Finding a qualified doctor who knows how to treat adult ADHD is critical for the success of any adult ADHD treatment strategy. A doctor who has experience and success treating children with ADHD is not necessarily qualified to treat adults with the disorder.

The ADHD symptoms in adults can look different than those in children. Adults usually do not exhibit hyperactivity in the way children with ADHD do. For example, while hyperactive children cannot sit still and show overt impulsiveness, adult hyperactivity may appear as restlessness, chronic boredom, and a constant need for stimulation. Because of this and other differences, it is important that the doctor treating adult ADHD has specific experience treating adults with the condition.

Where to Find Qualified Adult ADHD Doctors

Talking to your primary care physician is the first step toward finding qualified adult ADHD doctors. Some primary care physicians may feel comfortable diagnosing and treating adult ADHD, but many will refer patients to a trusted specialist. Other types of healthcare professionals who treat adult ADHD include psychiatrists, neurologists, and internists. While psychologists and licensed nurse practitioners can test adults for ADHD, most psychologists cannot prescribe the necessary medications. Psychologists can provide behavior modification therapy as an adjunct therapy to stimulant medication for treating adult ADHD. Some states allow nurse practitioners to prescribe ADHD medications to adults, but many do not.

Asking other adults about their adult ADHD doctor and the level of treatment success they have experienced with him or her is another way of locating an adult ADHD doctor who may be right for you. You might also try searching an online physician finder service for doctors who list that they specifically treat adult ADHD. Adult ADHD doctors, who willingly list this as one of their specialties, likely do have knowledge of treating this disorder in adults.

What to Discuss with Prospective Adult ADHD Doctors

Once you have an appointment with a physician who has experience treating adult ADHD, begin to write down a history of your problems in the past and present issues that lead you to believe you may have ADD. Track down any records of psychologist visits or diagnoses of a behavior disorder in the past to take with you. Talk to your human resources department at work and ask for copies of performance reports if your problems have negatively impacted these reports. These may contain records of excessive tardiness, missed deadlines, poor attention to detail, etc. You may also want to take our free online ADD test to assess your symptoms and print the results to share with your doctor.

You may want to prepare a list of questions for your doctor as well. This list could include questions such as these:

1. What treatments do you normally prescribe for adult ADHD?
2. What are some possible side effects of stimulant medications commonly used to treat ADHD?
3. Will exercise and dietary changes help my ADHD?
4. Will I receive behavior modification therapy in addition to prescription medication therapy?
5. How long must I remain on therapy (both behavioral and pharmacological)?
6. How do I explain my ADHD diagnosis to my family?
7. Are there any over-the-counter or herbal medications I should avoid while taking the prescription stimulants used to treat adult ADHD?

Add your own questions to this list as well. Arriving at your appointment well prepared will ensure the best possible outcome and help you evaluate if this physician truly has adequate knowledge of how to treat adult ADHD.

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Treatment for adult ADHD varies depending on the individual, but research has shown prescription stimulants, also called psychostimulants, offer the most effective first-line approach for treating the majority of both adult and child ADD patients. Most physicians prescribe a combination of pharmacological and behavior modification therapy for adult ADHD treatment. Adult ADHD support groups can help too, as some patients find sharing common issues with other adults with the disorder very helpful. Participants not only share problems associated with ADHD but offer tips and strategies that work for them and may help others as well. A one-on-one approach using ADHD coaching can also prove helpful.

Adult ADHD Treatments: ADHD Medications

Prescription stimulant therapy works in both child and adult ADD treatment by enhancing the availability of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the cerebral cortex of the brain. People with ADHD seem to have reduced availability of dopamine, which represents one factor causing the impairments associated with the disorder. While stimulant medications speed up normal people, it has a calming effect on those with ADD, allowing them to function more efficiently in their daily lives.

Although many effective stimulant medications exist, two common ones, known for their effectiveness in ADHD treatment for adults, include methylphenidate, sold under the name Ritalin®, and dextroamphetamine, sold under the name Dexedrine®. Adults with ADHD show reduced levels of impulsive behavior, improved attention span, and enhanced ability to concentrate for extended periods of time when treated with one of these stimulants.

Due to the complex nature of the central nervous system, the exact mechanism by which stimulants work to mitigate adult ADHD symptoms is not yet fully understood. However, it is clear that these medications decrease the internal noise caused by the disorder and cause external factors to seem less chaotic, allowing the individual to exert a level of self-control and functioning not possible without treatment.

