Blogs - Overcome Overthinking and Anxiety: Treatment Strategies

Treatment for Overthinking and Anxiety: 5 Effective Strategies to Overcome Them

Do you have a pitch or a board presentation coming up? It’s normal to worry in the days before such an important event.

That said, consult a professional for anxiety treatment if you feel overwhelmed with anxiety, your mind is stuck in a loop thinking about all the things that could go wrong, or your fear is disproportionate to the situation. This can be a sign that you have an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety Disorders

The World Health Organization says around 4% of the world’s population has an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are, in fact, the most common mental health condition globally. Data from the Global Burden of Disease Study says there were 359.02 million prevalent cases of anxiety disorders reported worldwide in 2021.

What is anxiety disorder? It is a constant or persistent fear and sense of dread so intense and uncontrollable that it hinders a person’s ability to function.

Symptoms

Overthinking is a common symptom; worries seem to play in a never-ending loop in your head. Restlessness and sleeplessness are also common symptoms.

Anxiety disorders also manifest physically. If you are afraid of public speaking and are thrust into a situation where you must give a speech, you may feel your body tensing, your heart palpitating, and your body breaking out in cold sweat. You may also feel nauseous and shake, and tremble uncontrollably.

Types of Anxiety Disoders

There are different types of anxiety disorders, and they include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD):GAD manifests as continuous and persistent worrying and overthinking. The fear has no apparent cause or is disproportionate to the situation or concern.
• Social anxiety disorder (SAD):Someone with SAD is particularly afraid of social settings, especially when there’s a chance they may face public scrutiny.
• Separation anxiety disorder:Separation anxiety is common among young children who feel anxious when they’re separated from their primary caregiver (e.g., parents).
• Substance-induced anxiety disorder:Substance-induced anxiety disorder is the feeling of dread that is directly attributable to exposure to or withdrawal from specific substances, such as drugs and medication.
• Panic disorder:This is characterized by frequent and unexpected panic attacks. However, a panic attack doesn't automatically mean panic disorder.
• Selective mutism:If a child cannot speak in a specific context or situation (e.g., in school) but shows no such inability in other situations (e.g., at home), they may have selective mutism.
• Specific phobias: Specific phobias are intense and uncontrollable fears of something. They include agoraphobia (fear of places and situations where one may feel trapped or overwhelmed), arachnophobia (fear of spiders), and acrophobia (fear of heights).

Anxiety Treatment: How to Deal with Anxiety

The first and most important thing to do is to talk to a professional. Healing (through the right anxiety treatment plan) can come only after a proper diagnosis.

If you struggle with taking time off your busy schedule to visit a licensed mental health practitioner, you can download the Estenarh app. Our digital platform, which is licensed by the Saudi Ministry of Health, makes mental health support and services conveniently accessible to everyone, no matter where they are (in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere).

On the Estenarh app, choose a highly qualified, licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker, and then book a consultation to get clarity about your condition. After a systematic assessment and evaluation, your mental health provider will come up with a suitable treatment program. This may include any or a combination of the strategies listed below.

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an approach or type of psychotherapy (i.e., talk therapy). Like all psychotherapy techniques, CBT primarily involves talking (at length) with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or some other trained and qualified mental health provider.

The objective of CBT is to bring about desired changes or improvements, which in this case is to resolve anxiety. To accomplish this, your therapist will adroitly lead the discussion around the things you find challenging or difficult. In the process, they will help you articulate, realize and acknowledge your thoughts, feelings, and actions.

CBT operates on the premise that your cognitive framework (the way you learn, remember, think, and perceive) directly influences your feelings and behavior. By exposing this framework, CBT can illuminate problematic thoughts. This enables the therapist to guide you to consider a different point of view or perspective, which ultimately leads to positive changes in feelings and behavior.

CBT is solutions-focused. It will teach you how to stop overthinking and how to deal with anxiety by providing specific coping mechanisms you can use when you’re feeling overwhelmingly anxious.

2. Meditation

Meditation is focusing on a single thought or thing. It can take many forms.

Meditation involves finding a comfortable position and remaining very still. You can focus on your breathing, so your whole attention is engaged in observing the air come into your body as you inhale, feeling it permeate your being, and listening to it escape as you exhale. One other way to meditate is by continuously and repeatedly chanting a phrase or quote, audibly or quietly, in your mind.

The act of focusing intensely and solely on one thing is an effective way of completely occupying your mind. It leaves no room for anything else, including the turbulence of anxious thoughts and feelings.

3. Mindfulness

Like meditation, mindfulness also involves deep and deliberate focus. However, while meditation is a ritualistic practice (something you set aside time for and consciously perform), mindfulness is a quality you acquire and a habit you cultivate. In fact, mindfulness facilitates meditation.

Mindfulness is observing the here and now. It’s fully engaging your mind, body, and spirit with the present. On a walk, being mindful can mean focusing on the image and sound of your feet striking the pavement.

Mindfulness can be a highly effective treatment for overthinking. By being mindful of what you’re doing, where you are, and how you are in the moment, your mind cannot wander freely and has no room for worries.

4. Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises require breathing in a set pattern to induce relaxation. The following are some breathing exercises your therapist may prescribe to you:

• Square or box breathing:Take in air for four seconds, hold it in for four seconds, let it all out for four seconds, and hold for another four. Repeat.
• 4-7-8 breathing:Inhale through the nose (four seconds), hold (seven seconds), and exhale through the mouth (eight seconds). Repeat.
• Lion’s breath: Inhale through the nose. When you can’t take in any more air, expel the air forcefully through your wide-open mouth. Let your tongue stick out and your eyes roll upward (to stretch your face) while exhaling. Repeat.
• Diaphragmatic breathing: While keeping the body relaxed (preferably in a prone position), inhale deeply through the nose and feel the air fill your belly. Next, exhale through the mouth for twice the time you take to breathe in; if you inhale for four seconds, exhale for eight seconds. Repeat.

5. Medication

Medication is an established approach to anxiety treatment. Your doctor will recommend the right medicine based on the severity of your symptoms and adjust it according to your progress.

These are the four types of medication doctors usually prescribe for anxiety disorders:

• Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs):These are antidepressants, and they work by inhibiting the reabsorption (i.e., reuptake) of serotonin.
• Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs):These are antidepressants, and they inhibit the reabsorption of serotonin and norepinephrine.
• Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs):TCAs are also antidepressants. They block the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine.
• Benzodiazepines:These are sedatives, and they work by helping the body relax, thereby combating the physical symptoms of anxiety.

Your Mental Health Matters: Get Help

Everybody feels anxious once in a while, but if you are constantly worried or if you have an irrational fear of something, consult a licensed medical professional because you may have an anxiety disorder.

Fortunately, anxiety disorders are highly treatable. Mental healthcare professionals can teach you how to deal with anxiety, and they can design an anxiety and overthinking treatment plan that will work for you.

The first step is to consult a licensed mental health practitioner. If you’re too busy, you can book a virtual consultation and online therapy with one of our highly trained medical staff on the Estenarh app. Contact us to learn more.