be beneficial for everyone. Through these sessions, your therapist can help you explain to the people in your life exactly what you are experiencing. You can express how you feel about your condition, how you feel about the way you are treated, and anything else that you need to express. Your therapist can help explain the condition in easy to understand terms and can help people understand what is happening within your brain and body to create these symptoms.
This form of therapy isn’t just to help you and to educate loved ones, however. It is designed to build stronger relationships between you so that your anxiety is not causing damage to the relationship. Your loved ones will also be able to express how your anxiety symptoms or mood changes affect their lives and what it feels like when you are socially withdrawn.
Shared counseling allows everyone involved to share their feelings and concerns so that you can work on keeping relationships healthy while you are being treated for anxiety. It can be easy to want or expect loved ones to simply deal with things until our anxiety and panic symptoms are gone, but the simple fact is that mood swings can caused loved ones to feel as though they need to walk on egg shells to keep from creating bigger problems. Counseling can help find techniques and methods of expression that can make everyone happy without anyone needing to keep their own feelings inside.
If you feel that your anxiety or panic is ruining your friendships or marriage or that it is disrupting relationships that are important to you, there can be great benefit in considering counseling with people close to you. Letting others in on what is happening can not only help you strengthen relationships, but it can make it easier for people who love you to be able to be there for you whenever you need them.
What about Online Support Groups/Discussion Forums/Etc?
In today’s technology driven world, it is important to also touch on the option of online support groups and other web based options. There are definitely many potential benefits on offer by making use of these technologies and resources. It is also important, however, to point out that there are also potential risks, cons, and dangers to relying on these as a means of support.
The Internet is an amazing source of information. You can type practically anything into your favorite search engine and come back with hundreds of results in only a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, it can also be a very viable source of misinformation. When you are looking for info regarding medications, supplements, or therapies that can affect your anxiety symptoms, this can be risky. Be wary of any information that you cannot verify has been published by a medical or mental health expert, especially if it involves taking any medications or making major lifestyle changes.
With that said, however, Internet support groups and message boards can be great places to get advice on what techniques and therapies work for some individuals, what symptoms other people are experiencing, or what relaxation exercises seem to offer the most benefit. It can also be a great way to share coping skills that you have picked up or to ask questions about your symptoms that you just don’t have the answers to. You will also find that the web can be an incredible place to ask for advice on how to tell people close to you about your anxiety or panic problems and to share experiences on what it was like telling people.
One of the best things about the Internet is that it allows you to ask questions anonymously. There is no worrying that someone is going to judge you or that they are going to know who is behind your computer asking questions. This anonymity can make it easier to ask questions that you may perceive as embarrassing and can make talking to other people much more comfortable.
This can also be a double-edged sword for people with anxiety, however. For some people, talking to strangers online offers a sensation of comfort and intimacy without the need to ever leave their homes and enter into a real social situation. It is crucial for people with social anxiety disorders to ensure that they do not let the web become a substitute for in-person human interaction. The Internet can be a wonderful place to anonymously share your concerns, worries, and emotions, but it should not take the place of talking to and interacting with the people who know you and care about you and your needs.
Last, it is important to remember that while most people on message boards and support groups are there to give or receive helpful advice, there are people online who post negative or hurtful things just to get attention or fill some need of their own. It is imperative that you realize that these people have no idea who you are and are not attacking you personally. These individuals are few and far between, and just knowing that they are out there can help make their presence less distressing if you ever encounter them. Most forums have moderators who can quickly find and eliminate posts such as this and block disruptive users from sending future messages.
Summary
Group therapy and support groups can be incredibly beneficial, whether they are in person or online. Any opportunity to socialize, learn new techniques and skills, and engage in positive dialogue can be helpful in treating and alleviating anxiety and panic disorders. Whether you are in counseling with a loved one or working with a group of people who share your diagnosis, you will find that seeking treatment in a group social setting can be very rewarding.