4 Reasons to Consider Telemedicine for Anxiety Treatment

We all have situations where we feel uneasy, anxious, unsure, or otherwise out of sorts at a new situation, unusual event, or receiving bad news. Often, we manage the predicament and move forward, but with anxiety disorders, these uneasy feelings of fear and stress may not go away. This is the most common form of mental illness in America, affecting 40 million people over 18 annually and nearly 32% of teens between 13-18.

Getting help is important for anyone struggling with anxiety disorders, and telemedicine can be an effective way to help people with scheduling conflicts and other issues that may make in-office visits more difficult. Let’s look at the benefits of this method by examining what anxiety disorders are and how telemedicine can help.

Residents of the Woodlands or Kingwood, Texas, area coping with anxiety disorders or other mental illnesses can find help with Dr. Athi Venkatesh and his experienced staff at Kingwood Psychiatry

Understanding anxiety disorders

The feelings of uneasiness, fear, and other emotions are made more intense, persistent, and excessive with the different types of anxiety. These include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): persistent and excessive worrying completely out of proportion to the action or event
• Panic disorder: sudden feeling of fear, anxiety, or panic that sometimes peaks in panic attacks, may cause shortness of breath, chest pains, and heart palpitations
• Selective mutism: children failing to speak in situations that interfere with school, work, and social functions, even when they arise in less public settings
• Social phobia: a major anxiety that causes avoidance to the subject, situation, or object that the fear in centered around, sometimes leading to panic attacks
• Agoraphobia: a fear of becoming overwhelmed, often causing people to avoid places and situation like public transportation, open spaces, and crowds

They can present themselves in a number of ways, such as a constant sense of impending danger, panic, trembling, sweating, problems concentrating, hyperventilating, and increased heart rate.

How telemedicine can help 

Here are the advantages of using telemedicine to help treat anxiety disorders:

1. Access for people in rural or underserved locations

Anxiety disorders can affect people of all walks of life, including people in rural communities with no access to psychiatric help in their area, and people in urban communities in need of help but 

unable afford it.

2. Less interference with daily life

Telehealth visits mean being able to go about your daily routine without having to deal with traffic or wait in an office. You arrange for a time to meet, and you have your session in the comfort of your own home.

3. Reduced overall medical costs

Not traveling to an office also reduces overhead for pricing, which helps reduce the cost of care. Many medical insurance companies are allowing for telehealth sessions to be billed, also allowing for reimbursement.

4. Reduced anxiety

Going back to the disorder itself, telemedicine can relieve the stress associated with traveling to appointments and any associated fears that may be connected to that experience. This method can help to better mitigate some of the aforementioned types of anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorder can be difficult to manage but we can help you. Make an appointment with Dr. Venkatesh and his team at Kingwood Psychiatry today to start your treatment.