Having anxiety can feel like a prison that prevents people from experiencing all the joys life has to offer. While everyone gets anxious occasionally, a person with an anxiety disorder is profoundly impacted by feelings of anxiousness that pervade many aspects of their life. Drugs like benzodiazepines can provide immediate relief of the symptoms of anxiety, but they cause people to become dysfunctional, dependent, and physically unhealthy when used at high doses for extended periods of time.
If you have a loved one who struggles with anxiety, it may be tempting to anticipate their symptoms and try to manipulative the environment to help them feel more comfortable. While this may be appropriate in some circumstances, it can actually prevent the person from developing the coping skills they need to function independently. If worrying about a loved one’s anxiety causes you to walk on eggshells or manipulate the environment to keep them calm, a good therapist at an anxiety treatment center can help you address issues of codependency.
What Are the Most Common Signs of an Anxiety Attack?
While panic attacks appear without warning, anxiety attacks can be easier to predict. Anxiety attacks often sneak up on a person and cause real emotional difficulties rather unexpectedly. However, the signs of an anxiety attack can frequently occur for days – or even weeks – before a person finally breaks. Just a few of the most common symptoms to watch for include:
- Obsessive thoughts on something that causes anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating or focusing
- An underlying sense of dread that will not go away
- Racing thoughts that are hard to control
- Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
- Shaking hands or other extremities
- Depression that you cannot shake; the need for depression treatment
All of these signs typically increase in intensity as a person’s anxiety attack nears. And when the anxiety attack finally strikes, they are likely to lose control of themselves in a problematic way. During this time, many people reach out and seek comfort in drugs, opiates, and alcohol, as a coping mechanism. Unfortunately, this is likely to put the individual in a dangerous life position. If you are seeking comfort from anxiety in unhealthy ways, learn more about the ways that you can defeat and treat your anxiety through healthy methods that do not involve drugs or alcohol.
Are There Ways to Defeat Anxiety?
Those worried about the impact of anxiety on addiction need to know how to spot the most common signs of an anxiety attack. This way, they can understand how to react to them when they occur. Each person is likely to have different symptoms when they experience anxiety, so it may be critical to work with a psychiatrist or a rehab specialist to spot them and use various methods to avoid relapse. Some methods to overcome anxiety include:
Relaxing Practices
Deep breathing and meditation can all help
Mindfulness Training
Stay active at the moment to understand that your anxiety is not in control.
Call a Friend
Contact a friend or loved one if you feel like an anxiety attack is going to happen.
Go for a Walk
Get outside to relax your mind and body and get a little exercise.
Interact with a Pet
Petting a cat or dog can lower your anxiety, decrease fear, and promote relaxation.
Stopping an Anxiety Attack Before it Starts
These simple steps can help to stop an anxiety attack before it becomes too severe. If you find that you cannot control your anxiety with these steps, you may have a more severe disorder that needs to be treated medically. Make sure that you go through this type of therapy when going through drug rehab because co-occurring disorders may make this situation even worse.
Find a Portland Rehab that Treats Anxiety
As modern life grows in complexity and becomes more difficult for individuals, a growing number of people are experiencing anxiety attacks and need anxiety treatment. Sadly, many people do not watch the signs of an anxiety attack and do not take them seriously. They are putting themselves at serious risk if they ignore these signs, though. They may even run into an increased risk of addiction if they do not take the proper steps to manage their health. Read on to learn more about the most common signs of an anxiety attack and how to treat anxiety when it happens.
Managing Anxiety in Rehab and Sober Living
If you notice any of these signs of an anxiety attack and think that they are related to drug use, please contact us at Crestview Recovery today. When you call 866.262.0531, we will discuss the different options for treatment and rehabilitation, such as staying in a partial hospitalization unit, receiving intensive outpatient care, or getting extended treatment during sober living. Additionally, we provide dual-diagnosis and trauma therapy to those who need it. Please verify your insurance to get started.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.
