KO-LD said...
My doctor has suggested maybe trying EFT (emotional freedom technique) but my husband doesn't want to try it. He says it won't work for him, because his anxiety is worse than most peoples. The meds (Xanax) are not helping enough right now, and he won't consider therapy (again his anxiety is worse than most peoples and it won't help).
If your husband's anxiety is that much worse than everyone else then I would think he'd want to use multiple approaches towards getting better. Of course I know from personal experience that anxiety and panic can be debilitating and so the idea of getting treatment
of any kind can feel overwhelming. I was more or less forced (not literally) into a group therapy program by my family at one of my low points. It didn't work and I very much disliked the program, but the fact that I was getting up and out and attending and not having the best experience there motivated me to find a new and better place/way to be treated.
If the Xanax is helping then I would hope that he could stay on that for now. But Xanax is a short-term solution. Therapy may take more time, but the sooner you start the sooner you'll feel the benefit. So for instance, examining the issues in therapy may help in the long run, using EFT or something else may help in the intermediate term, and medication might help in the short run until the other approaches "kick in". I'm not familiar with EFT, but by all means look into it and anything else that might help. We're all individuals and he needs to figure out the right mix of answers to deal with his unique situation.