[Multidimensional aspects in the therapy of anxiety]

Anxiety seen as an unadaptive habit frequently results from lacking habituation. Anxiety-responses manifest themselves at three levels: in the cognitive, the motoric and the psychoautonomous. From this point of view it is understandable that the individual readiness to react may influence the various forms of neurotic or psychosomatic disorders. Furthermore, specific factors with respect to developmental or social conditions play some role in pathogenesis and in individual problem solving methods. Therapy, therefore, should include direct and indirect methods of overcoming anxiety: the direct methods include relaxation exercises and/or administration of psychopharmacological drugs such as tranquillizers, neuroleptics and antidepressants which influence the psychoautonomous system (sometimes also in combination); the indirect methods include techniques which aim at changes in cognition and coping-styles.