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Anxiety: Diagnosis and treatment

If you think you might be suffering from an anxiety disorder, you should arrange an appointment with a doctor or an Advanced Clinical Practitioner. During this appointment you should tell your clinician about your physical and psychological symptoms, and how regularly you experience these symptoms. Diagnosis sometimes requires blood tests to rule out other conditions.

Treatment for anxiety

Treatment for anxiety is wide-ranging, but broadly falls into two categories: therapy, and medication.

You might be referred for talking therapy, or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Talking therapy is where you talk to a trained professional about your thoughts and feelings within a safe, private setting. CBT is a specific type of talking therapy which focuses on how your thoughts and attitudes affect the way you feel and behave.

Prescription medications which are often recommended for anxiety include:

  • Beta-blockers, which treat physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat
  • Antidepressants such as SSRIs to improve your mood
  • Tranquilisers for very severe symptoms

Get diagnosed & treated online

At Doctor Care Anywhere we offer video and phone appointments where you can talk confidentially to one of our clinicians. 

Our clinicians are qualified to make an anxiety diagnosis after an online appointment with a patient (although we may recommend that you arrange blood tests to rule out other conditions first). Once a diagnosis has been made, we will be able to make recommendations about treatment.

If you have private health insurance, we can refer you to therapy such as CBT. If you don’t have private health insurance, we can provide guidance on the NHS services available or refer you back to your NHS GP who can make their own referral.

We can also prescribe anxiety medication such as beta-blockers. Currently we do not prescribe antidepressants for anxiety. There is evidence to suggest that antidepressants are not an effective treatment for anxiety, in part because they can cause unpleasant side effects that worsen anxiety symptoms.

Usually our clinicians will suggest follow-up appointments within a few weeks to check in and find out how you are getting on.

If you would like to speak with a GP or ACP about your anxiety make an appointment with Doctor Care Anywhere. You can also use our wellbeing tool, MyHealth with tips and resources for improving your mental health.

 

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