Addiction, not surprisingly, behaves like other mental disorders. No one is too shocked when a patient with a history of major depression develops a new episode. The same is true of alcoholism: it often follows a relapsing-remitting course characterized by partial remission.
Alcoholism and anxiety go hand in hand. The extent of this comorbidity is clear from the numbers: as many as 45% of patients with alcohol disorders meet diagnostic criteria for a co-occurring anxiety disorder.
Over 20 years ago, at the time of planning for DSM-IV, alcohol abuse was thought to be a milder form of alcohol dependence, or perhaps even something separate involving more episodic, as opposed to daily or near daily, drinking. However, new research has proven this is not so.
Most of us who prescribe benzodiazepines (BZs) have a love-hate relationship with them. On the one hand, they work quickly and effectively for anxiety and agitation, but on the other hand, we worry about sedative side effects and the fact that they can be difficult to taper because of withdrawal symptoms.
While psychotherapy remains the gold standard for treatment of post traumatic stress disorder, medications are often used to alleviate the symptoms of the illness.
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is an extremely effective therapy. You can say with conviction that if a patient commits to this therapy, it really has a good chance of reducing suffering.
Some of the CBT techniques that have proven effective for panic disorder include breathing retraining, cognitive restructuring, and relaxation training.