If you are unable to do things you used to do, the inability to cope can become a vicious cycle. Feelings of hopelessness and wanting to escape can make the situation even worse.
Anxiety and depression can increase sensitivity to pain and may even impair your potential to get maximum benefit from physical treatments such as physiotherapy, surgery, and even medical treatment. A person learns how to manage their pain and to adjust their mindset in dealing with the pain. These strategies will result in you being happier and more well-adjusted.
It is vital to treat depression so that aspects of a person's life don't fall apart. At stake are the person's relationships, and adequate performance at work. In some cases, there may be a suicide risk. Medication in addition to psychological treatment is sometimes required.
You can learn how to stand up for yourself instead of being an ongoing target or victim. You can't control what others say or do, but you can learn to control how you want to address a situation or deal with it.
Understanding the symptoms of PTSD is vital for the individual and all those around him or her. Hyper-vigilence can cause fear and paranoia, irritability and anger, lack of apparent tolerance for a variety of issues and sounds, problems sleeping and so forth. Other symptoms include flashbacks and nightmares along with disrupted sleep. The event may intrude into a person’s awareness any time any day without warning and with many of the feelings of fear and anxiety initially experienced at the time of the incident.Other symptoms may include social withdrawal, avoidance of certain situations and a sense of numbing.
PTSD can be dealt with effectively using a variety of psychological techniques including EMDR, desensitisation techniques, exposure and anxiety reduction strategies. Where there is complex trauma, it may take more time. Experience and training to deal with PTSD is required. Without adequate treatment, PTSD can continue to dominate a person’s functioning for many years.
A lack of confidence and self-esteem may or may not result in self-sabotaging behaviour and anxiety. A person may have panic attacks or fear asserting themselves, or have a fear of public speaking. Sometimes the imposter syndrome comes from childhood experiences or abusive relationships. It results from a deep lack of belief in yourself, and self talk which confirms that you 'aren't good enough'. Psychological treatment aims to determine where this is coming from and seeks to turn the feeling around.
Communication skills, testing comfort zones, changing thought patterns and unrealistic self-expectations can all help to overcome social anxiety. Practicing new ways of approaching feared situations within the session is useful and not being so hard on yourself can also help. CBT techniques, anxiety management and stress reduction will go a long way to improving the situation.
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