Behavior Modification Therapy

Licensed therapists, specializing in ADD treatment for adults, can offer valuable education and tools to help the patient with personal organization, task prioritization, task follow-through, and large task management strategies. Many adults with ADHD have low self-esteem, especially if they did not receive help as a child. The problems and issues caused by their untreated disorder tend to chip away at their self-image as time passes. A therapist can help the adult examine events and internal dialogue that caused poor self-esteem. From there, healing the wounds can begin. (read more about Adult ADHD Therapy)

Adult ADD Treatments and Patient Commitment

To increase the potential for treatment success, the patient must make a personal effort and commitment to follow their healthcare provider's instructions regarding medications and behavior modification exercises. Involving a close family member or friend to provide emotional support and encouragement along the way can go a long way toward achieving treatment success for the long-term.

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Adult ADHD testing and diagnosis begins with the clinician, often a psychiatrist, recording a detailed medical history. The doctor will also ask specific questions about your adult ADHD symptoms, their effect on academic and work performance as well as how they impact your personal relationships (see ADD and Relationships). He may assess your attentiveness, ability to concentrate, level of hyperactivity, and a tendency toward impulsive behavior.

Rating Scales Used for Adult ADD Testing

The rating scale in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition (DSM-V) is specifically designed to test for and diagnose ADHD in children, but due to some minor changes and additions, clinicians can use it for adult ADD testing. Rating scales developed for adult ADHD diagnosis include the Wender Utah, Brown, and Conners scales.

Regardless of the scale used, the patient must have a history of ADD-related behaviors from childhood; behaviors consistent with the disorder must appear during childhood (by age 12) for a clinician to give an adult ADHD diagnosis.The DSM-V also adds a requirement that clinicians assess the level of severity of a person's ADHD as one of the following: mild, moderate, or severe.

For those individuals who do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for ADHD, the DSM-V adds these categories: other specified ADHD and unspecified ADHD. Clinicians use the first one when the patient fails to meet full criteria, but present symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment. The second one is used when the doctor chooses not to specify the reason the client did not meet full criteria, making a more specific diagnosis impossible.

Wender Utah Adult ADHD Diagnosis Rating Scale

Simply called the Utah criteria by most clinicians, Wender developed this scale to focus on the specific traits of adult ADHD. The Utah criteria address the emotional nature of the disorder, such as temper flares over minor upsets or irritations. High pressure and intense emotional situations exacerbate these angry outbursts. The ADHD adult frequently cools down quickly, but those to whom the adult directed the anger tend to have a harder time getting past the episode. The scale evaluates five key symptoms: disorganization, low stress tolerance, impulsivity, poor anger management, and effect of the behaviors on those around the patient.

Conners Adult ADHD Diagnosis Rating Scale

This ADHD diagnosis test includes two formats – observer and self-reporting assessments. Clinicians can choose to use a long or short version of the Conners rating scale. The long form consists of 66 items, using nine scales developed to assess a wide range of issues associated with ADHD in adults. These include impulsive tendencies, hyperactivity, self-esteem problems, and memory and attention issues. An inconsistency index included in the long version reveals careless answering patterns. The short version features abbreviated versions of the scales and indices in the long version.

Brown Adult ADD Diagnosis Rating Scale

Developed by Dr. Thomas E. Brown, this adult ADHD testing tool helps to assess the broad range of behaviors and symptoms associated with adult ADD. Clinicians can use the Brown adult ADD scale for assessing individuals aged 18 and above. The scale includes age-based norms and instructions detailing proper use and interpretation of the scales and diagnostic forms.

Adult ADHD Testing and Diagnosis Considerations

These rating scales and diagnostic tools for adult ADHD testing require administration and interpretation by a qualified and experienced health care professional. When used properly, these tools can provide an accurate assessment of adult ADD and help in planning an effective treatment strategy.

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Wondering where to go for adult ADHD help? Many people first discuss their concerns with their family physicians. While these physicians may feel comfortable diagnosing and prescribing ADD treatments to a child patient, many may not feel comfortable diagnosing adult ADD patients and prescribing ADHD drugs to adults. While family docs have access to specific criteria for diagnosing and helping children with the disorder, no clear guidelines exist for family physicians providing ADHD help for adults.

This does not mean that adults should not consult a family physician about their concerns, simply that the doctor may refer them to a mental healthcare provider with more experience dealing with adult ADD patients.

