Anxiety is a condition that causes general feelings of fear and uneasiness, often resulting in a rapid heartbeat, sweating, and worrying. Anxiety disorders can affect your ability to perform daily tasks and often cause feelings of fear or unease that disrupt your ability to think clearly. Anxiety disorders, whether temporary or chronic, affect approximately 33% of individuals in the United States. (1)
At NeuroZone, speech-language pathologist Erin Badour creates personalized treatments that have helped thousands of patients.
Contact our office online or call (310) 821-3640 to learn more about the different types of anxiety treatments we offer!
About Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental health conditions that can make it difficult for you to take tests, communicate clearly, get a full night’s rest, and much more. Anxiety disorders affect approximately 20% of adults each year (2) and can cause people to overreact to events, and cause difficulty for individuals to control their responses to situations. They can also trigger panic attacks and avoidance behaviors. (3) As a mental health specialist, Erin can help you address a wide range of anxiety disorders:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Generalized Anxiety Disorder manifests as recurring overwhelming fear, worry, and stress.
- Phobias: Phobias are intense fears of a situation, person, or event.
- Social Anxiety Disorder: Some individuals have anxiety about social situations, separation from a loved one, or speaking in groups.
During your appointment, Erin will discuss your symptoms to determine the specific type of anxiety you are experiencing and whether you have any other conditions. She offers drug-free anxiety treatments to help you find lasting relief.
What Causes Anxiety?
Chronic stress and traumatic events can affect the physical composition and balance of neurotransmitters in your brain, leading to anxiety disorders. Anxiety has a variety of other causes, which can include:
- Chemical imbalances: Hormones and neurotransmitters in the body can fall out of balance, leading to an anxiety disorder.
- Brain changes: Changes to the structure of the brain’s amygdala can affect your ability to respond to stress.
- Genetics: Anxiety is also biological, and if you have a parent or sibling with anxiety, the chances of developing anxiety increase.
Treatments for Anxiety
Anxiety treatment begins with a meeting with Erin, where she will discuss your symptoms. She may recommend a blood panel to determine if a physical condition, such as hyperthyroidism, is causing your anxiety.
Neurofeedback Treatment for Anxiety
Neurofeedback for anxiety can reduce anxiety by improving the central nervous system and retraining the brain to respond differently. This can help improve physical symptoms of anxiety, like heart rate, breathing, and circulation. During the treatment, Erin will place electrodes on the scalp and ears to measure your brain waves and administer gentle stimuli to help shift your brain waves in a healthier direction.
Alpha-Theta Treatment for Anxiety and Stress
Alpha-theta training is a treatment protocol that alters your brain waves to help you meditate and enjoy a calmer state. During the treatment, Erin will place small electrodes on the scalp and ears to monitor your brain waves. She will help you calm your brain with a visualization exercise to help you relax until your brain reaches a relaxed ‘crossover’ state, where theta waves exceed alpha waves. In this relaxed state, Erin will help you make new, positive affirmations to reduce anxiety.
Audio-Visual Entrainment
Audio-visual entrainment (AVE) technology alters your brain waves with a series of controlled pulsing lights and binaural beats. David Delight is a form of AVE that can reduce stress and promote relaxation to help you manage anxiety with personalized light and sound patterns. It can help children and adults, and Erin will adjust your treatment plan over the course of several weeks as you improve.
NeuroMeditation
NeuroMeditation can help you improve your brain waves with a series of exercises to disrupt thought patterns that cause anxiety. These exercises include:
- Focus: Erin will ask you to focus on a visual object or listen to something to help you improve your memory and general focus.
- Mindfulness: Erin will ask you to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings for a specific amount of time.
- Open Heart: Erin will ask you to focus on positive emotions to increase your brain’s gamma waves, manage grief, and alleviate anxiety.
- Quiet Mind: Repetitive mantras can help you reduce negative thought patterns.
Virtual reality-based neuro-regulation and meditation treatments incorporate immersive VR to help alleviate anxiety and promote relaxation. Erin may recommend a combination of meditative techniques to help you address your symptoms for optimal results.
