I like to think of anxiety in terms of energy that has no place to go or “trapped energy”. Generally, it comes about over time either from an early childhood experience or a sudden often traumatic event.
Here are the most major types of anxiety with their symptoms that I treat with favorable outcomes.
General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
This is a condition where you feel excessive tension and worrisome for no or little reason. People with GAD expect a disaster and tend to worry nonstop about , work, school, money, family matters or health issues. The excessive and unrealistic outlook takes over their lives and leads to a constant state of fear and worry and even depression. It is responsible for making routine events like going to work or school hard to do.
About 2% of the U.S. adults suffer from this type showing up more in women than men.
It effects a persons thinking and is linked to poor organization skills, restlessness, being on edge, muscle tension, headaches, heart racing, feeling tired and trouble focusing.
Although no genetic markers have been found it can be passed on in families.
It effects certain nerve pathways related to emotion, thinking and mood centers of the brain. The neurotransmitters within these regions are at unhealthy levels which hinder neural circuit communication.
The sudden factors that can result in GAD are often a result of divorce, changing of jobs or schools and severe abuse.
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
Is also referred to as social phobia is one of the most common mental disorders. Someone who suffers form SAD has anxiety over making small talk or eye contact with a stranger. They feel uncomfortable in a crowd and are controlled by their shyness.
The list of activities that make you feel stressed are:
Speaking in public – dating- talking to strangers- going to parties, school or work – starting a conversation- making eye contact.
Having an unrealistic fear of:
Being judged- embarrassed or humiliated- being the center of attention or offending someone.
These feelings bring about a physical response like:
Muscle tension – rapid heart rate- light headedness – dizziness- shortness of breath- shallow breathing- stomach discomfort – diarrhea.
Phobias
This type of anxiety refers to an unrealistic or lasting fear caused by a situation or specific object. It usually brings about an immediate negative reaction that results in the persons nervous system to go into fear mode.
Examples of phobias:
Animal – fear of dogs, snakes, mice, insects.
Natural or environmental phobias- fear of water, heights or storms.
Situational phobias- fear of flying, driving, elevators, bridges or closed spaces.
These irrational fears can lead to physical symptoms like: shortness of breath- sweating-raised pulse rate- lightheaded- nausea- shaking- tingling and numbness.
Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome
This type of anxiety is brought upon by a dramatic event(s) that significantly alters the course of ones life. Whether it was a bad childhood filled with verbal and or physical torment or a sudden change in mood from an accident or injury. The residue of emotion is often painful and debilitating leaving the person feeling isolated, afraid, lonely and depressed. With their nervous system switched on high they can’t find peace. Resulting in poor decision making and organizational skills, brain fog, sadness and low energy.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
This type of anxiety results in unrealistic ritualistic behaviors that involve coordinated patterns that are needed to be performed in succession. They are often played out with a high degree of detail necessary to activate certain brain regions responsible for shutting off the looping mechanisms that drive the condition.
Oftentimes the general anxiety component is found and serves to worsen and support the OCD behavior.
Summary
Although there are other types of anxiety. These represent the most common types I’m involved with successfully treating with LENS Therapy at NeuroBalance.
Although, many of these types of anxiety all share common symptoms and physiological deficits.
It appears that the idea of resetting the physiology that perpetuates this dysfunction by administering a perplexing and gentle yet disruptive feedback signal directly into the specific brain areas responsible for the anxiety episodes to occur leads to the greatest and fastest amount of impact.
In all cases of anxiety disorder, I find LENS Neurofeedback specializes in establishing the most appropriate state for stronger neural circuitry to occur that ultimately leads to greater flexibility and optimal functioning to take place within the brain.
-A balanced brain is a calmer brain-