ANXIETY PROBLEMS
When we refer to an anxiety problem, we are referring to all those disorders that affect the person who suffers from them, they have a response of intense fear, worry and restlessness that is usually accompanied by physical symptoms and that leads to a limitation in their daily life in order to be able to lead a normal life.
Anxiety problems can be classified into different types:
It is a state of excessive anxiety and worry about a wide range of events, which is difficult to control and usually causes restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension and sleep disturbances. Through therapy we provide the person with tools to control the irrational beliefs that lead to this continuous state of anxiety and strategies to control the symptoms.
The person suffers continually from unexpected panic attacks, permanently anxious about the possibility of having more crises, worrying about their implications and consequences, such as losing control, having a heart attack or 'going crazy', and a significant change in behaviour related to the attacks. Knowing the thoughts and situations that lead to these crises allows the patient to learn to control them and to have a better management of the symptomatology, recovering a normalised life and a good management of emotions.
A panic attack is defined as a temporary, isolated onset of intense fear or discomfort, accompanied by the following symptoms, which begin abruptly and reach their peak within the first 10 minutes:
- Palpitations, heart palpitations, heart fluttering or elevated heart rate.
- Sweating.
- Trembling or shaking.
- Choking sensation or shortness of breath.
- Choking sensation.
- Chest tightness or discomfort.
- Nausea or abdominal discomfort.
- Unsteadiness, dizziness or feeling faint.
- Derealisation (feeling of unreality) or Depersonalisation (being separated from oneself).
- Fear of losing control or going crazy.
- Fear of dying.
- Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensation).
- Chills or choking
The therapy will allow the patient to have greater control over their symptoms and the thoughts that lead them to have these panic attacks, and to be able to control their appearance until they disappear completely. Providing the patient with the maximum number of cognitive, emotional and behavioural tools will increase their quality of life and will not be affected by panic attacks.
It is a marked and persistent fear that is excessive or irrational, triggered by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation such as animals, cliffs, injections, which provokes an immediate anxiety response.
Our job as therapists is to be able to provide patients with various tools so that these phobias do not condition their daily lives, as they often interfere in a very intense way and their lives are limited. Understanding the irrational beliefs that have caused the phobia and disputing them in a cognitive, emotional and behavioural way will allow the patient to have control of the phobia and be able to fight it.
It is the occurrence of anxiety about being in places or situations where escape may be difficult (or embarrassing) or where, in the event of an unexpected or more or less situation-related distress attack or distress-like symptoms, help may not be available. Fears are often related to specific situations that are avoided, such as being alone outside the home, mixing with people or queuing, going over a bridge, or travelling by bus, train or car.
It is a very disabling disorder because on many occasions it means that the patient does not want to leave the house, and therefore cannot carry on with their normal, everyday life. In other cases, it may be the avoidance of going to certain places or always accompanied, which limits their ability to move and depend on others, as well as a total or partial impossibility of personal and social development.
In order to ensure personal and emotional well-being, we need the therapy to provide the person with the necessary resources to cope with these difficulties so that the person is not isolated and deprived of a normal day-to-day life.
It is a fear of social situations or public performances, of acting in a humiliating or embarrassing way, or of showing symptoms of anxiety. The patient avoids these situations at all costs, resulting in isolation in his or her life and very little social contact. It may also lead to feelings of isolation.
Thanks to the therapy we will question the irrational beliefs that the patient has when exposed socially and we will be able, in this way, to achieve the patient's objective when coming to the clinic, which is to be able to normalise his or her life and relationship with others.
Many people suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Obsessions are recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses or images, which the person knows are a product of their mind and tries to ignore or suppress without success. Compulsions are the repetitive behaviours that the person is forced to do in response to their obsession.
When this happens, patients are clearly affected in their daily lives as obsessions condition their thoughts continuously, unable to get the idea out of their heads, and compulsions occupy a space and a need to perform them that interfere with their daily chores and their relationship with others.
When patients with OCD come for consultation, they are usually looking for a way to control these thoughts so that they are not "thinking about the same thing" all day long. By means of thought control techniques, discussion, behavioural and emotional tools, we can help patients gain control over their obsession so that the interference does not limit them.
In many cases, a combined intervention of psychotherapy and pharmacology is necessary in order to control OCD.
