A project, New Strategies and Techniques Help to Defeat Anxiety Without Medication, focuses on how individuals can overcome their anxiety without medication by trying different methods and resources and incorporating them into their lives. For instance, learning relaxation techniques, therapies, places to go and try, and much more.
But, how certain is it that individuals can battle their anxiety without medication and completely recover?
Lauren Brooks, a licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, specializing in anxiety, addiction, and self-esteem, clarifies that battling anxiety this way is possible.
“I’ve definitely had folks who have treated their anxiety without medication. Even folks who I was like, "maybe if that’s an option you want to think about and maybe talk to your doctor about it, and they were pretty adamant on it. Like, "nope. It’s just not something I really want to do." We got to a point where they were stable enough and able to end therapy," says Brooks.
Brooks believes that learning tools and skills are much more empowering for clients than taking a pill daily. She says that it's something she feels passionate about, but doesn't feel like she's in the position to tell someone what to do.
"My job is to kind of help someone understand all of their options. And certainly, medication is one of them. I’m never going to tell someone to not get on medication. But I’m going to make sure they have all of the information they need to make an informed decision," explains Brooks.
Brooks shares that medication can be great, but for individuals who want to stop taking medication, she says that those previous symptoms will come back more likely than not.
"The best case scenario is to learn tools for managing anxiety, for coping with intrusive thoughts, learning behaviors that come with anxiety disorders, and empower yourself to use those tools and skills you’ve learned and get out of those cycles that you’ve been caught in, rather than just relying on medication to fix the issues you may be experiencing," says Brooks.
Brooks suggest a novel, Lost Connections, for individuals to read.
"It's a great book. The author talks a lot about depression, but also anxiety and how a lot of the research on medication is not super strong, especially when you compare it to lifestyle changes," shares Brooks.
When discussing the best techniques and strategies for one to try, Brooks says that there’s not really so much of a one size fits all, but says that one of the things that she thinks is so important is for people to really understand what is going on with themselves. Brooks mentions It's a strategy they call psychoeducation.
According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Psychoeducation links the components of cognitive-behavior therapy, group therapy, and education. The common goal is to give a patient and their families an understanding of different angles of the illness and its treatment so that they can work in conjunction with mental health professionals for a greater all in all result.
Brooks explains that one of the interventions that she's been doing a lot with clients recently is going over an emotion wheel.
"Although it’s basic, and some might find it too simple, 100% of the time my clients find it to be very helpful. A lot of them mention how important the information is and that no one has really gone over it with them before," shares Brooks.
She says that when individuals come in and say they have anxiety, it’s how they identify everything in their life and it becomes a part of their personality. For instance, I have anxiety. I am anxious. She explains that it’s sort of a lens that they seem themselves through.
“I’ll ask them questions such as, how are you feeling? What are you noticing? And they’ll say, you know what I’m really not anxious. I usually will respond with, well what is the word for that? We have a word for that. Are you calm? Is it content?," says Brooks.
Brooks shares that is when she'll use the emotion wheel with clients, and explain how important it is to familiarize themselves with these other emotional experiences and get more familiar with the nuances and how to tell how they are feeling.
Brooks explains that a lot of the times when clients say they're anxious, she'll respond with, how do you know you’re anxious? Brooks says that sometimes when she breaks it down and scratches underneath the surface a bit, the client's thinking may change.
"It may turn into, well maybe I’m not anxious I’m stressed at work or overwhelmed or jealous because something happened with my significant other. Those are very different emotions and so once we have that clarity of what’s actually going on, it kind of helps us tailor what we really want to with that. It helps us and gives us more of an opportunity to respond appropriately to what’s actually going on," says Brooks.
Brooks explains that the other side of the wheel has the more kind of pleasant emotions (joy, gratitude, contentment, etc.) She says that once they build that vocabulary and gain a better understanding of what these emotional states are and how they feel, that they're going to notice them more.
"It kind of balances out the scale that we’re not only describing our anxious experiences, now I have words to describe these other things we’re feeling that actually feel a lot better than anxiety," says Brooks.
When trying new strategies and techniques to help defeat anxiety without medication, Brooks explains that there isn't a one size fits all approach. She explains that what may work for one person, may not work for another, vice versa.
Brooks says that a frustrating thing about mental health treatment and therapy and even medications is that individuals are sort of a Guiney pig. She shares that individuals have to try different things out until they find the thing that sticks.
"As long as you are patient with it and have hope that you will get better, you will. It’s just about finding the right mix of tools that’s going to work for you. Some people love to run and that works for them, some people are super religious and going to church works for them, I use yoga and that works great for me but that might not be for everybody," shares Brooks.
Brooks explains that individuals going through this journey of battling their anxiety without medication, just need to have the patience and recognize that there are thousands of different interventions and tools and ways to help. She says that individuals just have to find the method that works for them.
For more information on Lauren Brooks, individuals can visit her website or find her at River Wards Wellness Collective.