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Cure Anxiety - Interoceptive Exposure Treatment

by Trevor Sinclair

Suffering from anxiety can be very stressful and very scary. Anxiety can come on suddenly and lead a person to start avoiding activities they enjoy through fear. Not surprisingly, being able to cure anxiety is a dream that most people who experience these symptoms have.

A sense of panic, dizziness, excessive sweating, and shallow breathing are some of the usual symptoms of anxiety. These signs often occur in conjunction with a feeling of impending disaster or a sense of imminent death. Anxiety victims tend believe that the symptoms are result of something being physically wrong; fairly often, they believe that they are suffering from depression.

Anxiety can be cyclical and, once started, the cycle is not easy to stop. Anxiety can be triggered when a person experiences a usual anxiety symptom, which leads to further anxiety. For example, a person exercising may notice their heart rate increasing, which makes them anxious, which can lead to them experiencing more symptoms. This will lead to more anxiety, which can cause the symptoms to reoccur more frequently. The cyclical nature means it can be hard to prevent anxiety, and to stop anxiety once it has started.

The good news is that there is a very effective treatment designed to stop this cycle and cure anxiety. Interoceptive Exposure, as this treatment is called, works by having a person purposely experience physical symptoms of anxiety in a controlled environment. This works by having the person induce these sensations, such as breathing through a small straw for a few minutes. When you repeatedly and consciously confront these sensations several things will occur to help you prevent anxiety from ruling your life.

As you find yourself experiencing these sensations repeatedly, your anxiety about them will lessen over time. Since you are living through these symptoms with some measure of control over them, you will also have control over your fear, and learn that the symptoms are not dangerous. Over time, the anxious cycle will end, due to the end of the fear.

While you go through the treatment program of exposure, you will find your anxiety decreasing in number and in intensity. You will discover that the side effects of your attacks are less dangerous than you feared and you will learn to control them. The exposure treatment can often cure anxiety, and will without a doubt help you get control over yours.

People who suffer from anxiety experience many different physical symptoms and increased anxiety. They often look for a way to prevent anxiety and the cycle that goes along with them. Interoceptive Exposure is one treatment that can be used to stop anxiety. It involves controlled, repetitive exposure to the physical symptoms that usually accompany a anxiety. The anxiety that goes along with these symptoms should lessen over time due to the increased exposure. The patient will learn that these symptoms are not life threatening. This treatment can cure anxiety and should help you eliminate the anxiety altogether.

Published April 19th, 2008

Filed in Health, Psychology