Anxiety Specialist

When does anxiety become a mental health concern?

Anxiety is defined as fear or apprehension that occurs when you suddenly face a threat or anticipate a worrisome event on the horizon.

As soon as you develop anxiety, your brain sends out hormones that stimulate the fight-or-flight response. This natural reaction energizes your body so you can deal with the problem and take quick action when needed.

Your anxiety should go away when the threat or event is over. If you still feel anxious after the threat is over, if your anxiety is out of proportion to the situation, or if anxiety interferes with your daily life, you may have an anxiety disorder.

What symptoms develop due to anxiety?

The diagnostic guide used by mental health professionals, called DSM-5, lists 12 anxiety disorders. Each anxiety disorder has a group of unique symptoms.

For example, a specific phobia causes fear of one thing, such as a fear of heights or spiders. By comparison, generalized anxiety disorder causes excessive anxiety nearly every day about many things.

As a group, anxiety disorders cause physical and emotional symptoms such as:

• Irritability
• Nervousness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Nausea and vomiting
• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Sweating
• Increased heart rate

Another type of anxiety disorder, called panic disorder, often feels like a heart attack as it causes chest pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath.

How is anxiety treated?

Mental health professionals treat anxiety with psychotherapy, medications, or both. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most common types of psychotherapy used for anxiety.

Anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants may relieve symptoms, but they don’t always work. When your anxiety doesn’t improve with conservative therapies, the team at Austin Ketamine Clinic may recommend ketamine therapy.

How does ketamine treat anxiety?

The team at Austin Ketamine Clinic talks with you about your concerns and evaluates your treatment history and symptoms. If they determine you’re a good candidate for ketamine infusions, they can schedule a complimentary consultation, then you can schedule a series of six treatments over 2-3 weeks.

Ketamine is an anesthetic medication that is safely used during surgery. At lower doses, however, ketamine relieves pain and has been shown to balance the brain chemicals that regulate anxiety.

A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology reported that intravenous infusions of subanesthetic ketamine can quickly and effectively relieve anxiety for many patients.

Most patients respond quickly to their ketamine infusion therapy, seeing results in 2-3 weeks, with just one treatment. However, longer-lasting results stem from a series of six treatments administered over 2-3 weeks. 

After your initial series of six infusions, you may need a booster infusion every 4-6 weeks to maintain your results. After completion of the initial series, most patients are prescribed a regimen of ketamine to help maintain progress between treatments to be utilized at home. In addition, between appointments, your provider stays in touch with you and uses software to monitor your mental health. The team at Austin Ketamine Clinic is there for the long run, staying in touch with you to monitor your mental health and ready to offer support if your symptoms return.

To learn if ketamine can help your anxiety, call Austin Ketamine Clinic or use the online booking feature to schedule a complimentary consultation.