Anxiety Support Resources

At Overture, our anxiety support services take a multifaceted approach.

Why is it that two people can experience the same event yet have a response that differs so greatly? Previous opinion held that one individual was more resilient or had received more nurturing than the other. Science is becoming more aware of the impact of nutritional status and individual biochemistry. Toxic burden and epigenetics may play a role. Reflex integration and sensory processing also impact mental health, learning and resilience.

Due to our unique biochemistries, human beings have quite diverse nutritional needs. We differ in the way our bodies process foods as a result of environmental impacts on gene expression. Most of us are quite deficient in certain nutrients and overloaded in others. Scientists now recognize the role of the following in a holistic plan to address anxiety and other mental health challenges:

  • Nutrition and Lifestyle Changes

  • Reflex Integration (MNRI-add link!) and Neurosensorimotor Movement Therapies such as HANDLE

  • Meditation and Breathing Techniques
  • Neurofeedback

Neurotransmitter balance is central to all forms of anxiety. People take prescription drugs to suppress symptoms. This occurs when the amount of neurotransmitters in the nerve synapses of the brain changes. Our bodies make neurotransmitters from the amino acids we get from the proteins we eat, digest and absorb. They work as a result of reactions with vitamins and minerals or other natural elements, along with genetic activity within cells.

An individual who has sensory processing issues or has reflexes that are not well integrated may be in a constant state of fight or flight. This can lead to states of constant anxiety, depression and adrenal fatigue. Surviving in a constant state of fight or flight creates a great deal of internal stress. This depletes many essential nutrients critical for neurotransmitter balance and mental health.

Nutrient therapy can be very effective without the unpleasant side effects. Nutrient therapy can be helpful in supporting the action of pharmaceutical drugs. It can allow for a decrease in the amount of pharmaceutical medication needed to achieve benefits.

Contact us to discuss how, together with our Vancouver anxiety support services, you can change your life.

Anxiety comes in many forms and affects people of all ages and walks of life:

Social anxiety is anxiety felt as a result of severe self-consciousness and/or fear of possible shame, embarrassment, judgment or criticism from others. In some instances, an individual may have a genetic need for higher levels of zinc and vitamin B6 (a condition called pyroluria).  Zinc levels may be lower in a person as a result of copper accumulation in tissues due to challenges in detoxification.  B vitamins can be impacted by inadequate digestion and absorption of nutrients and/or pathogenic intestinal flora overgrowth’s.

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Separation anxiety is excessive anxiety experienced by a child when apart from the parent(s) or significant caregiver.  Occasionally, a parent may experience excessive anxiety when apart from the child (may be fearful that harm may befall the child).

It is worth taking a closer look at a child’s sensory information processing and infant reflexes.  If a child is having even subtle issues with information processing, s/he may have a harder time adapting to new or unfamiliar experiences or environments that are more overstimulating. Fear of the dark and anxiety around bedtime may be, in part, due to challenges in proprioception, which impacts one’s awareness of one’s self in space.  An individual who has challenges in proprioception might find being alone in the dark or closing one’s eyes to be very frightening because not only can the individual not feel where s/he is in space but also cannot see him/herself, either.  Nutrient status can also play a role.

Generalized anxiety is excessive worry and anxiety that pervades all kinds of circumstances, even those that are routine, everyday events.  It may be accompanied by depression and/or other types of anxiety.

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OCD (Obsessive–Complusive Disorder) is categorized by unwanted perseverative thoughts, feelings or sensations that may lead to compulsive behaviours (usually performed with the intent of making the obsessive thought go away or quelling the anxious feelings), that interfere with daily living.  Often the individual is aware that the thoughts are irrational but is still made anxious by them, anyway.  An individual who suffers from OCD may have poor digestion and absorption of nutrients, pathogenic overgrowth’s and resultant nutritional deficiencies that may contribute to auditory hallucinations (ie. vitamin D deficiencies, etc), neurotransmitter imbalances and other symptoms. Sudden onset of OCD may be a result of PANDAS or PANS, wherein an infection such as strep kick starts an immune reaction.  Anxiety supports such as nutrient therapy can help to support the immune system so that the body can clear itself of infections and restore much needed nutrients that may be depleted.

