There are many ways to get help when you suffer from General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or even just a higher level of anxiety than is normal for you. These include traditional therapies like behavioral health treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure Therapy; medications prescribed by your doctor; alternative medicine practices, such as chiropractic, acupuncture and naturopathy; and these days, there is also something known as e-Therapy. As you would imagine, e-Therapy is a form of anxiety therapy that you find on-line. There is a case for, and a case against, e-Therapy, however, and here we will take a look at both sides of this coin.
e-Therapy is a method by which a therapist provides services via the Internet, either through e-mail messages, chat forums, instant messaging, and even video conferencing. This practice has evolved from the popularity of sites such as WebMD, which allow a user to browse through symptoms and signs of an ailment and ask questions and receive answers from experts from the comfort of their own home. This type of service has expanded to include the treatment of several phobia-related and other disorders, and now includes Anxiety Therapy Toronto.
In the “for” column, e-Therapy is something you can start immediately, at your convenience, whenever you choose. This can be especially helpful when you have a very hectic and demanding schedule that makes it difficult to get to an appointment with a traditional therapist. This form of treatment allows you to seek anxiety therapy from the safety and comfort of your home, and this can be of benefit for a couple of different reasons. If you prefer to remain anonymous, this format provides you with that opportunity, which can increase your level of comfort in seeking help, especially if you have been avoiding it due to increased anxiety in going to see a doctor in his or her office. You also may be more inclined to participate when you can maintain your privacy – when you seek anxiety therapy via the Internet; no one has to know that you’re getting help.
In the “against” column, because you are responsible for initiating your own program of anxiety therapy, and no one is going to call you to make sure you are going to make your appointments, you may be tempted to blow it off. If you talk yourself out of participating the way you should, then you will not reap any benefit whatsoever. Additionally, you must be really, really careful to select an e-therapist who is qualified to provide appropriate treatment, and this is somewhat more difficult with a person who you can’t see, and who could really be anyone. Finally, before seeking this type of treatment, it is very important that you have a full physical examination in order to ensure that you do, indeed, suffer from an anxiety-related issue. Self-diagnosis can be dangerous, and it is somewhat of an unreal expectation to believe that someone who only deals with you anonymously via the Internet to be able to properly diagnose you.
If you are considering e-Therapy, then give it a shot – you have very little to lose, and could gain a lot. Just be sure to do your homework about the site and the e-therapist, and only seek a course of treatment for anxiety therapy if you are certain that you need it and not some other form of medical treatment.