Exposure With Response Therapy
Visit www.remudaranch.com today for more information about anxiety disorders or call 1-800-445-1900 now for immediate assistance.
Anxiety disorders are on the rise in America today, especially in young people. These disorders are more common in girls than boys and take many forms: separation anxiety, extreme phobias, even obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The causes of these disorders are many and varied; some are biological or genetic, while others are the result of life events. What’s more, the anxiety can shift direction as the child grows. As a very young girl, a child may suffer intense fear when separated from her mother. As she grows older, her concerns may shift to germs and she may become very focused on hand-washing or worried about food contamination. She may begin practicing avoidant behavior when it comes to touching people or objects. This same girl, when approaching adolescence, may redirect her anxiety toward her body and her weight, which can result in an eating disorder. The point is this: the predisposition toward anxiety issues are, for whatever reason, often part of an individual’s makeup and may always be; the target of the anxiety simply refocuses as a child gets older.
Anxiety disorders are very real diseases that, left unchecked, may worsen over time. Often an individual reaches a point where she is so crippled by the disorder that her quality of life is nonexistent. Fortunately, help is available in the form of Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) therapy. In this treatment, the person with the disorder is systematically exposed to the object or event that is triggering the fear. For example, say the person is terrified of getting on an elevator; so much so, that even looking at an elevator makes her heart race and hands become clammy. The very idea of getting into the elevator and watching the door close is completely unacceptable. She feels about this elevator what others would feel about getting on the elevator if it were filled with scorpions. In ERP therapy, the individual and therapist take the process by degrees, approaching the elevator slowly and over a period of time. The ultimate goal is for the patient to be able to ride the elevator alone without experiencing anxiety. With ERP, she will learn the skills required to achieve this goal. In fact, ERP has been proven to be the most effective form of therapeutic treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder.
The important thing to remember is that with this type of treatment, the patient is shown how to effectively and successfully deal with her anxiety. This is a skill that will serve her well in her future. Because the truth is, the anxiety will probably crop up again when life is particularly difficult or stressful.
If you have a child, or know of an adolescent girl who is struggling with anxiety, please get help before it evolves into a crippling illness.
For more information about eating disorders please visit www.remudaranch.com
