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Category Archives: Anxiety Disorder

Categories Anxiety Disorder, Burn-out, Depression, Eating Disorder, EMDR Therapy, Expats, Online Therapy, Over-stressed, Psychiatrist, Psychologist, PTSD

The benefits of online therapy

Online therapy, internet therapy, or e-health: there is an increasing demand for psychological treatments via the internet. Is this because more and more people have psychological problems? Probably not. It has more to do with the fact that the taboo on mental health care is getting smaller. And because of the many advantages of online therapy, more and more people are turning to professional help in time.

Accessible

It used to be that you first had to go to the family doctor for a referral to a therapist. Saying that you are not doing well and that you would like a referral is different. Therefore, for many people, getting help was a big step. With online therapy, this problem is largely solved. The low threshold ensures that people are more likely to get help. As a result, a larger group of people now receives help. Moreover, better results are achieved through earlier intervention.

Available

Whether you live in a remote area, have no transportation, or are housebound, an online therapist is always available. All you need is an internet connection. That saves you travel time and costs. If you choose online therapy via email or chat, you don’t even need to arrange a date or time with your therapist. You can then start therapy completely in your own time.

Flexible

Many online therapists are also available in the evenings or on weekends. They are not tied to the opening hours of their practice. They may also be working remotely and from a different time zone themselves. That can be very advantageous. This flexibility is very practical if you have little time or a constantly changing schedule. This way you can still schedule regular meetings.

Location-independent

Online therapy is a godsend for people living abroad. Because it is completely location-independent, you can see a therapist who speaks the same language as you without any fuss. It’s available wherever you are in the world. This is also ideal if you travel a lot for work, have a nomadic lifestyle, or are often on vacation. This way you don’t have to interrupt your therapy every time you go abroad.

Trusted

A major advantage of online therapy is the fact that you can do it from home. At home, you undoubtedly feel most comfortable. You are not distracted, can concentrate better, and probably dare to be more open about what is going on. This way you can get to the core of a problem faster and the treatment will be most effective. Moreover, after a session, you can stay on your own couch and let the conversation sink in. What a comfort!

Anonymous

You won’t accidentally end up in the waiting room with the neighbor from across the street. Nor will you run into your therapist at the supermarket on a Saturday. Online therapy is done remotely, with a professional who may live on the other side of the country or the world. Moreover, you can determine the degree of anonymity yourself. Video calling creates a very ‘personal’ contact with your therapist, who can also interpret your facial expression and body language. But at The Online Therapists, you can also chat with your therapist or email them.

Professional

The team at The Online Therapists consists of professionally trained therapists with at least five years of experience. Each therapist has his or her own specialty, which means that you will quickly find the right therapist for you. Online therapists are, therefore, very capable of treating and curing a diverse range of complaints. Think of:

  • stress and burn-out complaints
  • anxiety or panic attacks
  • depression
  • grief processing
  • trauma treatment
  • relationship problems
  • sexual problems
  • eating disorders

Effective

There is now quite a bit of research on the effectiveness of online therapy. Does it work as well as regular therapy? The answer is yes. Most forms of treatment use talking techniques and cognitive behavioral therapy. This can be done perfectly well over the phone or as a video call. Many clients experience the same personal connection with their therapist as they do in the office.

In addition, some people find it more beneficial to write down their story via email or chat. Writing gives you time to think about your words and, therefore, has a therapeutic effect. It also gives you the opportunity to read back your own story and the answers from your therapist.

Low cost

It varies from provider to provider, but the cost of online therapy is usually lower than that of regular therapy. After all, the therapist can also perform his or her work inexpensively and easily from home. Also, early intervention sometimes reduces the costs. Because many people have easy access to online therapy, treatments are less invasive and shorter. So you also save money!

Without waiting list

There are still long waiting lists in mainstream health care. It can take weeks or months before you can finally see a care provider. In that period psychological problems can seriously worsen. At The Online Therapists, you can start with online therapy immediately. This is also a good interim solution if you prefer ‘offline’ therapy, but want to bridge the gap while you are on the waiting list.

