As a common mental health condition that affects people throughout Australia, anxiety has the potential to make your life feel miserable. On some days, you might feel as though you're worrying more often than you should. On others, your condition could spiral out of control and leave you feeling unable to face life's challenges. If you're yet to seek medical advice, you may want to learn more about ways your GP could help.
Referring you for counselling or therapy
Although medications are available to treat anxiety, counselling and talking therapies are the most reliable ways to help you develop coping mechanisms. The type of therapy you'll require may vary according to what is causing your anxiety. Many GPs prefer to refer their patients for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), as it helps their patients unpick the negative mindsets that allow their emotions to spiral out of control each day. Using CBT, you can learn to recognise and challenge the thinking traps that make your anxiety worse, which will then allow you to enjoy more of life free from your worries.
Prescribing medications
Many of the medications your GP can prescribe for anxiety weren't developed with the aim of anxiety being their primary target. However, they can treat other medical causes of the condition and they can make the symptoms less pronounced. One that many people find useful is a beta-blocker called Propranolol, which eases the racing heart rate that you experience when feelings of anxiety start to arise. By reducing the presence of this symptom, you'll feel less frightened when a panic attack is about to occur. Otherwise, your GP could prescribe a medication called an SSRI to treat co-concurrent conditions such as depression.
Providing self-care advice
As many GPs have lots of experience in helping patients manage conditions such as anxiety they can offer self-care advice during the course of your appointment. You might find this useful when you're waiting for a therapy appointment or for the effects of your prescription to kick in. The advice you receive will be tailored according to the symptoms you describe during your appointment. For example, if you tell them you're experiencing insomnia as a result of your anxiety they can provide you with information on enhancing your sleep hygiene.
Regardless of how long you've been experiencing anxious symptoms for, it's always worth discussing them with your general practitioner. When you're able to work together to tackle the problem, recovering becomes easier.
