Neurofeedback for Anxiety & Obsession

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What is Anxiety and Obsession?

Occasional anxiety is not unusual or abnormal. Everyone worries about different issues from time to time. However, individuals with anxiety disorders experience extreme worry and tension even when there is little or nothing to worry about. Anxiety disorder makes person unable to control feelings of nervousness and difficulty in focusing on work and daily activities.

Anxiety may also manifest as obsession. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder and is described by repeated, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called โ€œrituals,โ€ however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them considerably increases anxiety.

Symptoms of Anxiety & obsession disorders:

Anxiety Disorder develops gradually and individuals with this condition can have the following symptoms:

  • Excessive worrying about unimportant things
  • Feeling unmotivated
  • Inability to control worries or nervousness
  • Restlessness or inability to relax
  • Trouble with concentrating
  • Easily frightened
  • Sleep difficulties
  • Persistent fatigue or tiredness
  • Unexplained aches and pains
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Benefits of Neurofeedback for Anxiety and Obsession

People who have anxiety disorder usually have excessive fast brainwave patterns, even when there is no task to do. Dominance of the fast brainwaves causes difficulty in relaxing and keeping calm. There might be also not enough brainwaves related to concentration and alertness.

During the assessment session, as a first step, I will look into your brain function and find out what brainwave patterns causes your symptoms.

Throughout your Neurofeedback sessions, with a personalized training program, your brain will learn how to generate correct brainwaves in order to improve the brain harmony and balance which will lead to improvement of the Anxiety symptoms.

References

S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, NIH Publication No. 19-MH-8090 Revised 2016 [Ref.]

Thomas JE, Sattlberger E, Treatment of Chronic Anxiety Disorder with Neurotherapy, Journal of Neurotherapy: Investigations in Neuromodulation, Neurofeedback and Applied Neuroscience, 2:2, 14-19, DOI: 10.1300/J184v02n02_03 [Ref.]

Chapin TJ, Russell-Chapin LA, Neurotherapy and Neurofeedback Brain-Based Treatment for Psychological and Behavioral Problems, 2014, p 175-176 [Ref.]

Banerjee S, Argรกez C. Neurofeedback and Biofeedback for Mood and Anxiety Disorders: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines [Internet]. Ottawa (ON): Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health; 2017 Nov 13. PMID: 30299634. [PubMed] [Ref.]

Zhao Z, Yao S, Li K, Sindermann C, Zhou F, Zhao W, Li J, Lรผhrs M, Goebel R, Kendrick KM, Becker B. Real-Time Functional Connectivity-Informed Neurofeedback of Amygdala-Frontal Pathways Reduces Anxiety. Psychother Psychosom. 2019;88(1):5-15. doi: 10.1159/000496057. Epub 2019 Jan 30. PMID: 30699438. [PubMed] [Ref.]

Harris, S., Hundley, G., Lambie, G. (2018). The effects of Neurofeedback on Depression, Anxiety, and Academic Self-Efficacy. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, DOI: 10.1080/87568225.2019.1606689 [Ref.]

Mennella R, Patron E, Palomba D. Frontal alpha asymmetry neurofeedback for the reduction of negative affect and anxiety. Behav Res Ther. 2017 May;92:32-40. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Feb 20. PMID: 28236680 [PubMed] [Ref.]

Sรผrmeli T, Ertem A. Obsessive compulsive disorder and the efficacy of qEEG-guided neurofeedback treatment: a case series. Clin EEG Neurosci. 2011 Jul;42(3):195-201. doi: 10.1177/155005941104200310. PMID: 21870473. [PubMed] [Ref.]

Zilverstand A, Sorger B, Sarkheil P, Goebel R. fMRI neurofeedback facilitates anxiety regulation in females with spider phobia. Front Behav Neurosci. 2015 Jun 8;9:148. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00148. PMID: 26106309; PMCID: PMC4458693. [PubMed] [Ref.]

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