Steps to Getting Help with Adult ADD

While self-diagnosis is never a wise move, it may prove helpful to ask yourself the following questions to determine if you do need to seek a specialist who provides adult ADD help or if something else could be responsible. (see Finding ADHD Doctors Who Know How to Treat Adult ADHD)

• Do you have difficulty paying attention or focusing on tasks?
• Does your temper flare up easily (easier than other adults)?
• Are you chronically late and disorganized?
• Do you experience these issues in more than one situation? (i.e. work, home, and other social situations)
• Do your issues adversely affect your personal relationships?
• Do family, friends, and coworkers notice these problems?
• Do you have any other health problems or issues that could cause these negative behaviors?
• Have you noticed these problems since you were a child?

At the initial visit with your physician, he or she may ask similar questions to the ones above. He may ask you to write down your answers or to answer them orally.

Help with Adult ADD – Things You Can Do

Research and find some easy-to-use tools for organizing your life. Things like daily planners, whether electronic or paper-based, can help adults cope with their chronic tardiness, tendency to lose things, and forgetfulness. Counselors, who specialize in designing tools to help with adult ADD, will come up with a strategy and skill-set geared especially for your primary ADHD-related issues. (see Adult ADHD Therapy)

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to seek help and talk to a health care professional about your concerns. Specialized, effective ADHD help for adults is available all over the U.S. You deserve answers; you deserve a more organized, less chaotic life. Make an appointment today.

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Adult ADD symptoms resemble those seen in children with ADHD (see ADHD Symptoms in Children), but certain symptoms, such as hyperactivity, may lessen in prominence over time. Researchers estimate that approximately 8 million people in the U.S. exhibit adult attention deficit disorder symptoms, but few actually receive diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD. ADHD symptoms in adults cause difficulties in multiple environments, including relationships, academic situations, casual social interactions, and professional achievement. (see ADHD and Relationships and Managing ADD, ADHD at Work)

Signs of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder

Common signs of adult ADD include many of those described by health care professionals who treat children with the condition, but others seem to emerge or become conspicuous in adulthood. One of the primary criticisms of ADHD diagnostic criteria concerns the core symptoms list. In DSM-IV and prior editions, the list describes how the condition looks in school-aged kids but doesn't reflect how the symptoms look in adults and older teens.

However, the DSM-V core ADHD symptom set remains virtually unchanged but does add examples of how these symptoms might appear in older teens and adults. Common ADD symptoms in adults can manifest directly due to the disorder or because of associated social adjustment issues:

• Chronic boredom
• Chronic tardiness
• Impulsive behaviors
• Problems in primary relationships
• Anger management difficulties
• Concentration and attention problems
• Poor time management
• Poor prioritizing skills
• Low motivation and procrastination
• Difficulty holding onto employment
• Low frustration threshold

Frequently, adult ADHD signs present with the opposite characteristics, depending on the adult and situation. Adults may exhibit either antisocial tendencies, withdrawing from family and friends, or require constant social attention and feel uncomfortable when alone.

(Take a free online ADD, ADHD test to assess your symptoms.)

Adult ADD Symptoms and Associated Impact on Quality of Life

All adults, accurately diagnosed with ADHD (see Adult ADHD Testing and Diagnosis), have suffered from the disorder since childhood. Clinicians use diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition (DSM-V) when determining if an individual's complaints are due to adult ADD symptoms. Key signs of adult ADD include:

• Frequent poor behavior reports while in school as a kid
• Academic underachievement in school years
• Repeating a grade
• Poor professional performance
• Few professional achievements
• Financial issues due to poor management skills
• Substance abuse
• Multiple driving violations and accidents
• Marital problems, including multiple marriages

Left untreated, the impact of adult ADHD can have a devastating effect on a person's quality of life. However, proper treatment greatly relieves the majority of these impairments.

Psychological Disorders Associated with Adult ADHD Symptoms

About 50 percent of adults with ADHD also have a coexisting psychological disorder, such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and others. The presence of these co-morbid conditions can make an accurate diagnosis of ADHD in adults challenging. Symptoms of these other conditions are similar to some adult ADD symptoms. The doctor or therapist must determine whether the patient has ADHD and another mental disorder as well, or a mental disorder with symptoms similar to those of ADD.

