Treatments - what works for anxiety?

Up to one in ten people experience a problem with anxiety. The following information appears in the Instructor's Manual for Scotland's Mental Health First Aid.

Drug Treatments

A prescription of anti-anxiety medication may be made (for example benzodiazepines - 'tranquilizers'). Regular use of these drugs may lead to dependence and is likely to result in the return of fear or panic symptoms when discontinued.

Antidepressants are sometimes used if panic attacks are frequent and severe. They are also used if obsessive-compulsive disorder is disabling to the person or if they are also depressed.

Counselling and Psychotherapy

Anxiety disorders are better treated with counselling or psychological techniques than with medication. Such treatments are effective both in the short term and continue to be effective long after the actual course of treatment has stopped.

Self-help treatments that work for anxiety disorders

The Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University has reviewed the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of a wide range of treatments for anxiety disorders. The following rating system was developed to show the treatments whose effectiveness was best supported by the evidence.

:):):) These treatments are very useful. They are strongly supported as effective by scientific evidence.

:):) These treatments are useful and are supported by scientific evidence as effective, but the evidence is not as strong.

:) These treatments may be useful and have some evidence to support them. More evidence is needed that they work.

Listed below are psychological, lifestyle and alternative treatments that work for different anxiety disorders.

Kava* General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) :):)

CBT self-help books Specific Phobias :):)

Physical exercise GAD :):)

Relaxation Training GAD :):)

Inositol** Panic and OCD :)

Acupuncture GAD :)

Autogenic Training*** GAD :)

Meditation GAD :)

Relaxing music GAD :)

Alcohol avoidance Range of anxiety disorders :)

* Kava (Latin name: piper methysticum) can cause liver toxicity in some rare cases and has been withdrawn from the EC

** Inositol may be difficult and expensive to buy; it is available over the internet for bodybuilding.

*** Autogenic Training is a type of relaxation therapy where people learn to relax themselves by concentrating on bodily feelings of heaviness and warmth and on the rhythm of their breathing and heartbeat.

Taken from Scotland's Mental Health First Aid Manual, ©Scottish Government and NHS Health Scotland, 2005 and based on research conducted at The Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University:

Jorm, A.F., Christensen, H., Griffiths, K., Parslow, R.A., Rodgers, B., and Blewitt, K.A. (2004) 'Effectiveness of complementary and self-help treatments for anxiety disorders', Medical Journal of Australia, 181:7, pp S29-S46.

About Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid training saves and improves lives. The course teaches people how to recognise mental health problems and how they can assist people in difficulty. Read more about Scotland's Mental Health First Aid.