Control Stress and Anxiety with Biofeedback
— increase awareness and control of your body

Biofeedback: A technique in which a person may learn how to exert conscious control over involuntary responses such as heart beat, blood pressure, skin temperature, breathing, etc.

Responses may be monitored and progress can be recorded using electronic devices such as computers.

Biofeedback may be even more useful for emotional issues, such as stress and anxiety, than it is for physical issues.

This is because stress and anxiety are both highly affected by the environment.

Taking the time to focus on what is happening with your body in times of stress can help to relieve the associated symptoms.

Biofeedback is a powerful personal trainer and will assist the sufferer of anxiety and stress to regain control and certainty over their life.

WHO CAN BE HELPED?

People who exhibit symptoms that include:

  • anxiety

  • worry

  • restlessness

  • fatigue

  • concentration

  • muscle tension

  • sleep disturbance

THERE ARE 5 MAIN ANXIETY DISORDERS

  • Generalised Anxiety Disorder

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

  • Panic attacks

  • Social Anxiety

  • Phobic Anxiety

BIOFEEDBACK THERAPY and TRAINING

Includes the monitoring and mediation, through training, of the following:

Sensitive biofeedback instruments are used to measure your body's physiological processes such as temperature, respiration, skin conductance and heart rate, which are often not generally within one's awareness.

Biofeedback treatment sessions are held one-to-one with the patient and therapist. Therapy takes place in a comfortable chair in a room free of distractions. This includes training in deep relaxation techniques.

HOME PRACTICE

Biofeedback professionals assign HOME PRACTICE during each training session. You are expected to chart symptoms and practice self-regulation skills in between training sessions. These assignments may include:

  • lifestyle modification, in which you change routine behaviours like diet and exercise

  • a deep relaxation technique that relaxes both mind and body

  • self-monitoring, in which you record your symptoms, performance, or daily experience

How effective is biofeedback for anxiety?

Click here to view Biofeedback Research Results

Most controlled, randomized biofeedback clinical trials have found that biofeedback reduces anxiety as much as popular relaxation procedures like meditation. They both may achieve comparable results because they correct core problems in attention, cognition, and physiological arousal. Stress management biofeedback may help patients control the events that trigger anxiety attacks.

 

THE POWER of BREATH

How often have we been told to take a few long deep breaths in moments of stress?

Physiologically breathing deeply and slowly has a calming effect on the mind and body.

As we breathe out our heart slows down and conversely when we breath in our heart rate speeds up.

This change in heart rate is called Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

A large difference between the highest and lowest rate equates to good health and a small difference poor health.

Over the last 15 or so years research has shown that breathing in a controlled way can increase Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and consequently improve overall health.

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

 

2010 © All content copyright Mind Body Solutions