Anxiety: What You Need to Know

My friend has panic attacks at work sometimes from the stress of her job.

Another one has them from working with her boss.

I consider myself lucky to have not had one in a few years, from what I can recall.

But I still remember what they feel like.

Now there is a self-help site dedicated to anxiety and phobias - anxietycoach.com.

According to the site everybody experiences anxiety periodically also called "anxiety disorders."

According to Dr. Carbonell these are the most treatable of the psychological problems.

"These problems do have solutions," he said. "On the site you can get basic information about anxiety disorders and identify the particular problems you face, develop a plan and begin working at it."

Once you've completed the work suggested in" First Steps" on the website you can read various self-help articles about different disorders there. They consist of practical understandings, suggestions, and techniques that Carbonell and his colleagues, use with clients of the Anxiety Treatment Center in Illinois.

Carbonell said the tips and ideas in the online newsletter are all designed to be supplements to ongoing work with a therapist, coach, or structured self-help program.

In the "First Steps" section you can compare your experiences with anxiety to those described then consult with your primary doctor.

"My experience in working with people and their fears about the doctor's office is that to try to hide these fears and 'tough it out' almost always makes the anxiety worse," said Carbonell. "If you just don't know how to explain your problem so others will understand you might want to explain by likening it to claustrophobia."

Carbonell recommends if you are having panic attacks and have never been tested for thyroid malfunction, you should get a test because thyroid problems can sometimes cause a person to have panic-like symptoms.

"My view is that most people with anxiety disorders are best served by cognitive behavioral treatment; that some will need medication in addition to this, and some will not, depending on the severity of their condition and their particular diagnosis; and that most people will be better off starting with the cognitive behavioral treatment first, and seeing how that works out for them before trying a medication treatment," said Carbonell.

More information can be found at The Anxiety Disorders Association of America and the National Institute of Mental Health.