Anxiety is the most common psychiatric disorder, with over 301 million ?people affected around the world. Whether extreme anxiety arises in social situations, is triggered by a particular phobia, or manifests as a general unease in the world, it can severely affect people’s everyday functioning and lead to high levels of distress.
Luckily, there are good treatments for anxiety, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (or CBT) and various pharmaceutical drugs. Still, CBT takes a highly-trained therapist to administer and can be lengthy and expensive, making it inaccessible to many people who need it. And, while drug therapies can work well and are often covered by insurers, they may not be acceptable for people who worry about the potential side effects of putting a drug in their body. [Read more…] about 8‑week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course found to be as effective as Lexapro (escitalopram) to treat adults with anxiety disorders, and with far fewer side effects