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What is adult ADHD? Is adult attention deficit disorder the same as the condition commonly associated with children and adolescents? The medical and mental health community has long recognized this chronic biochemical disorder in children; recognition and diagnosis of adult ADD have steadily increased in recent years. The terminology and labels used to represent the group of childhood issues characterized by the condition have changed multiple times over the decades, but most medical and mental health practitioners use and recognize the terms attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

What is ADHD in Adults?

Health care professionals began formally recognizing adult ADD/ADHD sometime around 1990. Research indicates that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder continues into adulthood in approximately 60 percent of children diagnosed with the condition. Experts estimate that approximately 4.5 percent of adults suffer from ADHD. Adult ADD symptoms resemble those of childhood ADD, but the intensity of symptoms, particularly hyperactivity, may diminish over time. A history of problems attributed to ADHD in childhood is required for clinicians to diagnose adults with ADD. However, if impairment exists in multiple environments, such as academic, relational, and professional, the individual need not meet the full Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V) criteria for ADD diagnosis in childhood.

Symptom Presentation in the ADHD Adult – Overview

Typically, ADHD adults first speak to their primary care physicians about a variety of attention-related complaints, including difficulty with organization, time management, task prioritization, task persistence, and simply beginning a task. Adult attention deficit disorder causes problems in relationships, work environments, and other social settings due to varying levels of impulsive behaviors and a low tolerance for frustration.

Adults with ADD have dealt with the condition and its impact on their quality of life since childhood, but often only receive a diagnosis and ADHD treatment as adults. Symptoms may occur in varying levels, but they are always present and never occur episodically. Frequently, the ADHD adult has co-existing psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder, depression, antisocial personality disorder, or learning impairments. Often these adults have developed unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as alcohol or substance abuse, in an attempt to self-medicate their symptoms.

Prior to the publication of the new DSM-V, the DSM-IV criteria required that adults report that symptoms, causing impaired quality of life, were present before 7 years of age (even if the adult was never diagnosed as a child). The new DSM-V revision states that symptoms must have been present prior to 12 years of age with no requirement that they created impairment at that time. By increasing the age of onset and taking away the impairment requirement, adults can more easily get the help they need.

Treatment Overview for Adult ADD

As in children with the disorder, ADHD drugs, called stimulant medications, represent the front line treatment protocol for the ADHD adult. These greatly improve the cognitive and behavioral symptoms associated with the condition in the majority of adults. For adults with potential for substance abuse, a non-stimulant drug such as Strattera has shown moderate efficacy in some adults, but stimulants still demonstrate the highest degree of efficacy in bringing significant relief to ADHD adults.

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Ever wonder if you can cure anxiety yourself? Most everyone knows that anxiety can help you take action and solve a problem, work hard on a project, or study for an exam; but what about anxiety that's gotten out of hand? Intense, unfounded fears and doubts do the opposite – they destroy motivation and paralyze your resolve to take action. If your constant worrying and preoccupation with the "worst possible outcomes" has begun to take over your life, you need to take steps now to cure anxiety that saps your joy and controls your life.

Cure Anxiety Without Medications

The problem with many supposed anxiety cures, like traditional anxiety treatments or natural remedies for anxiety, is that most of them come in a bottle, cost a good amount of money, and can result in some awful side effects. Of course, you could go to a therapist and attend numerous sessions based on psychotherapeutic techniques for curing anxiety. While very effective, you don't need these unless you have a full-blown, debilitating anxiety disorder diagnosed by a mental health professional.

Do Effective Cures for Anxiety Exist?

Alternative cures for anxiety do exist. You can purchase one of many self-help guides from highly regarded professionals and life coaches to help manage and eventually, cure your anxiety. Check out these reasonably priced self-help guides:

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook (5th Ed.) by Martha Davis, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, and Matthew McKay

This guide is actually a comprehensive workbook with instructions on how to relax and manage stress, inducing breathing, meditation, worry control, and nutrition and exercise. Davis, et al, have included numerous self-assessment tools and calming strategies to help people overcome their anxieties and build healthier lifestyles.

The Worry Cure by Robert Leahy, Ph.D

Seven steps to stop worry from stopping you. According to the publisher, Leahy presents systematic strategies and techniques to help those dealing with debilitating anxiety overcome and cope with life's uncertainties in healthier ways.

Thoughts and Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life by Martha Davis, Ph.D, Patrick Fanning, and Matthew McKay, Ph.D.

