Anxiety

Anxiety as with depression is the most identified emotional issue in our modern world.  You would think not considering our world as it is and the support that modern society gives us in living a comfortable and meaningful life.  But we are surrounded by it and often by things we have little or no control over like the obvious Corona Virus epidemic.  Each of us looking into our own selves begin to identify the issues that trigger anxiety.  However, we sometimes feel helpless in attempting to gain control over the emotions that are triggered by events or our internal responses. 

There are many strategies for gaining control and managing our anxiety.  No strategy fits all.  We use a multifaceted approach and may utilize many approaches in tandem with each other.  First of all we evaluate the situation and the circumstances and our responses to anxiety-provoking events.  We differentiate both the internal and external triggers to our anxiety responses.  We have to understand that our physiological and neurological makeup has as much to do with anxiety as the actual provoking events.  In doing this we can gauge which intervention would be the most efficacious. Based upon this we can go into our grabbag of interventions that we know that work.  There are many.  Let me name a few:  Talk therapy certainly has its place.  To process and identify the many facets of anxiety, reframe its dynamic to establish a better and more realistic understanding of the influence of anxiety in our lives is important.  CBT is a powerful approach to doing this.  Progressive relaxation has demonstrated itself over and over in addressing the physiological manifestations of anxiety.  Hence as the body relaxes, so does the mind.  Biofeedback and Neurofeedback are outstanding methodologies that also address the physiological responses.  Neurotherapy is an especially significant intervention that actually looks at the electrophysiology of the brain and identifies anxiety profiles. The brain can then learn to reregulate itself.  Change happens! And it really works!

Other approaches have proven quite efficacious as well.  Meditation quite effectively modulates the overly excitable brain.  Buddhist monks and experienced meditators display a much different disposition toward the anxiety issues of their life.and in general toward life.  Mindfulness training has been demonstrated as especially viable in treating anxiety.  Deep breathing exercises, music therapy, and guided imagery have all demonstrated a powerful palliative effect.   There are other strategies that we will discuss under other subclasses of anxiety.
​
 

Emotional and physical trauma are horrific events.  The experiences can create a lasting impression on the human psyche.  I never went to war but as a Marine, I had many friends who did, who experienced the ravages of war and suffered the emotional effects of those experiences.  I have also worked with many who have suffered much trauma due to physical and emotional abuse.  They live their lives daily with the memory of these events, and dream of them as well.  Many have little memory of those events but subconsciously they affect many aspects of their lives.  We call this Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  This is a type of anxiety that can take hold of our lives and influence how we live it. 

Many other issues are linked to PTSD, an addictive problem is one of them.  Anxiety, phobias, avoidant behaviors are others.  One approach that has been particularly powerful is Neurofeedback.  Once we have identified the electrophysiological correlates of  PTSD, the brain can teach itself to reregulate itself through training. We call it Alpha/Theta Training.  The training helps raise the power of the alpha and theta waves which are linked to a relaxation response.  Over time this becomes the norm. The client is no longer saddled with the emotional content of these memories.  In the case of comorbid addictive disorders, the cravings for substances is diminished.