Lifestyle Changes
You can also make changes to your lifestyle, such as incorporating meditation into your routine, to help you reduce physical symptoms such as restlessness, heart palpitations, and muscle tension.
Benefits of Treating Anxiety
Addressing anxiety can have several benefits, including:
- Improved relationships: Addressing anxiety can improve your communication and personal relationships.
- Increased productivity: You can be more productive and have more free time to enjoy the things you love.
- Enhanced focus: Treating anxiety can improve your ability to focus on daily tasks, including your work performance and hobbies.
- Better quality of life: Addressing anxiety will enhance your daily performance and reduce negative thoughts and emotions, leading to a better quality of life.
- Long-lasting results: Anxiety treatment focuses on addressing underlying causes and creating long-term treatment strategies to help you benefit indefinitely.
Addressing anxiety early on can also prevent chronic, stress-related health issues and the chance of developing a long-term anxiety disorder.
Candidates & Consultation
Suitable candidates for anxiety treatments must come prepared to discuss their medical history, lifestyle, and current medications to help Erin create a personalized treatment plan. If you have additional conditions such as autism or ADHD, Erin will need to know. She offers many treatments to help you address symptoms that arise from neurodivergence that can improve your ability to concentrate and communicate clearly.
During your consultation, you should come prepared to discuss questions you have and the variety of treatment options available.
If you are ready to explore anxiety treatments, please schedule a consultation by contacting us online or by calling any of our Southern California offices at (310) 821-3640.
Preparation & Treatment Process
To prepare for your treatment, Erin may recommend that you remove certain triggers from your environment. She may also recommend that you begin to make lifestyle changes.
Your treatment will depend on your specific symptoms, and Erin may recommend a combination of treatment protocols. Throughout your treatment, you will regularly attend follow-up appointments, allowing her to make adjustments when necessary.
After Your Treatment
After your treatment, you can enjoy feeling more at ease in your daily life. Finding relief from anxiety can balance your emotions, help you regulate your reactions, deepen your personal connections, sleep better, and more. Making healthy lifestyle changes that include regular exercise, healthy meals, and adequate sleep is important for maintaining your results.
Cost of Anxiety Treatments in Los Angeles
The cost of anxiety treatments will depend on your specific treatment protocol. During your consultation, Erin will provide an all-inclusive quote for your treatment.
Contact our office online or call (310) 821-3640 to learn more about anxiety treatments and how you can benefit.
FAQ
How do I know if I have anxiety?
Discussing your symptoms with a medical professional is the most effective way to determine whether you have anxiety. If you regularly feel overwhelmed and exhibit symptoms like strong emotions, worry, fear, heart palpitations, sweating, and more, we recommend that you meet with Erin or another trained expert to diagnose your anxiety.
Do anxiety treatments have any side effects?
There are no side effects from non-pharmaceutical anxiety treatments. However, we will discuss your medical history to rule out all possible risks.
How long will anxiety treatments last?
For most patients, anxiety treatment is a long-term process that focuses on addressing underlying causes, identifying triggers, practicing regulatory behaviors, learning how to manage anxiety, and more.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a mental health condition that manifests as regular and overwhelming feelings of worry, fear, stress, and more, as well as other physical symptoms like shallow breathing or hyperventilating, sweating, heart palpitations, restlessness, and more.
How can I manage my anxiety?
Erin will help you explore your anxiety treatment options during your consultation. Most patients effectively manage their anxiety through a combination of therapy, medication, meditation, neurofeedback, and other beneficial habits.
How can I maintain the results of my anxiety treatment?
Adopting healthy habits like exercise and practicing mindfulness are effective ways to maintain your new anxiety management. Erin will help you create a plan that works for your unique case during your consultation and throughout treatment.
References
- National Institute of Mental Health. Any anxiety disorder. www.nimh.nih.gov. Published 2024. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder
- Munir S, Takov V. Generalized anxiety disorder. National Library of Medicine. Published October 17, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441870/
- Szuhany KL, Simon NM. Anxiety disorders: A review. JAMA. 2022;328(24):2431-2445. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.22744
