Anxiety Treatment Approach

Anxiety Disorders: Alternative and Complementary Treatment Approach

Introduction

My chosen topic is anxiety disorders. Why anxiety? It is an epidemic affecting many people I know. It is understandable that we all need a little bit of it to keep us motivated, but too much of it could be detrimental. Anxiety is the apprehension, uneasiness, and excessive worry and fear about the future, often accompanied by compulsive disorders (Townsend, Mary, and Karyn, 2018). Anxiety is very common in our society today. While mild anxiety is motivational, moderate, severe, and panic anxiety disorders could negatively impact our perception of reality and general wellbeing. My purpose for writing this paper is to explain the concept of anxiety and suggest

ways by which alternative and complementary therapies can help with the treatment.

Article Summary
The article defines anxiety as, “an unpleasant complex combination of emotions often accompanied by physical sensations, such as heart palpitations (irregular heartbeat), nausea, angina (chest pain), shortness of breath, tension headache, and nervousness” (Natural Standard Monograph, 2014). According to the article, “The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that anxiety disorders affect ~ 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year” (Natural Standard Monograph, 2014). If over 40 million Americans are impacted by this, it shows how prevalent it is. The article asserts that mild anxiety is expected in the light of a stressful event, such as when preparing for job interviews, mourning, testing, speaking in public, meeting someone for the first time, waiting for your results, and so on. But clearly maintains that anxiety only becomes a problem, or disorder when it lasts for more than 6 months. Alcoholism, depression, substance abuse, and bipolar illnesses may accompany anxiety disorders (Natural Standard Monograph, 2014). Types of anxiety disorders include: generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, phobia, separation anxiety, and social anxiety. The article suggests some alternative and complementary therapies for anxiety treatment which include: Kava, music therapy, art therapy, spinal manipulative therapy, hypnosis, meditation, peppermint, psychotherapy, relaxation therapy, therapeutic touch, yoga, shiatzu, acupuncture, aromatherapy, prayer, sweet almond, rosemary, reflexology, passion flower, guided imagery, green tea, hawthorn, healing touch, Bowen therapy, and so on (Natural Standard Monograph, 2014). In substantiating the efficacy of the aforementioned alternative and complementary therapies, the article claims that some alternative and complementary therapies have strong scientific evidence, some have good scientific evidence, and a few of them have unclear or conflicting scientific evidence.

Article Critique
I chose this article after I had perused over 50 different articles.

I chose this article because it clearly and precisely answered my questions. The weakness of the article is that it did not categorically state the levels and specific causes of anxiety disorders. For a peer-reviewed article, one would expect it to group different levels of anxiety and give their examples and individual solutions, perhaps medical or alternative and complementary therapies. In addition, explaining the pathophysiological aspect of anxiety would have given weight to the article, because it would have helped the reader understand the cause and effect of anxiety. The strengths of this article are tremendous. First, it defines the full concept of anxiety, and then differentiates between normal anxiety, and general anxiety disorders; claiming that anxiety only becomes a disorder if it lasts more than 6 months. With this, readers understand that having a mild anxiety is normal, and in fact motivational. Although, it did not group levels of anxiety, it stated different types of anxiety and detailed them. After which, it provided a list of strong, good, and unclear or conflicting scientific evidence alternative and complementary therapies, detailing their uses, precautions, interactions, and applications. Overall, the article is well-written, and very comprehensive. One in fact does not have to be a healthcare practitioner to understand it, as it is written in plain English with limited medical jargons. Even the jargons are defined, making it comprehensible to all and sundry. For these reasons, I would recommend it to a

colleague.

Conclusion
In conclusion, anxiety could be normal, but if it lasts for more than 6 months then it is a generalized anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder affects many Americans, and its effects could interfere with their physical and psychological functioning. Before treatment, one must see the doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment. We have several kinds of anxiety disorders, though most of them are often accompanied with ritual/ compulsive disorders. Upon medical intervention, there are several evidence-based alternative and complementary therapies that help treat it. One should be advised to talk to a specialist before embarking on any non-pharmacological therapies to address the safety, interactions, and by and large precautions of the therapy. A combination of pharmacological, alternative and complementary therapies, and rehabilitations produce a synergistic effect that guarantees a patient’s wellbeing in mind, body, and soul.