Alternative Therapies for the Treatment of Anxiety

Anxiety is considered a common mental disorder in modern society and may be related to depression, stress, panic syndrome, and other emotional issues. This disorder manifests with a variety of symptoms, which can cause professional instability, clinical changes, and anti-social behavior. Actually, several forms of treatment are available, such as modern medicine, with the main use of antidepressants; homeopathy, an approach that treats the patient as a whole, in mental, physical, and social aspects; cognitive behavioral therapy, which treats anxiety by focusing on the individual’s current problems; phyto therapy, which involves treatment of the disease using medicinal plants and psychotherapy methods. However, all of these treatments may have complications, presenting contradictory responses to what was expected. Thus, the choice of the best therapy is crucial in the management of anxiety to ensure less response time to treatment and with less physical and mental consequences for the patient.

Keywords:Anxiety, Medicines, Alternative Therapy, Treatments

Abbreviations: CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; OCD: Obsessive-compulsive disorder; DSM-V: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; GAD: Generalized Anxiety Disorder; CNS: Central Nervous System; GABA: Gamma-Aminobutyric acid