V. Will combining these treatments help with my anxiety?
Course speech
Many of the exercises you will learn about can be used with other treatments to lower anxiety. As you will see, there are many ways in which stress and anxiety can affect us during our life time. Thankfully, a combination of treatments can positively help both our minds and bodies. Research has shown that some exercises work better than others, and can even reduce anxiety more when combined with other therapies. As you go through the lessons, you might find that a certain combination of exercises works for you. For example:
- Behavioural therapies are commonly combined with cognitive therapies which can further reduce anxious thoughts before they become anxious responses.
- Medication treatments may be needed to help some people maximize the benefits of cognitive therapy exercises, and if you are also already taking medication or are thinking of taking medication for anxiety, then combining it with cognitive therapy can be more beneficial than taking medications alone.
Though you can do many of the exercise therapies presented here on your own, your chances of success to reduce anxiety will be improved if you work with your social support network. The following treatments are enhanced when done with partners, classes, or groups:
- Physical exercise
- Cognitive therapies
- Behavioural therapies
- Nutrition planning and changes
- Developing a sense of gratitude and savouring in everyday life is a positive step to increase happiness and counteract the negative effects of anxiety. For other positive exercises, please refer to Positive Self-Talk and Other Cognitive Exercises, Meaning and Spirituality, and Good Sleep.
- Positive thoughts are similar to positive self-talk, in that they give you an opportunity to rethink how you interpret your experiences and how you choose to view the future in order to reduce fear, worry, and other negative emotions. Cognitive therapies can be combined with positive therapies to help you deal with negative or worried thinking in a constructive manner. Breathing exercises are an important part of other anxiety treatments. Good breathing techniques can also increase the benefits of other anxiety-reduction techniques. These include:
- Movement therapies like Yoga, Tai Chi and Qigong
- Weight training
- Cardiovascular exercises
- Relaxation exercises
In these lessons, you will find many therapies that can lower anxiety here. As always, the best treatment or combination of treatments for each person is based on their own preferences, lifestyle, and experiences.
After trying and combining these therapies, you may find that the relaxation exercises are all you need. Or, you yourself may have found other ways to lessen and change your negative and fearful thinking after using some of the cognitive or behavioural exercises. If you decide that this or any one of the other exercises is enough for you to feel better already, then you do not have to use other therapies.