What is biofeedback/neurofeedback therapy for anxiety?

At Orange County Neurofeedback Center, we typically utilize a combination of biofeedback and neurofeedback therapies in order to bring our patients relief from their anxiety symptoms. A person’s ability to cope with chronic illness usually changes throughout the course of the illness, as it is influenced by both internal and external variables. External variables include things like career, income, relationships, physical health, etc. On the other hand, internal factors involve brainwave function and conditioning, and it is these internal variables that biofeedback/neurofeedback therapy targets in an attempt to decrease anxiety. By addressing these internal variables, however, it allows an individual to better handle outside situations that are inherently anxiety-producing, such as a presentation at work or a conflict at home.

Neurotherapies also have the advantage of being medication-free. The medications that are often used to treat anxiety disorder can carry the possibility of significant negative side effects, and some are highly addictive making them problematic for long-term use. By treating the underlying cause of a person’s anxiety, individuals can achieve long-term relief from their symptoms without the need for continued treatment or boosters.      

Does biofeedback/neurofeedback work for anxiety?

It’s first important to define anxiety, and why neurofeedback is an important tool to help treat it. Anxiety is defined as a subjective psychological experience of environmental stressors which expresses as:

• Excessive worry

• Difficulties with focus and concentration

• Fatigue and/or restlessness

• Emotional instability

• Sleep disruption   

Under chronic anxiety, the body increases catecholamine release, a hormone that helps the body respond to stress or fright and prepares the body for the fight or flight reaction. This also increases heart rate and blood pressure, as well as lowers the amount of blood flowing to the skin and intestines. In addition, chronic anxiety also leads to a decrease in the release of growth hormones, as well as weakening the immune system. Overactive brain activity caused by anxiety can keep the brain in a constant state of fight or flight, also releasing the stress hormone cortisol. This also leads to a weakened immune system and an inability to process information accurately.

Neurotherapies attempt to provide relief by addressing the region of the brain responsible for our limbic (i.e., fight or flight) response, thus influencing the release of these stress hormones at their source. This, coupled with the techniques learned during biofeedback training, teaches individuals how to not only decrease their current anxiety response, but gives them the tools necessary to help ensure that anxiety does not return in the future when confronted with anxious situations. In fact, controlled trials have found that neurofeedback treatment provides a statically significant improvement of symptoms involving generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and other anxiety/stress-related illnesses.

What should I expect during biofeedback/neurofeedback for anxiety?

At a treatment session, you are seated in a comfortable chair, and the therapist will place electrode sensors on your scalp/face. These electrodes will only read electrical signals produced by your brain and transmit them to a computer. During biofeedback, the individual is learning how to control their own stress response as they receive real-time feedback regarding their brain activity, muscle tension, hand temperature, or heart rate. By engaging in this process, individuals are able to achieve a level of relaxation that for most, could not be obtained without the assistance of technology and monitoring.

During neurofeedback sessions, you will be asked to either focus on stimuli on a screen or listen to feedback through headphones. While you are engaged in the activity, the therapist will monitor your brainwaves and set targeting training parameters. Individuals will be able to “see” the actual ebb and flow of their brainwave patterns, in real-time, as their brain responds to the activities or sounds they are engaged in. This process utilizes the brain’s inherent neuroplasticity in order to “teach” the neurons of the brain to fire in more optimal patterns, thus reversing the brain’s limbic fight or flight response.

Our specialized and highly trained practitioners at Orange County Neurofeedback Center are dedicated to providing you with the tools you need to regain a balanced and less stressful life. Give our office a call for more information or book a consultation below.