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I'm not a medical professional but a fellow sufferer, so you should probably take this all with a grain of salt. It's more than likely you'll see a psychologist who will administer cognitive behavioural therapy; essentially the rational examination of your thinking as described above. Although specific treatment modalities somewhat depend on the nature and severity of your anxiety disorder. If your anxiety is more 'phobic' in nature (i.e. it spikes when you're exposed to specific stimuli) , a therapist might inter-weave elements of 'gradual exposure therapy' in as well. For instance, if you have severe arachnophobia, you might start off standing on the other side of the room to a large spider in a glass cage. Then you might stand half-way across the room. Then next to the glass. Then touching the glass etc. But CBT is the workhorse of modern psychotherapy, and can be quite effective for anxiety suffers.I'd also suggest steering well clear of any therapists that use psychoanalysis/psychoanalytic theory in their practice. It's arguably a non-falsifiable pseudo-science. Unless your anxiety is so acute that you can't function on any normal level (like the time I didn't leave my house for about 2-3 weeks), I'd hold off on medication and try your non-chemical options first. To be clear, I'm not one of those people who thinks that 'unnatural drugs are bad maaannnnn', and have in fact been prescribed (and taken) meds at various times. In certain circumstances, for certain people, they are the only option and they can be a god send for some. But in my experience the pharmacological options for anxiety are are pretty poor. There are really only two mainstream choices: anti-depressants like SSRIs/SNRIs, which are rarely effective for anxiety and take 6-8 weeks to have any effect. So you end up on a very long-term course of trial and error. The other pharmacological option has traditionally been benzodiazapines (valium, kloponin etc.). Again, unless your illness is extremely acute, I very strongly urge you to never go down this path. They're very physically and psychologically addictive in the medium to long-term (sudden withdrawal can even result in in grand-mal seizures), and you will experience 'rebound' anxiety when you stop taking them. Lastly, although not a cure, a few lifestyle changes can vastly improve your quality of life while you're seeking out profession treatment. The big three are exercise, regular sleep and mindfulness meditation. It's difficult to start at first, but if you can make even 1 or 2 or those a regular habit you will see an improvement in your life. Anyhow, I really wish you all the best. Anxiety sucks, but fortunately there's a growing number of ways to make it suck less. |