Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions in the United States and one of the most common causes of anxiety disorders is financial difficulties. In fact, they affect over 40,000,000 people in the United States every year and are commonly seen in more than 264,000,000 people across the globe. There are many types of anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias.

Financial Troubles and Anxiety

If your stress and anxiety are caused by financial issues, the last thing you want to worry about is paying out big bucks to get mental health treatment for your anxiety. However, you also do not want to ignore it because just like money troubles, pretending they do not exist will not make them go away. In fact, they will usually just get worse the longer you ignore them. Anxiety disorders are easily treated but only about 37% of those with anxiety ever seek treatment. Whether it is for financial reasons, embarrassment, fear, or stigma, the point is, there is help available that will not break the bank.

Signs of Anxiety Disorders

Although there are several kinds of anxiety disorders, some of the symptoms are common in all of them. These include:

• Feeling on edge or stressed out
• Uncontrolled feelings of worry
• Increasing irritability
• Changes in sleep pattern (unable to fall asleep or stay asleep)
• Racing thoughts
• Inability to concentrate or make decisions
• Lack of appetite or eating more
• Sweating
• Shaking
• Nausea
• Panic attack (sudden feeling of imminent doom, dizziness or fainting, trouble breathing, chest pain, rapid heart rate)

Social phobias are more geared toward anything that has to do with meeting new people, going out in public, or speaking in front of a crowd; OCD is a repetitious or compulsive thoughts and actions; and PTSD is a severe form of anxiety caused by a traumatic event such as war, natural disaster, or abuse. Whichever anxiety disorder you may be suffering from, it is important that you get some treatment before it gets any worse because it can wreak havoc on your life.

Getting Treatment Without Going Broke

It may be true that many psychiatric treatments can be costly, but one of the best treatments you can get for anxiety is also one of the most affordable. Online therapy is much less expensive than traditional face to face treatments. The reason they are cheaper is because the therapist saves money by not having to pay for an office, employees, utilities for the office, or transportation. Because they save money, so do you. In fact, the cost of online therapy is only $40-$70 per week while traditional therapy will typically cost you about $250 to $500 per hour. The cost of online therapy includes all your video sessions, phone sessions, chats, and messaging and the cost of traditional therapy includes just that one hour. You can see the obvious savings in online therapy then. But, is it as effective as traditional therapy?

Traditional Versus Online Therapy

Many people may believe that online therapy is not as effective as traditional therapy, but they would be wrong. In fact, online therapy is especially effective for those with anxiety disorders because it is much easier to get than traditional therapy. This is because many people with anxiety disorders have trouble being in or around large groups of people and sometimes do not want to leave the house at all. This is especially true for those with social anxiety disorder or PTSD. However, no matter what your troubles, online therapy will save you money, time, and is more convenient. Read more about it here. You cannot get much better than that.

This is a guest post by Marie Miguel. She has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.