Biofeedback for anxiety

Anxiety is a general concept to explain an experience when a person becomes conditioned to fear.  When fear becomes conditioned, or habitual, the experience transcends from the initial fearful stimulus to a more general state of being. This can affect your central nervous system, your parasympathetic nervous system which can continue the stress in your body. Symptoms of anxiety are distressing as they manifest and create physiological, cognitive, and emotional disturbances, as well as problems with digestion and sleep. 

While symptoms of anxiety can range in many ways depending on the specific clinical disorder, people suffering with anxiety generally share several hallmark symptoms.  Symptoms include: Feeling nervous, frightful, or on edge. Finding it difficult to refrain from worrisome thoughts, difficulty with concentration, relaxation, and physiological symptoms such as rapid heart rate, physical tension, tightness in chest, ‘tunnel vision’ tingly hands, and hyperventilation, etc. It can be important to learn how to regulate your nervous system so you do not have to live in a heightened state and this is where biofeedback comes in.

Biofeedback Therapy in Denver

Gorog Health’s approach to biofeedback for anxiety begins with a stress test to see what physiological components are maintaining your symptom presentation. You will be hooked up to a respiration belt, EMG sensors, ECG, and other electrodes that will pick up on the individual parts of your body that are maintaining stress. Through evaluating the information that this stress test provides on your individual physiological responses, we can then create a plan tailored to your specific needs to help you recognize when this is occurring and the best way to restore your body to a resting position. Controlling your nervous system and regulating your stress response allows you to be in control and manage your emotions the way you would like to.

These direct physiological methods using biofeedback to help reduce prolonged stress on the body (fight or flight) help you to restore autonomic balance and control in order to adapt and utilize the treatment. Biofeedback can be a helpful way to reset your vagus nerve and can be used as vagus nerve exercises for anxiety. Often times, biofeedback for anxiety is a good starting point to treating different anxiety conditions if you are suffering from panic attacks or panic disorder.

Interested in learning more information on biofeedback for anxiety from Gorog Health? Contact Dr. Lauren Gorog today to discover more information on her take on biofeedback therapy in Denver.