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
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.
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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. |
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