Anxiety affects everyone differently. For some, it's the "butterflies in the stomach" feeling before social interactions. For others, it's constant worrying about events beyond their control. While anxiety is a common part of life, anxiety disorders are diagnosed once symptoms reach a clinical threshold. The impact can range from minor inconvenience to total incapacitation, with many avoiding triggers by severely limiting their daily activities. Understanding the different subtypes of anxiety disorders can help us contextualize our experiences and seek appropriate interventions.

Common Anxiety Disorders

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) 

GAD is characterized by persistent, excessive worry about everyday situations. This might be accompanied by muscle tension, constant restlessness, and poor sleep.

• Panic Disorder 

Panic Disorder involves sudden, intense episodes of fear known as panic attacks, often accompanied by physical symptoms like heart palpitations and shortness of breath. These episodes usually come unexpectedly but are often associated with other forms of anxiety and avoidance behaviors.

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 

OCD entails recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions). These thoughts can be very distressing and are linked with heightened anxiety.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 

PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, leading to flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety. Children who have been exposed to trauma, abuse, and neglect often develop complex PTSD, characterized by emotional dysregulation and self-harming behaviors.

• Social Anxiety Disorder 

This disorder causes intense fear of social situations, often leading to avoidance behavior. It is increasingly common in adolescents and young adults, especially with the influence of peer groups and social media.

• Specific Phobias 

These are irrational fears of particular objects or situations, such as heights or spiders, that provoke immediate anxiety responses.

Challenges of Traditional Anxiety Solutions

Prescription Medications 

Many people turn to drugs to manage their anxiety, often starting at a young age. Prescription medications like benzodiazepines (e.g., diazepam, clonazepam) and non-benzodiazepine sedatives (e.g., zolpidem) offer temporary relief but come with significant downsides.

Tolerance and Dependence 

Tolerance to these chemical agents develops quickly, requiring progressively higher doses to achieve the same effect. This often leads to dependence, where individuals find it impossible to function normally without these substances.

Withdrawal Syndrome 

When attempting sobriety, individuals with anxiety disorders are more likely to experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms like rebound anxiety, insomnia, and agitation. This makes it particularly challenging for them to stop using these substances.

Limited Efficacy of Psychological Interventions 

Psychological treatments for anxiety disorders, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), involve exposure to anxiety triggers. Many individuals with severe anxiety find it unbearable and opt out of these programs, continuing to suffer in silence.

The Promise of Neurofeedback for Anxiety Management

Neurofeedback offers a radical way of alleviating anxiety by changing the brain patterns responsible for maintaining it. Research has focused on the brain-heart-gut axis, responsible for maintaining anxiety pathways. The Polyvagal Theory explains how the primitive reptilian brain and vagus nerve link triggers with characteristic fight-or-flight responses. Neurofeedback directly reorganizes brain functioning, and these changes can be objectively measured through Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG).

Clients often report dramatic improvements in their anxiety symptoms, with both psychological and somatic symptoms subsiding substantially. Interestingly, many clients with conditions like irritable bowel syndrome see improvements because their underlying issue was related to trauma or chronic anxiety.

Complex Protocols for Comprehensive Care

Working with anxiety through neurofeedback requires advanced skills and complex protocols due to interfering medications and comorbid issues like sleep, mood, and attention problems. Despite the complexity, the results are worth the effort. Most clients experience long-term remission in their anxiety and associated symptoms, with incremental benefits that continue even after a 3-4 month course of neurofeedback training. 

The success story of one of our clients given below demonstrates the myriad benefits of neurofeedback in anxiety.

The Turning Point

Chloe, a 27-year-old woman diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Dyslexia, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), anxiety was a constant companion. Her story of transformation through neurofeedback offers hope and insight for many battling similar challenges. From a young age, she faced severe anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, and compulsive behaviors like obsessive checking and skin picking. Traditional treatments didn't provide the relief she needed, leading her to seek out alternative solutions.

Upon discovering neurofeedback, Chloe embarked on a new path to tackle her anxiety. Her intimal QEEG analysis revealed fast wave patterns in her bilateral temporal and frontal regions, areas often linked to learning difficulties, communication impairments, mood regulation, and severe anxiety.

