Managing Anxiety Through Biofeedback

Anxiety can effect body and mind!

Everyone has anxiety from time to time, but chronic anxiety can interfere with your quality of life. While perhaps most recognized for behavioral changes, anxiety can also have serious consequences on your mental and physical health.

Biofeedback focuses on often hidden indicators of prolonged or inordinate stress an anxiety. The monitoring device is applied gently to the skin-called surface sensors-to detect specific physiological functions. This non-invasive, never-painful technique enables the therapist and patient to sit together and monitor the results in real-time.

Manage anxiety with a holistic approach.

Prolonged anxiety and ongoing stress can cause a variety of health issues. It can result in many common conditions, including:

• Headaches

• Fibromyalgia

• Hypertension

• Diabetes

• Depression and Anxiety

• Addictive behaviors

• Gastrointestinal disorders

• Post-traumatic stress disorder

• Cardiac conditions

• Arthritis

• Cancer 

Find time to relief stress and anxiety to avoid the health damage it might create.

To help resolve or prevent these issues, each patient works closely with the Biofeedback Therapist, using easily understandable report screens during their sessions together. The computer software analyzes many physiological functions tied to stress, such as:

• BVP/HRV: blood volume pulse wave and heart rate variability (an important value of heart rate, widely recognized as a primary indicator of physical and emotional health)

• TBK: Surface extremity skin temperature reveals stress response

• RBK: Respiration rate, rhythm, mechanics, and quality of respiration

• EMG: electromyography, also known as muscle tension level

• EEG: electro-encephalography, commonly known as brain waves

• GSR: Galvanic Skin Response or Skin Conductance, commonly referred to as sweating-a classic evidence-based stress indicator.

Patients learn stress-reducing techniques, such as specialized breathing, to use concurrently with biofeedback. Upon viewing the results of their efforts in real-time during the session, the person sees how these techniques reduce their stress markers.

The techniques do this by activating the parasympathetic nervous system to re-balance the sympathetic overload response, and thus re-regulate the body's involuntary control system. Most patients report feeling better after the very first session.

Biofeedback is similar to meditation by calming the mind and body and regulating the Autonomic Nervous System

The skills and techniques that patients learn are life-long tools for maintaining recovery, and effective self-management during times of high stress that we all experience. One of the ultimate outcomes is strengthening the immune system, which improves and maintains balanced, overall health.

Successful treatment requires patient participation through daily home practice, combined with subsequent and progressive treatment sessions. Average program length: 6-10 sessions. Schedule an appointment today to help yourself keep the stress and anxiety under control.

If you’d like to work with one of our Therapists we are currently accepting clients and you can reach us at Our Office. We provide a free 15 phone consultation to determine if we are a good match for one another. For more information on anxiety and depression treatment check out our website at www.chicagopsych.org