Anxiety

Treatment of Acute and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder/Anxiety
By Ruth Olmstead, Ph.D.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a syndrome in which the stressor is unusually severe, involves intense fear, helplessness and horror, and is psychologically traumatic. The stressor or cause can be involvement in a life-threatening situation, being the victim of physical and emotional violence, or witnessing violence or death.

Some symptoms of PTSD are as follows:

• The persistent re-experiencing of a traumatic event through symptoms such as recurring thoughts or repetitive nightmares about the event.
• The persistent avoidance of any stimuli associated with the event.
• The numbing of emotional responsiveness and the inability to feel normal affect.
• Persistent symptoms of increased arousal such as anxiety, chronic tension, irritability, the inability to relax, often accompanied by insomnia, and the inability to tolerate noise.
• Impaired concentration and memory.
• The experiencing of depression, withdrawal and avoidance of social contact, and loss of sexual interest.

Acute stress disorder occurs within four weeks of a traumatic event and lasts for a minimum of two days to four weeks. If symptoms last longer than four weeks, the diagnosis is PTSD.

Use of Audio/Visual Stimulation as Therapy

Supportive therapy, psychopharmacology, relaxation training, and cognitive behavior-oriented therapies have been found to be useful in alleviating some of the symptoms of PTSD. The use of audio/visual stimulation also has been found to reduce these symptoms by inducing the repressed memories and feelings of anxiety, helplessness, and fear associated with the original trauma. It is only in stimulating the surfacing of these memories and feelings from the subconscious to the conscious mind that resolution can be achieved.

Audio/visual stimulation evolved from Biofeedback and is a form of brain wave entrainment. It occurs by stimulating an increase or decrease of brain wave activity through the use of flickering white lights placed over the eyes. These flickering lights also cause an increase in the production of particular neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylcholine and endorphin. In may cases treated, an increase in these brain chemicals has aided in alleviating depression and has increased cognitive abilities, memory, focus and concentration. The audio stimulus consists of familiar and unfamiliar sounds which aids in memory induction.

A session using audio/visual stimulation is twenty to thirty-five minutes in length. Results that are usually experienced include an overall increase in emotional stability. Sleep patterns become more consistent and nightmares and levels of anxiety gradually decrease. However, the PTSD client initially may become more aggressive and unstable as repressed feelings are brought up prior to their resolution. Supportive psychotherapy conjointly with audio/visual stimulation will help clients understand and accept the emotional intensity while issues are being resolved.

What are Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It helps one deal with a tense situation in the office, study harder for an exam, keep focused on an important speech. In general, it helps one cope. But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it has become a disabling disorder. more>>

Five major types of anxiety disorders are:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Panic Disorder
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Social Phobia (or Social Anxiety Disorder)