Chloe's neurofeedback sessions marked a significant turning point as with each session, she reported feeling more content and noticed improvements in her anxiety and impulsivity. Here's a brief timeline of Chloe's progress:

After just one session, Chloe felt more content with noticeable improvements in anxiety and impulsivity. By the sixth session, her sleep onset was much better. By the seventh session, Chloe became more assertive in social interaction. By the twelfth session, she exhibited better emotional control and improved ability to handle social situations along with significant enhancements in all domains of attention. 

After 25 sessions, Chloe successfully navigated an independent trip to visit her grandmother, managing travel-related stress and interactions confidently while feeling relaxed and in control. By the 40th session, Chloe felt more confident and relaxed while consistent and better sleep contributing to her overall well-being. Her emotional regulation continued to improve as her brain became more stable.

Chloe's experience demonstrates the potential of neurofeedback as an effective tool for managing anxiety and associated conditions. Through consistent sessions, she not only managed to alleviate her anxiety but also improved her overall quality of life.

Research Supporting Neurofeedback for Anxiety

Numerous studies have explored neurofeedback's effectiveness in treating anxiety disorders:

• Hosseini et al. (2016): Compared 12 sessions of neurofeedback to treatment as usual in military staff with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Those who completed neurofeedback showed significant symptom reduction compared to the control group.

• Linhartová et al. (2019): Reviewed 51 studies on fMRI neurofeedback and found significant anxiety reductions in most studies.

• Gadea et al. (2020): Conducted a randomized trial of neurofeedback vs. sham neurofeedback on 32 male undergraduate students. Anxiety significantly reduced in those who received real sessions, while it increased in the sham group.

• Morgenroth (2020), Bennett (2020), Hou (2021), and Abdian (2021): Conducted randomized controlled trials demonstrating similar improvements in neurofeedback groups compared to control groups.

Why Consider Neurofeedback?

Anxiety is extremely common, and while medications are available, they often come with significant side effects and challenges upon discontinuation. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can address dysfunctional thought patterns but doesn't tackle the persistent physiological and somatic symptoms of anxiety.

A Comprehensive Solution 

By resetting the autonomic nervous system, neurofeedback improves both physiological and psychological symptoms of anxiety, offering a complete solution. If you're looking for a holistic approach to manage your anxiety, neurofeedback might be the answer.

Get started on your path to better mental wellness today. Explore the benefits of neurofeedback and see how it can transform your life.

Learn more about how neurofeedback can help you manage anxiety effectively.

References

Hosseini, Seyed Morteza & Fathi-Ashtiani, Ali & Rabiei, M. & Noohi, S. & Fajrak, H.. (2016). Effectiveness of neurofeedback training in reducing the signs and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder in military staff. J Mil Med. 17. 191-198.

Linhartová, Pavla & Látalová, Adéla & Kóša, Barbora & Kasparek, Tomas & Schmahl, Christian & Paret, Christian. (2019). fMRI neurofeedback in emotion regulation: A literature review. NeuroImage. 193. 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.011.

Gadea, Marien & Aliño Costa, Marta & Hidalgo, Vanesa & Espert, Raul & Salvador, Alicia. (2020). Effects of a single session of SMR neurofeedback training on anxiety and cortisol levels. Neurophysiologie Clinique. 50. 10.1016/j.neucli.2020.03.001.

Morgenroth E, Saviola F, Gilleen J, Allen B, Lührs M, W Eysenck M, Allen P. Using connectivity-based real-time fMRI neurofeedback to modulate attentional and resting state networks in people with high trait anxiety. Neuroimage Clin. 2020;25:102191. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102191. Epub 2020 Jan 23. PMID: 32044712; PMCID: PMC7013190.

Bennett, Caitlyn & Lambie, Glenn & Bai, Haiyan & Hundley, Gulnora. (2020). Neurofeedback Training to Address College Students’ Symptoms of Anxiety and Stress: A Quasi-Experimental Design. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy. 36. 1-20. 10.1080/87568225.2020.1791777.

Hou, Yue & Zhang, Shuqin & Li, Ning & Huang, Zhaoyang & Wang, Li & Wang, Yuping. (2021). Neurofeedback training improves anxiety trait and depressive symptom in GAD. Brain and Behavior. 11. 10.1002/brb3.2024.

Abdian, Hassan & Rezaei, Mazaher & Eskandari, Zakaria & Ramezani, Shokoufeh & Pirzeh, Reza & Dadashi, Mohsen. (2021). The Effect of Quantitative Electroencephalography-Based Neurofeedback Therapy on Anxiety, Depression, and Emotion Regulation in People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Journal. 12. 281-290. 10.32598/bcn.12.2.2378.1.