7 Signs It’s Finally Time to Seek Residential Anxiety Treatment

Recognizing Anxiety Disorders

Everyone experiences anxiety and worry sometimes. It’s only natural to get anxious in certain situations, like before a big exam or a job interview. However, when the anxiety you experience is persistent, debilitating, and out of proportion with your situation, you may have an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders are classified by type: generalized anxiety, social anxiety, agoraphobia and other phobias, separation anxiety, and panic disorder. These types differ in what triggers anxiety, but they all have certain symptoms in common:

• A feeling of restlessness or being on edge
• Getting fatigued easily
• Difficulty concentrating on tasks, finding your mind goes blank
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Difficulty sleeping

With an anxiety disorder, you may also have a lot of physical symptoms, like an upset stomach and excessive sweating. You may feel a growing sense of doom or panic. If you truly have an anxiety disorder, the symptoms will cause significant distress, are out of control and persist for months at a time, and make performing normal, daily functions difficult or impossible.

Anxiety disorders are common. They are also highly treatable. With the right professional support, you can develop the skills and tools needed to manage symptoms. It is possible to reduce symptoms and to restore normal function. So what are the signs to knowing the right time to seek residential treatment for your anxiety?

1. You’ve Hit a Plateau in Outpatient Therapy.

Outpatient therapy can be useful for managing anxiety disorders, but it has some limitations. Some people do very well with therapy once or twice per week, and maybe it has helped you make improvements. But if you feel your progress has stalled, it may be time for more intensive treatment.

You may respond better to a residential setting where you can give all your focus and attention to meeting treatment goals. In outpatient care, you may slide back between sessions, or you may find that home and work responsibilities continue to trigger symptoms. With residential care, you can put all your energy into treatment that will set you up for greater success back at home.

2. Physical Symptoms Persist.

Maybe you’ve gotten a pretty good handle on your anxiety and excessive worrying, but the physical signs of anxiety disorder stubbornly persist. You may experience digestive upset, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, tension in your neck, back, or shoulders, or even headaches.

Ongoing physical symptoms could be a sign that you aren’t managing anxiety as well as you think. You may be blocking worrying thoughts, but they’re still coming out in physical ways. A residential treatment facility can help you learn not just how to manage stress and anxiety but also your physical health. A program focused on wellness, that will teach you how to eat well, how to improve your sleep, and how to use physical activity for stress relief, can provide extra benefits.

3. You Can’t Get Even the Simplest Tasks Done.

Anxiety disorders really mess with your mind. Even if you don’t think you’re worrying or feeling particularly anxious about anything, you may struggle to think clearly. It’s common with an anxiety disorder to feel mentally blocked or apathetic and to find it impossible to do even very easy things, like make dinner or pick up your kids from school.

Sometimes it’s obvious that anxiety is what is holding you back. Maybe you have to make a simple phone call or talk to your child’s teacher, but you suddenly feel paralyzed with fear or worry. If you can’t complete the simple tasks needed to function normally, you may need more treatment to learn how to overcome these hurdles.

4. Your Relationships Are Suffering.

Untreated mental illness can have all kinds of repercussions. The complications ripple out to all areas of your life. Most importantly, relationships with the people most important to you may begin to deteriorate because you are not managing your anxiety well.

Irritability, for instance, is a typical symptom of anxiety disorders. You may lash out at people around you and cause fights. Your anxiety can also cause you to isolate yourself from others, and relationships suffer as a result.

Treatment in a residential facility will take you away from those people for a while, but it can help you learn how to strengthen relationships. In fact, most residential centers encourage you to bring in close family members to participate. Together, you can develop more functional, supportive relationships.

5. Panic Attacks Are Taking Over Your Life.

Many of the symptoms of anxiety disorders are easy to hide. They are internal, and you may be able to function minimally without people realizing how much you are struggling on the inside. But if you have panic attacks, there is no way to hide your struggles or to continue functioning in the middle of these episodes.

Panic attacks are extremely disruptive. They tend to come on suddenly and cause intense symptoms:

• A strong sense of danger
• Intense fear of losing control, getting hurt, or dying
• Trembling, shaking, and sweating
• A rapid heartbeat
• Chest pains and shortness of breath
• Nausea and stomach cramps
• Dizziness, fainting
• Numbness and tingling
• Feeling detached

In the moment, these attacks are very scary and unsettling, but later you may find that the fear of having another one becomes debilitating. You may begin to avoid going out or being in certain situations. Panic attacks can take over your life, but you can combat them with professional treatment.

6. You’re Using Drugs or Alcohol to Cope.

It is not at all unusual for people with anxiety to use substances to self-medicate. A glass of wine at night may help you unwind and relax, but it’s not a long-term solution to anxiety. Drinking or using drugs can quickly spiral out of control. Before long you may find you need something just to get out of bed and face the day.

Any degree of substance abuse with anxiety disorder needs to be addressed immediately. The sooner you can reverse this harmful habit the better. You do not need to have a full-blown addiction to benefit from residential care. A treatment facility can provide a plan for managing anxiety and to reverse harmful substance use. Co-occurring disorders are complex and intertwined, and residential centers are best equipped to provide good care.

7. You Feel Depressed Too.

Anxiety and depression often co-occur. As with substance abuse and anxiety, the two conditions share a complicated relationship. Treatment for both in an outpatient setting may not be enough. You need professionals with experience treating both depression and anxiety. Ignoring one condition and treating the other is a recipe for relapse.

Residential treatment for anxiety and depression care can provide an individualized treatment plan and expert therapists who can help you unravel intertwined anxiety and depression. Here you’ll learn how to manage both, while also benefiting from holistic wellness care.

Anxiety doesn’t have to control your life. This is a treatable mental illness. If you’ve tried strategies at home, or even therapy, and are still struggling, there is hope. You simply may need a more intensive treatment experience. Consider a residential stay for a month or two so you can move on with your life.

Anxiety Disorder Treatment at Bridges

Bridges to Recovery offers comprehensive treatment for people struggling with anxiety and other mental health issues. Contact us to learn more about our renowned Los Angeles programs and how we can help you or your loved one start on the path to lasting wellness.