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Selective mutism – when a child who is capable of speaking in certain environments (ie. familiar environments or people), consistently does not speak in others (ie. at school or other overwhelming environments).

Anxiety due to a medical condition – such as thyroid issues, diabetes, dis-regulated blood sugar, heart issues.

Substance–induced anxiety is anxiety due to exposure to a medication such as ADHD drugs, a toxin in the environment or as a result of substance abuse or withdrawal from a drug or medication.

Panic attacks are intense feelings of fear that come on suddenly and are accompanied by physiological states such as shortness of breath, a racing heart, sweating, etc.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs after a traumatic event wherein feelings of anxiety persist beyond a month following the event.  The most common feature of PTSD is hypervigilance and/or a heightened fight or flight state (link: https://neuroptimal.com)(neurofeedback page of our website)  Some parents experience PTSD as a result of the shock and grief surrounding the events of one’s child receiving a scary diagnosis.

Often when we feel anxious, we look around at our circumstances with the assumption that a stressful event or trauma must be at the root of what we are feeling.  We might conclude “I am anxious because my job is too stressful” or “I experienced trauma as a child” or “I am anxious because anxiety runs in my family”.  Sometimes we are made to believe that we are inherently anxious or nervous, as though it is a personality flaw-that we are simply less capable of coping than others. Feeling this way can make it difficult for a person to seek anxiety support.

People who seek anxiety support may have underlying biochemical imbalances, toxic overloads and/or nutritional deficiencies that may be at the root of, or contribute to, one’s anxiety.  Additionally, they may also have sensory processing challenges and poorly integrated neurosensorimotor reflexes of which they are unaware.  These processing challenges can quickly drain our personal resources, making it more difficult to be resilient in the face of everyday stresses. Often, such individuals have always had these challenges to the extent that they don’t know any different-how then, is one to know that something foundational is not quite right? For instance, if one has never had good visual tracking skills, how would a person know that his or her vision could be better?

At Overture, our approach to anxiety support entails a nutritional and lifestyle assessment and a HANDLE® neurosensorimotor evaluation. We offer NeurOptimal neurofeedback as a means of engaging the central nervous system in a non-invasive way, to help the brain find more efficient pathways of function.

While life circumstances can certainly become overwhelming and as human beings, we are more overstimulated than ever, it is possible to be more resilient in the face of stress without having to cognitively override our stress and think our way out of it. Although changing one’s thoughts can definitely help, efforts to change our thoughts will go further when our underlying health issues are addressed.

So what impacts an individual’s resilience in the face of stress?

  • Adrenal fatigue

  • History of brain injury

  • Epigenetics

  • Infections such as pathogenic overgrowth’s in the microbiome that impact digestion, absorption and immune function

  • Nutritional deficiencies that impact neurotransmitter function

  • Sensory processing and sensory overwhelm

  • Poorly integrated neurosensorimotor reflexes

  • Biochemical imbalances

  • Toxic overloads

  • Other ongoing external and internal stressors

In our view mental, physical, emotional and energetic health cannot be separated-they are intimately connected.  To that end, our approach to anxiety support seeks to address all of these components.

I originally sought help for fibromyalgia. We addressed my food sensitivities and improved my digestion so I could absorb nutrients better, through diet changes and supplementation. In addition to an improvement in my chronic pain and sleep issues, I experienced a decrease in anxiety and mood swings and other symptoms gradually disappeared such as waking screaming and in a sweat from chronic nightmares. I added NeurOptimal neurofeedback to my regimen and this seemed to accelerate my progress. Over time I was able to significantly reduce my anxiety meds.

JP
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