Memories encoded in this right-brain region can be expressed through sensations and emotions instead of verbal descriptions. As such, these trauma-related memories may remain inaccessible to conscious thought even though they still exist in our minds.  

EFT works to balance the body's subtle energy system by tapping on specific meridian points while tuning into particular emotional issues.

EFT can also be used as a preventive measure in order to reduce the risk of developing anxiety disorders in the aftermath of traumatic events.  Regular practice will help to create a more balanced and peaceful lifestyle, allowing you to live life with an increased sense of calmness and peace.

EMDR facilitates healing by stimulating bilateral eye movements, tones, taps, and other forms of stimulation to bring about change at the neurological level. EMDR has been found to be an effective treatment for many people who have experienced trauma and have developed anxiety as a result.

Brain neurology is an exciting field of study that holds many mysteries, such as the cause of human happiness or emotional well-being. In recent years, science has discovered and studied primary brain chemicals related to happiness—dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin.   Let’s take a look at what these brain chemicals are and how they can affect anxiety.  

Grounding exercises can be incredibly beneficial for managing anxiety spikes after Exposure Response Prevention creates some nervous system disregulation.  

Grounding exercises help you take back control of a hijacked nervous system and re-engage in therapy.  

Trauma is one of the main contributing factors to many mental and physical health issues, but recent advancements in technology have given us a new way to tackle trauma – vagus nerve reset. 

Research has found that vagus nerve stimulation is a powerful tool for creating positive physical, mental and emotional changes. Vagus nerve reset helps us realize greater balance and harmony within our bodies as trauma gets mitigated or resolved.

Traumatic events can have a long lasting neurological effect, which may lead to anxiety and other psychological issues. While the brain's ability to cope with trauma is greatly influenced by the person's social support system, the right treatment can help people deal with their traumatic experiences in a healthy way.

Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, is a mental health disorder that causes intense fear and anxiety in social situations. Fortunately, there are effective treatments available to help you manage your social phobia.

Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder, but it is highly correlated with anxiety disorders including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Specific Phobias. Due to its commonly very visible presentation in the eyebrows, eyelashes, and hairline, Trich can have a profoundly negative effect on the quality of life of those who suffer from it.

Our food and drink choices can have a tremendous impact on the efficacy of our anxiety treatment. Research shows that diet balance and gut health is associated with lower anxiety and depression, as well as reduced symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Using EMDR therapy can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety. It helps people gain control over their thoughts and emotions so they no longer feel overwhelmed or scared by them. Additionally, it teaches clients how to identify triggers and create healthy coping strategies for dealing with stressful situations in the future. Research suggests that this type of therapy is especially effective at treating conditions like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), phobias, panic attacks, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and other types of anxiety disorders.

While it is ideal to work with a dedicated therapist for your OCD and Anxiety treatment, some people need to begin or continue the process outside of formal therapy.  Fortunately, the design of an exposure can be a learned skill. The first step is to isolate a trigger, and the compulsions that you wish to target. 

When working with clients on negative self-talk, it has been helpful to externalize and name the different modes of negative dialogue that invade our brains.  I like to think of them as characters in a play, with distinct themes and personalities.  The first rule to deprogramming our negative self-talk is: Name it to Tame it.  We label the self-talk as The Worrywart, The Perfectionist, The Victim, or The Disparager.  

Many professionals misdiagnose Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as GAD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and treat it accordingly.  Unfortunately, these two disorders may need drastically different treatment plans and countless clients find themselves stymied in unproductive treatment cycles. 

Most cases of treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder(OCD) ebb and flow with progress, but occasionally, we are met with significant resistance. Although we hope to externalize OCD as a separate voice from one’s true self, OCD often can be deeply entrenched in our personalities.  Sometimes, we cannot imagine who we are without our OCD behaviors and we lean on this predictable mode of reacting to the world.  The temporarily easier path is to stay in your OCD.  

When you feel ready to embark on Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, the options for a therapist to bring along on your journey may feel daunting.  For Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, it is critical that you have a clinician that inspires a feeling of calm and safety.  

While the term “accommodations” has generally been positive for the neurodiverse community, in the realm of OCD, it is a problematic family behavior that exacerbates symptoms. By accommodating the child’s desires, a family is essentially enabling the OCD or anxiety to flourish.

Exposure Response Prevention, the gold star treatment for OCD, can be a challenging process of facing our fears, experiencing our triggers, and resisting our compulsions. The key for successful exposure response prevention is client buy-in. The individual with OCD has to want to get better, just as much as their family members and their therapist.

Anxiety traps are our common thinking patterns that lead to us following the same unhealthy patterns again and again. At our Anxiety Therapy clinic in Boulder, CO, we help our clients break these habits. An excellent anxiety therapist will utilize CBT therapy to help you catch your spirals and move away from your common thinking traps.

For those of us with OCD, the New Year can be a fraught time. This yearly reckoning with progress-made and progress-desired can feel very heavy for those of us who are in constant recovery from our cycles of obsessions and compulsions. We lose so much time to our OCD, and often get derailed from our true values.