A Guide To What Works For Anxiety Disorders - Mental Health First Aid

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AyurvedaOur ratingOur ratingGAD? Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia ?PTSD and ASD? Specific Phobias ?Social Phobia? OCD ?WHAT IS IT?Ayurveda is the traditional healing system of India. Ayurveda translatesas ‘knowledge of living’. It aims to improve health and vitality throughnutrition, lifestyle and herbal medicines.HOW IS IT MEANT TO WORK?Ayurvedic medicines are a traditional treatment. Treatments are derivedfrom over thousands of years of use in India.DOES IT WORK?GADA traditional Ayurvedic herbal medicine was compared with a placebo(dummy pill) in 10 people with GAD. The medicine contained Withaniasomnifera, Tinospora cordifolia, Bacopa monniera, muskroot, licoricealoeweed, pearl pisti and ginger. After three months of treatment, themedicine group had lower anxiety than the placebo group.Other anxiety disordersThere is no evidence on whether Ayurveda works for PTSD, SocialPhobia, Panic Disorder, Specific Phobias or OCD.ARE THERE ANY RISKS?No side-effects were reported in the above study.Bach flower remediesOur ratingOur ratingGAD? Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia ?PTSD and ASD? Specific Phobias ?Social Phobia? OCD ?WHAT IS IT?Bach (pronounced ‘batch’) flower remedies are a system ofhighly‐diluted flower extracts. A popular combination of five remediesis sold as Rescue Remedy.HOW IS IT MEANT TO WORK?Bach flower remedies are believed to contain small amounts of theplant’s life force energy, which heals emotional imbalances.DOES IT WORK?One study gave Rescue Remedy or water and alcohol drops to peoplewith anxiety disorders. Participants were told to take the drops whenthey felt anxious over a three-day period. There was no difference ineffect on anxiety between the Rescue Remedy and the water andalcohol drops.ARE THERE ANY RISKS?Bach flower remedies are thought to be safe because they arehighly diluted.RECOMMENDATIONThere is not enough good evidence to say whether Bach flowerremedies work.RECOMMENDATIONThere is not enough evidence to say whether or not Ayurveda works.42
BibliotherapyOur ratingOur ratingGAD?Panic Disorder and AgoraphobiaPTSD and ASD?Specific PhobiasSocial Phobia OCD?WHAT IS IT?Bibliotherapy is a form of self-help that uses books or other writtenmaterial. The books provide information and homework exercises thatreaders works through on their own. Some of the books are based onpsychological therapies, such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT,see page 29). Self-help books can be bought and read on their ownwithout any contact with a health professional. However, they are alsosometimes used as a treatment given by a therapist or GP.HOW IS IT MEANT TO WORK?Books based on psychological therapies such as CBT work the sameway as when the treatment is given by a therapist.DOES IT WORK?GADOne good-quality study has evaluated bibliotherapy for GAD. Adultswith GAD worked through a self-help booklet for four weeks orreceived no treatment. The booklet taught problem-solving techniquesand had 28 worksheets. The study found that the bibliotherapytreatment was more effective than no treatment. Improvements fromthe booklet also lasted for at least three months.PTSD and ASDOne good-quality study has looked at bibliotherapy for PTSD. Adultswho had recently had a car accident received three months of CBT,a self-help booklet based on CBT (Understanding your reactions totrauma), or no treatment. The study showed that therapy was betterthan the booklet, and that the booklet was no better than no treatment.Social PhobiaSeveral studies of bibliotherapy for Social Phobia have been carriedout. Pooling results from these studies shows that it is more effectivethan no treatment, but less effective than face-to-face therapy.Panic Disorder and AgoraphobiaEight studies of bibliotherapy for Panic Disorder have been carried out.Pooling results from these studies shows that it is more effective thanno treatment. Results also suggest that it is as effective as face-to-facetherapy.Specific PhobiasSeveral studies have been carried out in adults with Specific Phobias.Pooling the results from these studies shows that bibliotherapy is moreeffective than no treatment, however results may not last long. Resultsalso show that it is less effective than face-to-face therapy.OCDOne study has been carried out of the self-help book, Stop Obsessing!Adults with OCD who had not improved with previous medicationworked through the book for six weeks, or received equivalentpsychological therapy from a therapist. Both groups improved,however the face-to-face therapy was more effective than the book.ARE THERE ANY RISKS?Readers should be wary of books that claim to be easy cures or that arenot based on effective therapies such as CBT. In addition, readers couldfeel worse if they do not apply the treatment correctly or give up early.RECOMMENDATIONBibliotherapy is effective for Panic Disorder, Specific Phobias and SocialPhobia. However, it is generally not as effective as face-to-face therapy.There is not enough evidence to say whether it is effective for GAD,OCD and PTSD.43
Page 2: ContentsWhat is an anxiety disorder
Page 5: Panic Disorder and AgoraphobiaPeopl
Page 8 and 9: As part of a Mental Health Treatmen
Page 10 and 11: The choice of treatment will also v
Page 12: A summary of what works foranxiety
Page 18 and 19: Anti-glucocorticoid (AGC) drugsOur
Page 20 and 21: ARE THERE ANY RISKS?Azapirones can
Page 22 and 23: ARE THERE ANY RISKS?There are serio
Page 24 and 25: LithiumPsychosurgery (aka ‘neuros
Page 26 and 27: OCDThere have been three good-quali
Page 29 and 30: Behaviour Therapy (BT)(aka ‘expos
Page 31 and 32: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)Da
Page 33 and 34: Flooding (aka 'implosion therapy')F
Page 36 and 37: Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)Ou
Page 39 and 40: Supportive therapyOur ratingOur rat
Page 41 and 42: OCDOne study has been carried out i
Page 43: Autogenic trainingOur ratingOur rat
Page 47 and 48: Computer-aided psychological therap
Page 49: Foods rich in tryptophanOur ratingO
Page 53 and 54: MassageOur ratingOur ratingGAD? Pan
Page 55 and 56: PainkillersOur ratingOur ratingGAD?
Page 57 and 58: Rhodiola rosea(Golden Root)Smoking
Page 59 and 60: SympathylOur ratingOur ratingGAD? P
Page 61 and 62: Interventionsreviewedbut whereno ev
Page 63 and 64: Medical InterventionsAnti-anxiety d
Page 65 and 66: Family therapyAsen E. Outcome resea
Page 67 and 68: MassageBillhult A, Määttä S. Lig
Page 69: A summary of what works for anxiety

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