Almost everyone’s felt anxious at one time or another. Whether it’s studying for a big exam in school, concern about management changes at work, or worrying about how the family will handle an upcoming move, it’s common to feel nervous or stressed about new or changing situations and important moments.
But if you’re experiencing anxiety that prevents you from going about your daily life, or you regularly find yourself overwhelmed by worries for no notable reason, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder, and BetterHelp online therapy may be able to help.
What Is Anxiety?
There are many types of anxiety disorders. Some people suffer from social anxiety, where they are intensely afraid of meeting new people or worry excessively that others have a negative opinion of them. Others may feel panicky during stressful situations, and some people find themselves feeling helpless or overwhelmed by current events like climate change. Generalized anxiety disorder, meanwhile, involves persistent worry, generally for a period of more than six months, that’s often unfounded by circumstances.
Anxiety can make it difficult to concentrate and carry out basic tasks in daily life, and it can interfere with relationships with friends, family, and co-workers. It’s not uncommon for people with anxiety to feel overwhelmed in certain situations or to struggle with making decisions. While a person with anxiety may dwell on the source of their worries, they often have difficulty addressing the problem in constructive ways. Anxiety can even manifest with physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, an inability to concentrate, or sleep disturbances.
Online platforms like BetterHelp can help many people who suffer from anxiety manage it.
How Treatment Works
Treatment for anxiety may be multifold and can include in-person or online therapy, where an individual talks to a licensed counselor. It may also include lifestyle changes and learning new behavioral techniques, such as meditation. In some cases, medication may be a useful tool.
Many counselors who treat anxiety use cognitive behavioral therapy. Typically, a mental health professional works with the patient to identify maladaptive thought patterns and negative habits that may be leading to the anxiety.
Once these thought distortions are recognized, the clinician helps the patient come up with ways to replace these problematic patterns with healthier thoughts.
CBT often involves sharpening a patient’s problem-solving skills so they can better understand the motivations behind their negative behaviors and develop coping strategies.
In other possible treatments for anxiety, such as systematic desensitization or exposure therapy, a clinician and patient work on techniques to desensitize a patient to anxiety-provoking situations and expose the patient to those situations during treatment.
Therapists may also suggest stress management techniques such as role play and mindfulness, which can help patients feel better in control when they find themselves in challenging situations or experiencing harmful emotions.
Talking with a licensed therapist, like those at BetterHelp, can help you determine what types of treatment might work best for you.
Is BetterHelp Legit?
The idea of online therapy can feel a bit strange, but BetterHelp is legit. In fact, BetterHelp’s format has several features that make it uniquely suited to help people experiencing anxiety.
Talking with a therapist is often the first step toward treating anxiety, but the idea of finding a counselor with whom you’re comfortable (not to mention discussing pricing) can, itself, cause anxiety for some people.
BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed therapist through its online platform. Filling out the questionnaire on its website allows BetterHelp to match you with a practitioner who meets your specific needs and preferences — for example, if you’re interested in a faith-based counselor or someone secular.
BetterHelp counselors have undergone background checks and include psychologists, marriage and family counselors, and clinical social workers, all accredited and licensed in their respective fields. Each holds a master’s degree or doctorate and has a minimum of three years and 1,000 hours of experience.
You can also privately review the BetterHelp pricing options for various plans, so you can find the one that works with your needs.
BetterHelp allows you to connect with your therapist in multiple ways — by phone, video call, or online chat messaging. The counselor will respond as soon as possible, meaning you don’t have to wait until your next scheduled appointment in a week or two. This is especially useful as anxious feelings may arise at any point in the day, including in the evening, long after the close of business hours. The BetterHelp format allows clients to address those feelings as they’re occurring, while the situation is fresh, and to receive guidance from a counselor quicker.
Also, the flexibility of online therapy can eliminate some common stressors of in-person therapy. For some people, getting to a counselor’s office may involve taking time out of a workday or rushing to a session after work or school. Both of those situations can be stressors. But a patient can access their therapy room with their BetterHelp login from anywhere they have an internet connection. They can also partake in video, phone, or messaging sessions from home or any place where they feel comfortable.
If you still have doubts about the efficacy of online therapy for anxiety, multiple studies have shown that platforms like BetterHelp are as effective as in-person therapy for many people. One analysis of 20 studies found online therapy, like BetterHelp, effectively reduced symptoms and filled in therapy gaps in mental health care.
The website helpguide.org, a nonprofit mental health resources site, recently ranked BetterHelp as its best overall online therapy platform for anxiety, citing positive feedback from its testers and the high level of support available to BetterHelp users between sessions such as in-app messaging.
“We also like that its bonus features, like digital journal prompts and group therapy sessions, often focus on anxiety-related issues,” the site wrote, adding that the BetterHelp intake questionnaire screens specifically for anxiety.
There are also countless BetterHelp reviews and testimonials available where patients relay their firsthand experiences.
Leave a Reply