Panic Attack Symptoms Alleviated with Biofeedback

The physical symptoms of a panic attack are overwhelming. To suddenly experience symptoms such as hyperventilation, nausea, an intense feeling of approaching doom, rapid heart rate, chills, or dizziness in the midst of a non-threatening situation will send most people rushing to their medical care provider.

Armed with the latest research, that provider may very well suggest biofeedback training as one way of helping to alleviate those symptoms. Here’s a basic explanation of what happens when a panic attack strikes and how training the patient in EEG biofeedback exercises can relieve the duration and intensity of the symptoms.

Although the medical world once dismissed panic attack symptoms as the result of an emotional disorder, it is now known that panic attack episodes can happen to anyone, and the physical symptoms are real and devastating. To the person in the midst of a panic attack, immediate relief is imperative.  Learning to retrain brain waves through biofeedback can help provide that relief.

EEG biofeedback training, a process in use since the 1960s, involves retraining brain waves to normal activity via customized training exercises. It is completely non-invasive and allows the patient to avoid the possible long-term and immediate side effects of psychopharmaceuticals.

While the exact causes of panic attacks have not yet been pinpointed, individuals experiencing episodes will display abnormal brain wave activity when measured by an EEG (electroencephalogram). Learning how to retrain the brain as abnormal electrical activity between cells (brain waves) begins to occur, may be useful in preventing a full-blown panic attack.

How, exactly, would that training look? Summed up briefly, the doctor will perform preliminary testing to establish where in the brain the abnormal activity is occurring. Using that information, training exercises using visual or auditory stimuli will commence.

The patient who has suffered a panic attack might be shown an image on a computer screen, or be introduced to a sound, that indicates, during a series of exercises, normal brain waves have been achieved. The patient is actually learning methods of retraining their own brain waves back into normal rhythms.

Once that skill is gained, the prospect of another panic attack can be much less frightening, as the patient knows they have the tools to normalize their own brain activity. All this can be accomplished without medication or invasive procedures.

Experiencing the symptoms of a panic attack can drastically change a person’s outlook on life, but it doesn’t have to. That same person can experience significant relief from subsequent episodes when guided to the tools available to them through EEG biofeedback training.

NEUROFEEDBACK FOR PANIC ATTACKS AND ANXIETY

What are Biofeedback Machines?

Biofeedback is a revolutionary therapy tool that assists people suffering from a variety of afflictions, including anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, and stress.  Here is how it works:  by measuring physiological signals in your body, such as your sweat glands, skin temperature, or brain waves, biofeedback machines then give you a custom-tailored report on what is out of balance in your body, and the actions you can take to fix it.

Biofeedback is widely used and medically accepted – in fact, one biofeedback machine, the Stress Eraser, has even received approval and regulation from the Food and Drug Administration.  In essence, it helps patients gain voluntary control over subtle psychological and physiological processes that are exacerbating, or even causing, life-affecting conditions.  Biofeedback has even been shown to help drug addicts get clean and victims of seizures lead healthier, more normal lives.

Biofeedback machines are available in many shapes and sizes, but there are three general categories that they fall into:

1.       Professional-grade biofeedback machines - These machines are typically found in hospitals and clinical environments, and tend to be larger and more sophisticated than machines found in households.  They are used to treat a variety of afflictions, and usually have more advanced (and much more expensive) technology to create higher quality, more complex games and training regimens.  They also come in specialized varieties to treat advanced conditions that patients should not try to treat themselves.

2.       Handheld biofeedback machines - You may find these in a professional therapeutic setting as well, but these are also available for patients to use at home.  The machine mentioned earlier – the Stress Eraser – falls into this category.  There are hundreds of different devices from a slew of manufacturers in this segment, all with different targeted conditions and functionality; however, all conditions that respond to biofeedback machines may not be addressed by handheld equipment. For instance, EEG neurofeedback to treat anxiety and attention deficit disorder (ADD) does not come in a home-use, handheld device.  Handheld biofeedback machines tend to focus on stress reduction, though they can be helpful with other afflictions, as well.

3.       Smartphone apps - The last category of biofeedback machines doesn't actually contain a machine, unless you are counting your iPhone or Android smartphone.  These apps use smartphone functionality, such as the camera, to collect information about your physiological processes. These tend to be far less accurate than medical-grade biofeedback machines, but they are also substantially less expensive and convenient, because you do not have to purchase and account for yet another electronic device.

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