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Treatment overview
Treatment of anxiety does not always require medication. The use of antianxiety drugs depends in part on whether the patient can tolerate his or her symptoms while learning to manage them through such measures as education on the causes of anxiety; psychotherapy; or techniques including progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, or, less commonly, yoga, self-hypnosis, or meditation. In general, these approaches are designed to give people with anxiety a feeling of control over their symptoms.
Patients can also help themselves by getting enough sleep, exercising (which aids sleep and improves self-esteem), and avoiding caffeine and alcohol. Patients often have more than one anxiety disorder; determining exactly which disorders are present can lead to better treatment. Depending on the severity of anxiety symptoms, treatment can be managed by a primary care physician or specialist.
This section has more on general medication treatment. Also, because the various disorders respond differently to the available types of treatment, there is more information on treating:
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