This book contains a variety of proven methods and strategies for dealing with numerous psychological issues that affect mood and quality of life, including relentless anxiety and worry.

Women Who Worry Too Much by Holly Hazlett-Stevens

Women are more likely than men to suffer from debilitating anxiety and persistent worry. Researchers attribute this to a number of cultural, biological, and psychological factors. Written especially for women, this guide focuses on helping readers a more realistic perception of threats and to stop worrying about unlikely outcomes to uncertainties. Its strategies include techniques for monitoring triggers of personal worries and breaking worry-provoking habits.

Other Ways to Cure Anxiety

Another of the ways to cure anxiety includes hiring an anxiety coach. While more expensive than using one of the many self-help guides available, most are less expensive than traditional psychotherapy and are certainly safer than long-term medication use. Many anxiety coaches include nutrition, fitness, and parenting counseling along with their core anxiety-busting strategies.

One popular anxiety coach, Dr. Neal Olshan, has created an application that works on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The app, aptly called "Boost", helps users to break the cycle of anxiety and assists them in overcoming their greatest fears. You can even email the doctor directly from the app to request a custom Boost version, especially for your specific needs.

Curing Anxiety Requires Persistence

Curing anxiety won't happen over night. You've got to want it and go for it with persistence. No one said it better than the late, great Winston Churchill when he said, "Never, never, never, never give up." That's right friends. Take a page right out of Prime Minister Churchill's book of success and keep at it until you make it.

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Anxiety help comes in many forms including medication, therapy, alternative treatments and anxiety self-help. Self-help for anxiety is simply anything you can do to help improve your anxiety symptoms. These ways of helping your anxiety may be particularly beneficial when combined with other anxiety treatments.

Some ways to help your anxiety include:

• Learning about your illness
• Making anxiety-reducing lifestyle changes
• Creating a support network

Anxiety Self-Help – Learning about Anxiety

Learning about any mental illness can be the first step to conquering it. This may be done through a doctor, therapist or other professional. You can also do this on your own.

• Many books on anxiety and resources are available. Check out your local library or community mental health service organization for materials.
• Online self-help for anxiety is plentiful. After HealthyPlace, one place to look is the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. There, they can point you to further anxiety self-help and treatment alternatives.

Self-Help for Anxiety Includes Lifestyle Changes

While learning about anxiety is a good first step, the next step is putting what you learn into practice. Anyone's life can be unhealthy and overly demanding, but these tips can help create a lifestyle more conducive to helping calm anxiety:

• Eat right and exercise – this may seem obvious but if you don't take care of your body and keep it in good shape, other anxiety self-help may not have a chance to work. Try to cut down on refined foods and unhealthy fats and instead focus on healthy fats like omega-3s. You can find these in cold watcher fish like salmon as well as flax seeds and other foods.
• Use relaxation exercises – relaxation exercises focus on relieving stress and creating calm. Many find this type of anxiety self-help beneficial. Breathing exercises, mediation and yoga may all help.
• Make time for yourself – often when we feel overwhelmed we forget to make time for ourselves. By making time for friends, spending time on hobbies or just getting some fresh air, overall stress can be reduced.
• Don't take on more than you can handle – no one can do everything so make sure and ask for help from others when you feel you have taken on too many responsibilities.
• Change your attitude – a pessimistic and bleak attitude will not help anxiety symptoms. Instead, focus on the positive and things for which you are grateful.

Using a Support Network

Self-help for anxiety doesn't mean you have to go it alone. One anxiety self-help technique is building a support network of people who can help you through the rough times. Sometimes, nothing relieves anxiety better than watching a sporting event with a friend or spending the day out shoe-shopping. Having people in your life you can talk to about your health is a key way of helping anxiety.

People who can become part of an anxiety support network include:

• Friends
• Family
• Those from community organizations
• Faith leaders or those from faith groups
• Those in mental health support groups

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Some herbs and supplements are taken as natural remedies for anxiety. Little is known, however, about how effective natural remedies are in treating anxiety and what the possible side effects might be. While these, generally, are not harmful, it's still important to tell your doctor about any natural remedies for anxiety you are using to make sure they are safe for you.

Natural Remedies for Anxiety – Herbs

Two herbs are commonly taken as natural treatments for anxiety: kava and valerian.