Are you curious if online therapy will suit you? Feel free to schedule an informal consultation. We are happy to answer all your questions.

 

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Request an online consultation with one of our trusted online therapists.

    Categories Anxiety Disorder, EMDR Therapy, PTSD

    EMDR therapy: what is it and how does it work?

    EMDR therapy is used for people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). EMDR was conceived in 1989 by the American psychologist Francine Shapiro. Since then there has been a considerable amount of research on EMDR and the technique has been developed and refined. All this research has now shown that EMDR is particularly effective for both acute and chronic PTSD.

    Who is EMDR therapy for?

    Many of us experience a traumatic event at some point in our lives; an event that has a great impact and takes time to process. Sometimes we manage to process and move on, but sometimes not. EMDR therapy helps people who continue to suffer from a traumatic experience in everyday life. Examples of events that can cause trauma are:

    • a serious accident, such as a car crash or fire
    • an incident of violence, such as an assault or robbery
    • sexual assault, such as a sexual assault or rape
    • a natural disaster, such as a hurricane or flood
    • war
    • serious illness
    • loss, such as of a loved one, relationship, job, or even something abstract like autonomy or self-determination

    Post-traumatic stress disorder

    People who do not succeed in processing such a traumatic experience on their own may continue to suffer from its consequences for years. We then speak of a post-traumatic stress disorder or trauma-related anxiety disorder. This sometimes dramatically affects daily life. Symptoms of PTSD are:

    • bad memories, flashbacks, re-experiences, and nightmares
    • avoidance of situations reminiscent of the trauma
    • fear and panic attacks
    • gloom, brooding, and worrying a lot
    • stress, vigilance, restlessness, and increased alertness
    • shame, guilt, and negative self-image
    • being easily irritated or having a short fuse, anger, and aggression
    • sleeping and concentration problems
    • unexplained physical complaints

    What is EMDR therapy?

    EMDR is an abbreviation of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. The name says it all: the therapy attempts to reprocess the trauma using eye movements. That sounds more vague than it is.

    The theory on which EMDR is based has to do with the way your brain stores memories. The idea is that certain experiences, over time, end up as memories in your long-term memory. As soon as you bring them to mind again, they enter the ‘working memory’. However, working memory has a limited capacity. If you receive other stimuli at the same time, there is very little space left for the memory. The memory is, therefore, stored in another, often smaller, fuzzier, and less overwhelming form, back in long-term memory.

    How does EMDR therapy work?

    With EMDR therapy, this process is actively initiated. The EMDR therapist guides you as you bring the trauma to mind. You are asked to focus on specific images, thoughts, and feelings. Then you are given distracting stimuli that require attention from both hemispheres of the brain. Often you have to follow the hand movements of the therapist with your eyes. But it is also possible that you put headphones on and hear sounds that alternate between the left ear and the right ear.

    After a while, you take a break and the therapist then asks you about your experiences. Often during this process, all kinds of new thoughts and feelings arise. Sometimes you even feel physical changes. Then the process is repeated. Only now the intention is that you focus as much as possible on these changes.

    The results of EMDR therapy

    EMDR therapy works through a series of these kinds of sets. The therapy ensures that the memory becomes less charged and is stored again in the long-term memory in this new form. It may even be that you start to connect positive aspects to it. This makes it easier to think back to the trauma in the future, without it immediately overwhelming you. Also, the memories of the trauma will not overwhelm you as easily.

    Advantages and disadvantages of EMDR therapy

    Disadvantages of EMDR therapy

    EMDR therapy is emotionally demanding. Not everyone is ready to talk about their trauma and consciously bring it to mind as clearly as possible. It is, therefore, important to use a professional and experienced therapist. They can guide you step by step in this process and will not force you. It is also possible that at first new negative or strong images and emotions come up. Many people suffer from this for a few days after an EMDR session and, therefore, also complain of fatigue.

    Benefits of EMDR Therapy

    Fortunately, in most cases, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. For example, EMDR therapy often works extremely quickly, eliminating the need for years of talking to a therapist about the trauma. It can reduce the symptoms themselves so much that at the end of treatment there is no longer any PTSD. For many people with trauma symptoms, EMDR therapy, therefore, provides huge improvements in daily functioning.

