Alternative Therapies for Anxiety
What is Anxiety?
Feeling anxious at times is an understandable response to challenging situations, but if the symptoms become debilitating and interfere with daily life, seeking professional assistance should be sought as soon as possible. Some people’s anxious feelings never go away, and they are often out of proportion with the situation.
Anxiety can affect your ability: to concentrate, sleep, and perform everyday tasks.
What are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders make up the largest group of mental illnesses in Australia. One in four Australians will experience anxiety disorders at some point in their lives.
An anxiety disorder is more than just feeling anxious. People with anxiety disorders experience persistent fears that can cause distress and prevent them from doing the things they want and should do.
Anxiety disorders can be classified into:
- Anxiety Disorder: uncontrollable, excessive worry about daily issues, such as work, health or finances.
- Social Phobia or anxiety disorder is a condition that makes people avoid social situations or performances for fear of rejection or being humiliated.
Anxiety Disorder : panic attacks that are frequent and intense, accompanied by fear of more attacks. Avoiding situations where attacks could occur is also important. - A fear of panic attacks can lead to Agoraphobia. The panic disorder is often linked to agoraphobia.
- Specific Phobias : Fears that are specific to a particular situation. For example, a fear of animals, insects or places. Claustrophobia, for example, is the fear of enclosed spaces.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).: unwelcome thoughts and impulses that cause repetitive, routine behaviors as a means of dealing with anxiety.
- PTSD : When feelings of fear don’t fade away after a traumatic event in life. This disorder is characterised by disturbing memories, flashbacks or nightmares, and difficulty sleeping.
Can You Get Anxiety Medication Online in Australia?
Anxiety is a natural part of being human, yet when it interferes with daily activities or causes distress it should be treated by seeking the advice and support of mental health professionals.
Anxiety disorder is the most prevalent mental illness in Australia, affecting 16.8% of the population. As such many Australians seek help for their mental health online. There are various ways to manage anxiety symptoms – medication may block or target specific neurotransmitters while relaxation techniques and exercise may also help. Exercise burns stress chemicals while providing physical release – both of these methods will contribute to making you feel calmer.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can also be an effective means of relieving anxiety. (2) Working closely with a mental health professional, CBT involves recognizing and altering any unhelpful patterns of thinking which contribute to fear or anxiety; eventually you’ll develop more helpful thoughts which reduce symptoms.
Herbal medicines are an increasingly popular complementary and alternative medicine in Australia, yet little is known about how adults who experience anxiety are using them. We surveyed 10,575 Australian adults to better understand this relationship between herbal medication use and anxiety symptoms and Coviu; participants were recruited via an online panel and completed the survey themselves online using Coviu. Our survey is the first of its kind that seeks to uncover how people self-prescribe herbal medications for treatment for anxiety disorders.
Anxiety Disorder is Treatable
If your anxieties and worries have become an obstruction to daily living, seeking professional advice may be essential. Anxiety is a mental illness which can impede on job or school performance, relationships and physical wellbeing.
At Peak Wellness Psychiatry, our anxiety specialists can assess your symptoms to identify their source. We take time to listen to and discuss any experiences or concerns from you in order to create an effective anxiety treatment online plan tailored specifically for you.
Medication may also help manage anxiety symptoms. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs/SNRIs), antidepressants, can relieve your anxiety by increasing serotonin production in your brain, while beta blockers such as propranolol may be effective treatments for anxiety disorders.
Psychotherapy can also be an invaluable asset in managing anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can teach you to recognize negative thoughts and beliefs that exacerbate your discomfort; eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), Somatic Experiencing, and Trauma Informed Yoga are additional techniques which may reduce anxiety.
CannaTelehealth: About Us
We are a telehealth company that specialises in online consultations and treatment for anxiety disorders. CannaTelehealth allows online healthcare professionals to utilise the latest telehealth technologies while keeping patient data secure and compliant with privacy and security laws.
Our online system allows patients to easily book an appointment with a qualified and experienced Nurse Practitioner or Doctor who can help them in the procedure of obtaining Medicinal Cannabis to treat their medical condition. Our telehealth service is fully supported by the clinical team, who ensure all consultations are carried out by qualified health care professionals.
All of our doctors in CBD can apply for Medicinal Cannabis in accordance with schedule 8 under the Therapeutic Goods Act. This allows them to prescribe medications as needed. During your initial consultation, you will be working with your doctor or nurse to determine if Medicinal Cannabis would be appropriate for your symptoms and condition. If approved, your doctor or nurse will apply to the TGA for approval of your eScript.
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Disclaimer: CannaTelehealth is not promoting the use of medicinal cannabis. Medicinal cannabis does affect every person differently, due to factors such as size, weight, health, dosage, tolerance and age. Medicinal cannabis might not work for you, and you might experience side-effects. Information provided by CannaTelehealth is for educational and informational purposes only. For medical advice, please refer to your doctor. Medicinal cannabis in Australia is regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and details about cannabis as a scheduled drug can be found on their website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to get prescribed anxiety medication online?
There are many healthcare clinics that allow you to book for anxiety counselling. At CannaTelehealth you can book a doctor’s online consultation to treat your anxiety. Once you have had your appointment it is possible for the healthcare professional to prescribe you medication to treat your symptoms. CannaTelehealth provides eScripts to patients via email or SMS, once received the patient can visit their local pharmacy or visit one online to purchase their medication.
What is the Best Medication for Anxiety?
It is always up to a healthcare professional (doctor, nurse, anxiety psychologist) to prescribe medication.
There is a growing amount of evidence surrounding Medicinal Cannabis and its effective use for those suffering anxiety. However there are those reports in research articles that suggest that there is a limited amount of published literature regarding cannabis use and the development of anxiety disorders and/or symptoms. A previous narrative review noted that cannabis use is often associated with anxiety symptoms, but it also observed a scarcity of prospective studies to determine the relationship between cannabis use and long term anxiety. (3&4).
If the doctor believes that medication is the best treatment plan for you then they may prescribe Medicinal Cannabis as an option.
If you have booked an online appointment at CannaTelehealth with a doctor who specialises in Medicinal Cannabis, they will prescribe based on your needs and requirements discussed during the appointment. CannaTelehealth is brand agnostic; we do not cater to or prefer specific brands of medicinal cannabis. It is always up to the discretion to prescribe medication for your anxiety.
References
- https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/anxiety Online Resource
- Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders: A Health Technology Assessment Ont Health Technol Assess Ser. 2019; 19(6): 1–199.
- Cannabis Use and Prospective Long-Term Association with Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies: Usage du cannabis et association prospective à long terme avec l’anxiété: une revue systématique et une méta-analyse d’études longitudinales Siqi Xue, MD,1 M. Ishrat Husain, MBBS, MD, MRCPsych,1,2 Haoyu Zhao, MPH,2 and Arun V. Ravindran, MBBS, PhD, FRCP(C)FRCPsych1,2 Can J Psychiatry. 2021 Feb; 66(2): 126–138.
- Crippa JA, Zuardi AW, Martín Santos R, et al. Cannabis and anxiety: a critical review of the evidence. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2009;24(7):515–523. [PubMed]