Kava is a plant found in the South Pacific and its roots are used for relaxation without sedation. Some research has shown kava is a safe and effective natural anxiety remedy; however, other research shows no evidence of the effectiveness of kava. Kava may cause serious liver damage and is known to interact with other drugs like alcohol, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics.¹

Valerian is native to Europe and its roots are used to induce sedation. Some, but not all, studies have shown that valerian is helpful in treating insomnia and the United States Food and Drug Administration lists valerian as "generally recognized as safe." Valerian may cause withdrawal if stopped after long-term use. While this is a natural treatment for anxiety, it is still known to interact with other drugs like antihistamines, cholesterol-lowering drugs and sedatives.²

A broad review of natural remedies for anxiety found that neither kava nor valerian was effective in treating anxiety.³

Passion flower may also be used as a natural treatment for anxiety but it's thought passionflower's effects are not as strong as either kava or valerian. Passionflower may interact with sedatives, blood thinners and antidepressants.⁴

Natural Remedies for Anxiety - Supplements

A poor diet may result in anxiety symptoms and some supplements are thought to be natural anxiety remedies. For example, a lack of B12 in the diet is known to contribute to stress and anxiety.⁴ Some also suggest that increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids can also act as a natural anxiety remedy.⁶

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Anxiety treatment, using anxiety self-help strategies, works very well for those with mild to moderate anxiety. Living a healthy lifestyle represents your best defense against anxiety. If you don't eat right, don't exercise, drink too much alcohol, use illicit drugs, or don't engage in socializing and activities outside of your home, you're more likely to suffer from unpleasant anxiety symptoms, including anxiety attacks. Why not try to live a healthier lifestyle as a form of anxiety treatment, so you can avoid costly medications and doctor visits?

An Active, Healthy Life Is the Best Anxiety Treatment

Getting involved in activities where you'll meet other people represents the best anxiety treatment. You can help out at a soup kitchen, raise money for your favorite charity, or volunteer at your kid's school or your place of worship. This type of activity requires that you reach out to others, rather than wallowing in your own fears and anxieties. You'll meet other adults, some of whom may have anxiety about circumstances that wouldn't bother you at all. You can use this opportunity to help others through their issues, which will reduce your own anxious feelings and negative thoughts, in time.

Treating Anxiety with Exercise

Treating anxiety with exercise can provide relief for symptoms and has the added bonus of increasing your physical fitness (read about anxiety and high blood pressure). According to the highly regarded Mayo Clinic, located in Minnesota, regular exercise can improve anxiety symptoms as well as relieve depression.

Scientists aren't exactly sure how exercise relieves anxiety and depression, but they know it does relieve symptoms and may even prevent them from returning in the future. Some of the ways experts theorize that exercise helps relieve anxiety is by releasing endorphins (known as feel-good chemicals) in the brain, reducing certain chemicals associated with the immune system, and increasing body temperature, which has a calming effect on the body and mind.

Exercise also distracts you from your worries and breaks the cycle of negative thought processes that lead to anxious feelings. As you begin to meet your exercise goals, you gain self-confidence and a feeling of personal power. You'll feel better about your appearance as well.

You'll meet others on the running track, at the gym, or in yoga class. Sometimes all you need is a friendly greeting or nice smile to brighten your mood and calm your thoughts.

Lastly, exercise represents a positive way for you to cope with anxiety. It's far more effective in the long run, and infinitely healthier, than brooding about your fears and worries, or using drugs and alcohol to cope.

How to Treat Anxiety with Exercise

So the question isn't how to treat anxiety with exercise. It's more like: when and how do I start? The term exercise often conjures up thoughts of running laps around a quarter-mile track with a coach yelling at you to go faster. But exercise includes a variety of activities that will benefit your physical and mental fitness if done regularly.

Maybe you've always wanted to take yoga or have always wanted to try out a Zumba Fitness class. Or, perhaps you enjoyed basketball, lifting weights, or running in the past. If so, now is the time to take up one of these favorite activities once again.

Not really interested in any of those activities? Just about anything that requires you to get up and move constitutes exercise. If you love gardening, walking your dog, washing and detailing your car, playing in the park with your kids – or anything else that requires physical activity – start with that. Keep an exercise journal and record in it every physical activity you engage in each day. This will help build your confidence and increase the likelihood that you'll keep it up.

Eat healthily, exercise, socialize with others, and stay away from drugs and alcohol to have the best chance of successfully treating anxiety yourself.

(Note: For those who experience high levels of anxiety, getting anxiety attack treatment and learning how to prevent anxiety attacks is very important.)

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