Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health symptoms and one of the most treatable.

Anxiety can be terrifying, so much so that you may rush to the emergency room, convinced you are having a heart attack.  The reason for this is because your primal Fight Flight mechanism has been triggered.

Anxiety can also become disabling.  Since our natural instinct tells us to avoid situations that trigger anxiety, you may miss out on more and more and even become housebound.

Although a medical cause for anxiety is not common, it is a good idea to have a routine medical check up with labs to rule out possible causes, including a hyperactive thyroid.  The most common causes of anxiety are rooted in childhood, either because of a stressful or traumatic childhood or learned through the indirect teaching of an anxious parent.  Anxiety can also be caused by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or by an excessively fast brain wave pattern.  We can determine that through Brain Mapping, a simple procedure we do in the office.  Although not a direct cause, certain genetic patterns also can make one more prone to anxiety.  Lifestyle, certain thinking patterns, and situational stress also may bring on Anxiety.

How is Anxiety treated?

Unfortunately, since we have FDA approved medications for the treatment of anxiety, many physicians think medications are the answer.  They, and you, can then think that Anxiety is a chronic disorder caused by a “chemical imbalance,” and think that taking medications the rest of your life is the answer.

With a comprehensive, Holistic approach, you should be able to overcome your anxiety and be medication free, and side effect free too!  After taking a careful history and doing some in-office testing, we will have a good idea of your type of anxiety and how best to help you.  We will make sure you fully understand your anxiety and its causes.  We will teach you how to turn off the fight/flight mechanism, how to deeply relax, and how to be in a normal physiologic state as you go through your day.  Biofeedback is extremely helpful in doing this.  If there is an abnormal brainwave pattern, doing some Brainwave Biofeedback will also be crucial to your full recovery.  If your anxiety is due to childhood trauma, the fear is programmed into your unconscious, beyond the reach of your thinking mind and beyond Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  We have years of experience helping people with such problems and know how to not only help you heal such trauma, but do so gracefully.  We also have additional tools to speed and ease your recovery, including Acupuncture.

Hopefully, this brief introduction gives you a better understanding of Anxiety and hope that you can overcome it.  At Holistic Health & Counseling Center, it is our job to figure out what will work best for you, and to do so in a caring and supportive environment.