Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, experienced by 18% of adults annually. If your anxiety symptoms are making your life unmanageable, you should consider anxiety disorder treatment.

“Look at your life and see if it is serving you,” advised Melisse Prusinski, Clinical Manager of Morningstar Residential Program at Integrative Life Center. 

Examining your life and whether you’re living it to the fullest may prompt you to seek residential treatment for anxiety.

Understanding Anxiety

Everyone gets stressed out, anxious, or worried sometimes, but if your feelings are persistent, debilitating, or out of proportion to the situation, you may need anxiety disorder treatment. 

Physical anxiety symptoms may include a racing heart, sweating, difficulty breathing, and shakiness. 

Melisse also recommends seeking treatment if you use maladaptive behaviors like excessive eating, drugs, or alcohol to cope with anxiety. 

You can choose from outpatient, inpatient, or residential anxiety disorder treatment. 

When to Seek Residential Anxiety Disorder Treatment

So, who should consider residential anxiety disorder treatment? If your needs are too intense to be managed with outpatient treatment but not severe enough for hospitalization, residential treatment could be for you. 

Factors that suggest residential treatment is the right choice:

• Unsuccessful Outpatient Therapy. Have you tried outpatient therapy but are still experiencing anxiety? Outpatient therapy has its limitations. If your progress stalled, you might respond better to a residential treatment where you can focus on your treatment goals. Getting away from work and home responsibilities that trigger anxiety symptoms can also be helpful. You can devote all of your energy to getting well.
• Deteriorating Physical Health. Is your anxiety causing physical symptoms? Digestive problems, trouble sleeping, fatigue, tense muscles, and other physical symptoms are signs you aren’t managing your anxiety well. If your physical health is deteriorating, residential treatment can offer a relaxing environment to focus on addressing your needs.
• Difficulty Completing Simple Tasks. Simple tasks can become difficult or impossible because of anxiety. Do you struggle to make decisions or think clearly? Do you find yourself feeling apathetic and unable to complete simple tasks? These symptoms suggest you need more intense treatment to address your anxiety.
• Disruptions in Relationships. Are your relationships suffering? When people fail to manage anxiety, it often impacts how they interact with the people in their lives. Irritability, moodiness, and isolation are all signs of anxiety disorders needing treatment.
• Having Panic Attacks. Have you experienced panic or anxiety attacks? These attacks are sudden, intense, and extremely disruptive. During these attacks, you may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, intense fear, a rapid heartbeat, trembling, shaking, and sweating. Residential treatment can teach you how to combat these attacks.
• Unhealthy Coping. Are you drinking excessively or using drugs? If you’re self-medicating to cope with anxiety, now is the time to seek help. Residential treatment can help you learn to manage anxiety and reverse substance use. 

What Residential Treatment Offers

Residential treatment offers a supportive environment where you can devote all your focus and attention to meeting your treatment goals. This focused approach will help you learn how to manage your anxiety and overcome the issues holding you back.

Relationship issues are often a symptom of anxiety. By taking you temporarily away from those relationships and then strategically bringing in close family members, residential treatment can help you develop more functional relationships. Also, residential treatment can provide a plan to reverse harmful behaviors if you’re using drinking, drugs, or other unhealthy coping tendencies to manage anxiety.

Benefits of residential treatment include:

• Intensive Care. Residential treatment offers trained and experienced caregivers and counselors who can provide consistent help and support.
• Controlled Environment. Residential treatment places you in a new environment so you can see yourself in new ways and release destructive behaviors.
• Focus on Recovery. Residential treatment allows you to focus on your needs without worries about things like meals, work responsibilities, or caring for others.
• Peer Support. Residential treatment allows you to meet other people working through similar issues. These connections decrease isolation and provide support.

What to Look for in an Anxiety Treatment Facility

Finding the right anxiety treatment program can be daunting. There are many choices, and the programs vary in location, cost, emphasis, amenities, and length of stay. 

Different types of residential treatment programs serve a variety of needs. Melisse advises people seeking treatment to consider finding a treatment center specializing in their symptoms. For example, if you have obsessive-compulsive tendencies, you would benefit from looking for a center that specifically addresses that, she said. 

Before choosing a program for anxiety treatment, do your research, ask a lot of questions, and consider which setting would most benefit you in your recovery. Here’s a checklist of questions you may want to ask.

Program checklist:

• Does the facility meet complete license and accreditation requirements? Licensing and accreditation ensure that the facility meets high standards.     
• Is the staff trained and credentialed? Trained, credentialed, and experienced staff provide the highest level of patient treatment.
• Can the facility increase staffing to support any number of clients? Facilities with flexible staffing can respond to fluctuating needs to provide the best care.
• Is there access to emergency care services? Programs with strong working relationships with local hospitals and urgent care facilities can respond to accidents and, if needed, transition clients in crisis to a higher level of care.

Is Your Life Serving You?

Look at your life and see if it’s serving you. If an anxiety disorder stops you from living your best life, residential anxiety disorder treatment may be the next step. 

At the Integrative Life Center, we offer residential treatment that will help you overcome your debilitating anxiety. You will master new skills and behaviors to handle your anxiety and manage your life. 

The Morningstar Residential programs at Integrative Life Center offer comfortable residences in a retreat-like setting where clients live in community with others on a similar journey. Supported by compassionate professionals, you can focus on recovery and develop approaches to cope with the anxiety-causing aspects of life. 

Don’t let anxiety stand in your way. Consider if a residential program for anxiety disorder treatment may be right for you. Contact us today to start your journey to healing.