Anxiety Disorder—Choosing the Right Treatment

You’ve been diagnosed with a panic disorder and now you want to choose the right course of treatment for you. You can ask your family doctor or local GP for a referral or find out about treatment courses available at the community health center. Your goal should be to find a trained and experienced health professional to treat you.

Very often two physicians may treat you—one prescribes and oversees your medication while the other works with you on cognitive behavioral therapy. You can also enroll for a research study on panic disorder that is being undertaken by a medical university. Such programs may provide you with care at a lower cost.

Whichever course you pursue, it is imperative to choose someone whom you can relate to and feel comfortable with. Physicians will use courses of treatment that they have had success with. You can decide whether such a course will work for you by asking a lot of questions. This is your health that is on the line so you have a perfect right to do the research before undergoing treatment. If the referral has come from an impeccable source then half your worries are over. On the other hand, you can find out for yourself all the information you need to come to a decision.

Ask about any specific training the physician or therapist might have undergone to work in this field and the number of patients they have treated. Find out if you will be undergoing medication, such as antidepressants, with cognitive behavior therapy or individually—if the latter then discover how you will find someone to take care of the two different treatments. Determine the length of the treatment course, how long each session will last, and their frequency and cost. Find out what kind of medication you are likely to be put on, the dosage, and what the potential side effects are and whether you will be able to tolerate these. Also, discover if your insurance covers the treatment.

The treatment will work only if you are honest and upfront with your physician or therapist. Discuss all problems with them and follow the treatment conscientiously. It may take time to settle into a treatment program as each one has to be tailored to a patient’s own needs. But, if at any time you feel that the treatment is not going as well as you would like or is not of much help to you, then think about getting a second opinion or changing physicians. You are perfectly within your rights to do this.

Take as much time as you can to decide on a course of treatment or a doctor who can help you with it. Your health is in your hands.