Anxiety Disrupting Daily Life?
Anxiety is what we feel when we are nervous, worried, or uneasy about things that may happen in the future. Sometimes anxiety has a clear cause—such as a fear of flying or driving—while other times it seems to arise without an obvious trigger.
While everyone experiences anxiety occasionally, such as before a big exam or when starting a new job, children, teens, and adults with anxiety disorders experience persistent and overwhelming anxiety that disrupts daily life, affects performance at school or work, and can strain social relationships.
While anxiety is a natural human response that manifests through our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations, we can become stuck in this state, and the brain may need help to shift out of it.
There are different types of anxiety, and multiple factors can contribute to their development.
At ECNF, our comprehensive evaluation process will determine those factors that are most contributing to your anxiety and allow us to create personalized Neurofeedback protocols to best train your brain to alleviate anxiety at the source: the brain. With Neurofeedback, anxiety can often be addressed without medication, avoiding potential adverse side effects. It is also worth noting that while medication may be helpful for some people in the short term, it can temporarily place the brain in a calmer state—but it does not teach the brain how to reach or maintain that state on its own. This often means that once you stop taking medication, there is a return of symptoms.
With Neurofeedback, we are not simply placing the brain into a temporary state of calm—we are teaching it how to regulate itself.. This is the biggest value of Neurofeedback; your brain is actually learning. It is not only safe and non-invasive but lasting, providing relief from anxiety symptoms long term.
Types of Anxiety Disorders We Treat
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Excessive anxiety or worry with no clear cause.
Specific Phobias
Fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation, such as flying, heights, animals, or blood.
Panic Disorder
Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks commonly involve a pounding heart (palpitations), sweating, shortness of breath, chest pain, and trembling.
Substance/Medication-Induced Anxiety Disorder
Use of medication or illegal substances, or withdrawal from certain drugs can trigger panic attacks or anxiety.
Agoraphobia
Fear or anxiety of being in places in which escape or access to help in an emergency seems difficult; this may include public transportation (trains, planes, buses), being in a crowd or even being outside the home alone.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual may be exposed to scrutiny by others. Examples include meeting new people, being observed by others, or giving a speech.
Selective Mutism
Consistent inability to speak in in public situations (e.g., at school), despite speaking normally with family.
Separation Anxiety
Fear or excessive distress when anticipating or experiencing separation from home or major attachment figures.
Addressing the Primary Sources of Anxiety
Emerald Coast NeuroFeedback can address the three primary sources of anxiety: life experiences, brain over-arousal, and brain under-arousal. Sensory motor rhythm Neurofeedback can slow down an over-aroused brain, making everyday stress easier to manage. Our alpha-theta protocol addresses an over-aroused brain and the triggers from life experiences that stimulate the original events. Beta-Biofeedback helps teach the brain to speed up, which calms an under-aroused brain. A thorough evaluation with our professional team will determine which types and combinations of training are right for you.
Advantages of Neurofeedback
- A safe and natural approach
- Involves no medication
- No risky side effects
- Teaches the brain without chemicals
- Does not change your personality
- Effects are long-lasting; your brain has learned!
- While under an MD’s supervision, most people can either cut down or stop using medication after successfully completing the required number of sessions.
Integrating Neurofeedback with Traditional Methods
Many people benefit from Neurofeedback as a stand-alone approach. Others may benefit from a combination of Neurofeedback and traditional treatments for anxiety, such as medication and therapy. During your evaluation, our experienced therapists can provide information on how we might best work with your specific needs.
Pairing Neurofeedback with other treatments can enhance and solidify improvements from those treatments, such as therapy. Since Neurofeedback is non-invasive it can also be used along with any prescribed medication.
The Emerald Coast NeuroFeedback Process
Our initial evaluation involves a needs assessment that will allow our therapist and specialized software system to generate a customized protocol tailor-made for your unique needs. This enables us to identify different symptoms, goals and growth areas to focus on for improvement during your sessions.
Neurofeedback for Anxiety FAQs
Because the experience of anxiety can have multiple contributing factors, ECNF’s comprehensive evaluation will indicate the best training approach to train your brain, specifically. Our training protocol and progress monitoring are customized to your unique needs.
Getting Started with Emerald Coast NeuroFeedback
Getting started means sending us a message online or calling our friendly team. During this call, we will answer your questions and go over our process. From there, we will schedule your first appointment where you will meet with a therapist who will provide an evaluation designed to discover your unique needs. This will involve a series of questions about your symptoms and taking an EEG to customize your training to your unique brain waves. With this information, our therapists will utilize our advanced software, creating a customized brain training protocol specifically for you.
Contact the Emerald Coast NeuroFeedback team today to schedule your initial appointment. Take the first step toward training your brain to relieve anxiety, and regaining control of your life.