Anxiety Treatment Isn’t Helping - Am I Beyond Repair?
No, And…
I’ll start with an emphatic “no!”
That being said, you might be using strategies that are best case ineffective and worst case, actually making symptoms more intense.
You might be thinking “I’m doing all the right things: exercise, meditation, deep breathing, talking to friends, going to therapy, eating balanced meals - how could these things be making things worse?!”
There could be a few things at play, but if we really boil it down, one of the most common reasons anxiety treatment doesn’t work is because you’re not facing the fears at the root of the anxiety head on. And a lot of the things above, when done for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way, can reinforce the anxious feelings.
Let me explain.
Anxiety and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) are cousins - not the same, but strong overlap. Sometimes anxiety is a vague feeling of worry that jumps from thing to thing and can actually be well managed with a long walk, examining thought patterns in therapy, and a day with friends. Sometimes anxiety can get more intense and develop “Obsessive Compulsive features,” meaning it’s not full blown OCD, but shares a similar mechanism in the brain. Sometimes anxiety isn’t really anxiety at all, but is OCD and has been misdiagnosed. According to the International OCD Foundation, about 80% of OCD cases go misdiagnosed and anxiety is one of the most common inaccurate or incomplete diagnoses that is offered instead.
So what is this mechanism in the brain that can turn a chat with a friend into more anxiety instead of soothing the feelings? That’s the OCD loop:
Obsession/fear
Which leads to anxiety
Which leads to a compulsion aka some action to try to get rid of the anxiety (this can just be a thought pattern too, not necessarily physical action taken)
Which then teaches the brain that this obsession/fear is in fact something to be terrified of and the compulsion is the cure.
And around the merry-go-round of OCD we go until the anxiety becomes unbearable and the things that we hoped would bring peace only do so for a small moment before making the anxiety even worse.
So What Can I Do About It?
This obsessive compulsive mechanism is most prevalent and debilitating in OCD, but can also operate on a less invasive scale as part of anxiety. Either way, the most effective treatments are ERP (exposure and response prevention therapy) and ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy). These therapies specifically work to interrupt that mechanism that’s reinforcing fear and train your brain to face fear headon instead. It’s scary, challenging, very effective, and totally badass.
If you’ve been getting treatment for anxiety, but it doesn’t seem to be helping, you can always reach out for a free consultation to learn more about OCD and treatment - I’d love to connect you with the right person to support you in your journey!
The content of this blog is for education purposes only and is not therapy or advice. Reach out to a licensed professional for specific support or call 911 if you are having a mental health crisis.
Written by: Emma Beale, MA, LPC, Owner of Superbloom Therapy Services
