A year ago, Iva was the happiest guy in the world. Now, anxiety and anxiety attacks plague him every day.

Iva's Question:

Iva: Well, pretty much lately it's dealing with a whole anxiety issue right now.

Dawson: What are you anxious about, Iva?

Iva: Well, right now I have no idea. I think it's just a good deep plunge into anxiety and I have no way of getting out and I don't know why I'm there.

Dawson McAllister's Answer:

Dawson: Well, you're not alone. Anxiety and anxiety attacks seem to be on the increase, but there are a lot of people who are getting victory over it. This much I do know, it's very difficult for you to be your own counselor. Which means you're going to have to in your anxiety, even though you have it, you're going to have to do some kind of reaching out to someone who can help you.

Iva: I was trying to go with some doctors, and they just prescribed me some kind of herbal pills. And I was thinking it was working. But then lately, just once again, I'll be in class, I'll break down in sweat, and I don’t know what's going on. And I can't breathe, I shake, I don't know what's happening. So, I'll just go lay down in the nurse’s clinic until I feel better.

Dawson: Well, let's go to the nurse's clinic and let's get some recommendations as to where to go next. Medication isn't the total answer, but it can really help. It takes a while to sometimes to find the medication that will work for you. Now, obviously, you've got to get to the core of what's causing your anxiety, also coping mechanisms and what to do when you feel an attack coming on. And you won't be able to do that alone.

Iva: I'm just more confused because honestly, about a year ago, I was the happiest guy in the world. I didn't care about anything. I had no anxiety, and I didn't feel depressed; but now, because it's so new and so sudden my parents don't really know how to react to it. So, they’ll just tell me to breathe and breathe and just relax yourself.

Dawson: Your parents aren’t psychologists.

Iva: That's what I told them - word for word. And they just said, no, it's just all in your head. I think they're just making it worse because the more they tell me to breathe and breathe and just relax. I'll pretty much called my mother almost every day last week because I was having an attack in the bathroom, and she just told me to think of me playing guitar. And that actually does help a little bit.

Dawson: They want to help, but they don't know what to do. Once you get to a psychiatrist, this is where you need to go by the way. Find a psychiatrist then the psychiatrist will not only write prescriptions for medication for you, but also counsel you. After a while, most psychologists will bring your parents into the picture and talk with them and encourage them about what they should do and shouldn’t do when you are struggling with anxiety attacks.

Finding the right mental health professional to help you is important. Here are four types of mental health professionals you can talk to.