Are you stressed out? Left unchecked, stress can cause severe disruption of one’s inner peace and balance, physiological well-being, and central nervous system arousal level. There are several types of anxiety, including panic disorder, social anxiety, specific phobias and generalized anxiety disorder.
Have you experienced any of the following symptoms?
* The Feelings of panic, fear and uneasiness
* Difficulties sleeping
* Sweaty cold hands and/or feet
* Rapid breath
* Heart palpitations
* Trouble being still and calm
* Dry mouth
* Tingling and numbness in the hands and feet
* Nausea
* Muscle tension
* Dizziness
Let’s start with defining anxiety:
Anxiety is a state of feeling ill-at-ease or apprehensive usually involving feelings of worry or nervousness. It often relates to expected or perceived misfortune. According to the medical dictionary, it is a multi-system response to a perceived threat or danger, reflecting a combination of biochemical changes in the body, personal history and memory, and the social situation.
Now what is stress? Everybody is familiar with this state of mind…
Simply stated, stress is that which challenges you to change, adapt, or respond; mentally, physically, or emotionally.
It can be real or imagined, internal or external. Our thoughts are powerful and can determine emotional outcomes.
It can be good or bad…and you know what? HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS…
We even NEED some degree of stress, it makes us strong and healthy…but many of us have WAY MORE THAN WE BARGAINED FOR!
It is your body’s way of responding to a demand…
Physiologically referred to as the “General Adaptation Response”, here’s what happens: It goes into FIGHT-OR-FLIGHT (FOF) mode. It is all about survival, whether the threat is real or imagined.
The FOF response is designed to counteract danger by mobilizing the body’s resources for immediate physical activity.
Now looking back to the above-mentioned symptoms of anxiety, many of these are similar, here’s what the body does on reaction to stress:
First and foremost I want to point out a very important thing.
The frontal/cognitive/logical portion of your brain is disengaged (that’s why it’s hard to think clearly, learn, remember, or make a good decision when you are stressed! Does any of this strike a chord? It’s really all about the symphony in your brain.
The back of the brain, emotional, limbic, primitive portion of your brain is engaged for fight or flight!
1. ALARM PHASE:
⦁ Heart rate and force of contraction increase to pump extra blood to areas of body that need to respond to the stressful situation
⦁ Blood is diverted from the skin, internal organs (except heart and lungs) to supply oxygen and glucose to the muscles and brain
⦁ Rate of breathing increases
⦁ Sweat production increases to eliminate toxic compounds produced by the body and to lower body temperature
⦁ Digestive activity is reduced because it is not critical in times of stress
⦁ Blood sugar levels are increased dramatically as the liver dumps stored glucose into the bloodstream to provide a quick and easy source of energy.
2. RESISTANCE PHASE: allows the body to keep fighting long after the initial FOF effects are worn off
⦁ Hormones such as cortisol and corticosteroids are secreted by the adrenal glands to stimulate the conversion of protein to energy long after blood sugar supplies are depleted
⦁ Also promotes retention of sodium to keep blood pressure elevated
⦁ The resistance reaction provides changes required for meeting emotional crisis, performing a strenuous task, or fighting infection (this is where the brain comes into play)
KEY! THIS IS ALL GOOD IN THE SHORT TERM…BUT PROLONGED REACTION OR CONTINUED STRESS PUTS US AT RISK FOR SIGNIFICANT DISEASE!
(diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune issues, cancer, digestive issues, headaches, depression, cardiovascular disease) which are results of the third phase of stress or EXHAUSTION.
How many of you are there???
Now let’s get into a healthy perspective…
Stress and anxiety are related. Anxiety usually begins with a state of chronic stress.
According to Dr. Hans Selye, the father of Modern stress research, It’s not the stressor that determines the response; instead it is the individual’s internal reaction that triggers the response. This internal reaction is highly individualized. What one person may experience as stress, the next person may view entirely differently.
What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens!
–Thaddeus Golas
Hans Selye said, is “Your system must be prepared to take it”
WE CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT!
HOW??? With EEG Biofeedback also known as NEUROFEEDBACK we can show your brain where it’s at and where it needs to go in order to decrease it’s baseline arousal or stress level. We show you where “calm” is!
Neurofeedback can help you overcome anxiety and stress. When a client goes through training they are first evaluated using a quantitative EEG, which allows us to observe certain patterns of brain waves that could be consistent with symptoms. After assessment, the client is shown the information from his or her brainwaves as they are occurring. This is known as the feedback portion of the process, and allows the client to make appropriate changes to achieve success. They are then asked to allow time to experience the process and how the brain will automatically seek to accomplish the goal. These are the same processes of things like learning to ride a bike. Once you’ve learned you will never forgot. When you have learned how to get out of your own way you have eliminated the fear of falling/failure. This training invites the brain to improve and restore its own internal regulatory process. This then allows one the opportunity to be in control of their mind once again.
This goes to show what we are capable of. Our mind can be a challenge to overcome, but in the end we are the controller. There is no one that knows our brain like we do. If you think about it you really are the mind setter.
We also include a comprehensive, individualized stress management program to
⦁ Develop positive coping strategies
⦁ Get a good night’s sleep
⦁ Stabilize blood sugar levels
⦁ Nourish your body and brain
⦁ Manage your life and time
⦁ Breathe, think, and relax better!
IS THIS YOU? THIS COULD BE YOU!
Your mind is you not the other way around. Anxiety Symptoms can be treated at Edge Neuro Fitness.