    Categories Anxiety Disorder, Online Therapy, Psychologist

    Help with anxiety disorders and panic attacks

    Do you regularly suffer from anxiety or panic attacks? And are you worried that you might be developing an anxiety disorder? You are far from the only one. Nearly one in five adults currently has or has had an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are especially common among adolescents and young adults, and more common among women than men. Anxiety can have a major impact on your functioning and completely control your life.

    What is an anxiety or panic disorder?

    Fear is a crucial emotion that protects us from danger and in some cases is vital. When danger threatens, we become afraid and our bodies prepare to flee or fight. That preparation involves an increased heart rate, faster breathing, and a lot of tension on the muscles. Thus, you are ready to avert the danger by any means necessary.

    Anxiety symptoms

    Under normal circumstances, fear is often short-lived. It lasts until the danger has passed, or until we recognize that what startled us is not a real danger. We speak of an anxiety disorder when anxiety symptoms persist for too long or arise for no apparent reason. This soon gets in the way of normal functioning and causes unnecessary suffering.

    Panic attacks

    At certain times, anxiety can rise to such a level that it turns into panic. Such an attack of panic lasts about ten minutes and is characterized by the rapid worsening of anxiety symptoms. People having a panic attack suffer from palpitations and hyperventilation, which gives them the idea that they have lost control over their own bodies. This results in the fear of going crazy, having a heart attack, or even dying.

    Symptoms of an anxiety disorder

    The symptoms of an anxiety disorder are partly psychological but largely physical. Therefore, sometimes people with an anxiety disorder fear that there is something physically wrong with them, but this is often not the case.

    Physical symptoms

    • dizziness or blurred vision
    • nausea or abdominal pain
    • headache
    • numbness or tingling in the arms, hands, and fingers
    • stiff, almost paralyzed muscles, trembling, muscle twitching, or high muscle tension
    • palpitations
    • shortness of breath, hyperventilation, tightness in the chest, or a feeling of suffocation
    • fatigue and difficulty sleeping
    • flushing
    • sweating
    • a dry throat

    Psychological symptoms

    • irritability and restlessness
    • persistent anxiety and excessive brooding

    Causes and effects of anxiety disorders

    In some cases, trauma is the cause of an anxiety disorder. Usually, the anxiety disorder is part of what we call Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). For this, there are specific treatment methods aimed at processing the trauma. In other cases, it is often unclear exactly how an anxiety disorder develops. Often multiple factors, such as stress and problems in the emotional or relational realm, play a role.

    However, the consequences of an untreated anxiety disorder are significant. For example, if anxiety often leads to panic attacks, you will increasingly avoid certain situations. Often people with an anxiety disorder avoid places where they cannot get away quickly, such as festivals or concerts, public transport, or large department stores. Avoiding these types of situations soon results in an obsessive-compulsive disorder, which involves compulsively checking to see if future situations might cause anxiety. If this starts to control your life to a far-reaching degree, you run the risk of developing depression.

    Treatment of anxiety disorders

    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

    The most widely used treatment technique for anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy. Unlike tranquilizing medication, which only fights the symptoms of anxiety, cognitive behavioral therapy treats the source of the anxiety: your thoughts. The therapy assumes that anxiety doesn’t “just happen” or isn’t only triggered by a particular situation, but that your thoughts (about a particular situation) are the culprit.

    People with anxiety disorders often unconsciously have certain thought patterns that cause a fear response. By putting these thought patterns under the microscope, you get a better grip on them. In this way, you learn to control your fear reactions. In practice, this is practiced by consciously confronting situations that evoke fear.

    Breathing exercises

    If you suffer a lot from panic attacks, hyperventilation, and palpitations, breathing therapy can be a valuable addition to therapy. Controlling your breathing reduces palpitations and thus has a positive effect on the physical component of a panic attack.

    In about 70% of patients, therapy with a therapist has a positive effect, partially or completely overcoming the anxiety disorder. In this way, serious psychological symptoms are prevented and you regain control of your life.

     

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