[Approaches to self-help of anxiety disorders without drugs]

Self-help is recommended for moderate variations of the mental state, i.e., anxiety equivalents, anxious reactions to excessive demands, constitutional anxiety, or justified but long lasting concerns. Additionally, these are also accessible by a specific psychotherapy or pharmacological anxiety treatment. In particular, these are physical activities for a supportive anxiolysis, physical therapy, relaxation exercises, and therapeutical self-conversation which can be seen as a mental hygienic measure helping towards relieving expressions and to see the trigger situation in relative terms. A more and more important role in coping with physical and mental diseases is the participation in self-helping groups. The validation and selection of such a group should be undertaken in consultation with the physician in charge and the family physician, respectively. All drugless approaches for the self-treatment have their special value in increasing one's own initiative.