Healing Anxiety Naturally with a Comprehensive Approach
Anxiety, especially a panic attack, is very uncomfortable and frightening. During these moments our brains are flooded with stress hormones that trigger the release of adrenaline and a sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system response designed for true threats to our safety. With anxiety, however, there is often no real danger to fight or from which to flee. Without the release of this energy through fighting or running, we are left with all of the physical symptoms of sweating, increased heart rate, shakiness, jumpiness, jitteriness, hypervigilance, hyper-attentiveness, or a high startle response. Often this is accompanied by stomach difficulties, difficulty concentrating, and apprehensive expectations that create more fear, worry and phobias. Panic attacks are a more severe form of this fight or flight response, often being mistaken for a heart attack because of the additional symptoms of chest pain, nausea, numbness or tingling sensations, dizziness, light-headedness or faintness.
In order to treat anxiety effectively, it is important to understand that anxiety has biochemical, neurological, emotional, cognitive (thoughts), behavioral and situational factors that contribute to this condition. Previous traumas and substance use may also factor in as well. My comprehensive approach takes all of these factors into consideration when creating a treatment plan that will help you experience relief from the discomfort and limitations of anxiety permanently.
While traditional treatments of barbiturate and benzodiazepine medications for anxiety may be useful in providing immediate relief, they are intended for intermittent or short-term use. When taken on a regular or long-term basis (beyond three months), you may feel symptoms getting worse without the medication as well as an increased need for more and more medication. Once this type of physical dependence is created, it can be physically and psychologically difficult and time consuming to wean off. Even non-addictive medications like BuSpar and beta-blockers have side effects and none of these medications address the root cause of your anxiety.
ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSE OF YOUR ANXIETY
Biochemical Causes of Anxiety:
Some people are born with a brain/body chemistry which pre-disposes them toward anxiety while others develop it over time. There may be Pyroluria, hypoglycemia, nutrient deficiencies, elevated blood lactate, a high level of excitatory neurotransmitters, food and chemical sensitivities that are contributing to your anxiety. While I am not a medical doctor or nutritionist and I am not opposed to limited use of medications, I always provide you with literature about this biological component and referrals to naturopathic physicians and labs who specialize in testing for these issues. That way you can make an informed decision about dietary changes or natural supplements that could support your brain/body chemistry in restoring your nervous system back to a balanced state.
Neurological Causes of Anxiety:
The other important thing to address when dealing with anxiety is the way an anxious brain and nervous system has been habitually trained toward an anxious state. The experience of extreme fear and a dumping of adrenaline into one’s nervous system when an event occurs causes a neural association (neuropathway) within the brain that will stimulate the same response when a similar situation occurs again. Each time you experience anxiety or a panic attack that neuropathway is strengthened. And, being fearful of an anxious response can create anxiety, further strengthening these neuropathways and creating a vicious cycle. Breaking this cycle and creating new neuropathways that support a relaxed nervous system is of utmost importance. We will do this by teaching you specific breathing, relaxation, and mindfulness techniques, that you can use when you begin to feel anxious or panicked. Each time you use these new skills and respond differently to an anxiety provoking event, your brain retrains itself by creating and strengthening new neuropathways.
Emotional/Cognitive/Behavioral Causes of Anxiety:
Once a brain is trained to respond to certain stimuli with anxiety, one can develop irrational fears and avoidant behaviors which serve to reinforce a fear response within the brain. It is important in therapy that we begin to challenge these irrational fears and, when ready, have you slowly expose yourself to these situations armed with new tools and resources. Negative “core beliefs” that were developed unconsciously in response to one’s early environment may also need to be addressed. These core beliefs are often unconscious but can lead to an interpretation of current life events that contribute to anxiety. Therefore, you will learn cognitive behavioral skills to challenge and change any irrational, negative or limiting beliefs that are contributing to your anxiety. I also provide Journey sessions for deep healing of the early wounds associated with core beliefs. The Journey is typically a 2 hour session that combines hypnotherapy, guided visualization and NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) techniques. A journey process allows you to disconnect from past events so that they, and the beliefs you formed around them, can be changed at a deep level of awareness. Lastly, I find that reinforcing relaxation, emotional regulation and cognitive behavioral skills with hypnotherapy can help anchor them, so that they become the automatic response to anxiety-provoking circumstances. With this combination of techniques, you can experience true freedom from anxiety.
Situational Causes of Anxiety:
As discussed above, there may be situations in which you have a habitual anxious response. Once you have thoroughly learned and anchored tools that will allow you to have a different response, it will be important to experiment with exposing yourself to these situations in very limited ways. Each time you use your new skills successfully, you are continuing to re-train your brain through the creation and reinforcement of new neuropathways. Over time, the neuropathways that correspond with your parasympathetic (resting) nervous system will become just as strong and habitual as the neuropathways of anxiety used to be and you will find yourself enjoying activities that you have avoided for years.
Another factor that may need to be addressed is your current life stress. Often, when people are used to living with the stress of anxiety, they may not be aware of the ways they are tolerating or contributing to extra stress in their lives. Your current work and personal life will be important to assess in order to lower your stress level in general. If there are areas that need to change, you will learn communication and limit-setting skills to improve your life circumstances.
Trauma as a Cause of Anxiety:
Some people have a hyper-aroused nervous system due to trauma they have experienced or to developmental trauma. Trauma includes anything that is perceived as life threatening at the time and is causing symptoms that interfere with daily functioning. Trauma can include an accident, natural disaster, combat, violence, or abuse. Developmental trauma results from an unstable childhood in which critical safety or emotional security needs were not met. Having a traumatized or anxious parent or a parent who experienced trauma while pregnant can also result in developmental trauma. In addition to anxiety, one may also experience dissociation, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, avoidant behavior, hypervigilance, psychomotor agitation, depression or relational issues among other things. Working with trauma of any sort involves developing the internal resources of inner security and safety. This is accomplished through experiential exercises designed to provide you with this felt sense of connection and safety. My Trauma Resolution Intensives help you to safely release the fight or flight energy that has been held in your nervous system because it was not expressed at the time of a trauma. I also, use Rapid Resolution Therapy and Journey Experiences to help you close old memories that are continuing to tell your emotional brain that there is danger today. As you close old memories from the past, release this energy from your body and learn new relaxation and emotional regulation tools, your brain retrains itself, anxiety decreases, and you become more and more comfortable with an experience of life which involves relaxation, security and well being. (For more detailed information, visit my Trauma Resolution page.)
Substance Use as a Cause of Anxiety:
Sometimes, people begin using prescription and non-prescription drugs and/or alcohol to help mitigate their anxiety. Other times, people use substances and then notice that anxiety has developed over time. Either way, it is important to know that certain substances have the potential to create neurochemical imbalances that actually induce anxiety. Often, once these substances are removed for a significant period of time, balance is restored and anxiety symptoms are lessened or go away completely. Assessing your drug and alcohol use as a source of your anxiety will be important to do in therapy. As a trained addictions counselor, I can support you in the process of stopping substances if this proves challenging for you. I will also refer you to information about supplements that can assist in lowering cravings and helping your brain chemistry restore to balance.
Anxiety must be addressed comprehensively in order to successfully be treated. If you are experiencing anxiety, do not suffer silently. Schedule an appointment today and experience the calm serenity that is your birthright!
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