Maybe this sounds familiar. The bond is paid, the children are healthy, the car passed its service, and still you wake at five with a tight chest and a feeling that something is about to go wrong. You run through the list looking for the problem. When you cannot find one, your mind goes looking for a new one.
Living like this is tiring in a way that is hard to explain to people who do not feel it. It is a bit like a car engine revving in neutral all day.
What generalised anxiety disorder is
Everyone worries. Generalised anxiety disorder, often shortened to GAD, is different in degree and in duration. The worry is there most days, for months on end. It moves from topic to topic, it is hard to switch off, and it is out of proportion to what is actually going on in your life.
It also lives in the body. People with ongoing anxiety often notice some of the following:
- Tight shoulders, a clenched jaw or tension headaches
- A knot in the stomach or an unsettled gut
- Trouble falling asleep, or waking in the early hours with a busy mind
- Feeling tired but unable to rest
- Irritability and a short temper with the people you love most
- Difficulty concentrating, because part of your attention is always on watch
Only a doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist can diagnose GAD. If this list describes your life, it is worth having that conversation. Some physical conditions, such as thyroid problems, can also cause anxiety symptoms, so a check-up with your GP is a sensible first step.
What may be happening in the anxious brain
Your brain cells communicate using tiny electrical pulses, and those pulses form rhythms known as brainwaves. Different rhythms go with different states. Two of them are often mentioned in connection with anxiety.
The first is high-beta, a very fast rhythm linked with alertness, problem-solving and, in excess, with tension and racing thoughts. That kind of alertness is useful when you need to slam on brakes on the highway. It is far less useful at eleven at night.
The second is alpha, a slower, smoother rhythm that appears when you are awake but at ease, such as when you sit on the stoep with a cup of tea and let your mind drift. Alpha is sometimes described as the brain's idle setting.
Some people with long-standing anxiety are thought to show a lot of fast activity and relatively little alpha. This pattern is not found in everyone, the science is not settled and it is not a diagnosis, but it is one way of picturing the experience: an accelerator that is always slightly pressed and a brake that does not quite hold.
An anxious mind is not a weak mind. It is a tired guard who has never been told the shift is over.
When the body stays in this state for long enough, it often spills into sleep. If you are wide awake at two in the morning despite being exhausted, you may recognise yourself in our article on being wired but tired.
How neurofeedback may help
Neurofeedback is a non-invasive way of helping the brain practise a calmer pattern. Sensors placed on your scalp read your brainwaves. The sensors only listen, and nothing is sent into your brain. A computer then gives feedback, usually a sound or a change on a screen, each time your brain produces a little more of the settled activity being encouraged and a little less of the frantic kind.
The idea is that, with repetition, the brain may become better at finding that calmer state on its own and staying there for longer. It is not about trying hard. The learning is thought to happen largely below conscious effort.
The aim is not a dramatic change but a gradual one: that falling asleep may get a little easier, that the mind may quieten sooner after a stressful day, and that a worrying thought may arrive and then pass where before it would have taken root for hours. Neurofeedback has been studied for anxiety with mixed-to-encouraging results. Studies differ in quality and results vary from person to person. No one can promise a particular outcome.
Neurofeedback is complementary. It sits well alongside therapy with a psychologist, good sleep habits, movement and, where your doctor has prescribed it, medication. Please do not reduce or stop any medication without the doctor who prescribed it.
What training looks like
At Fix Your Brain in Krugersdorp, every client starts with a 19-channel brain map, which takes about an hour and a half. A brain map is a recording of your brain's electrical activity, taken from 19 points on the scalp.
Sessions last 45 to 60 minutes and start with a short check-in on how you are feeling. After that, the sensors read your brain's activity while you sit. You can read a fuller description on our what to expect page. If your anxiety sometimes boils over into sudden surges of fear in shops or traffic, our article on panic attacks in traffic and malls covers that side of things.
Common questions
Is generalised anxiety just ordinary worrying?
No. Ordinary worry comes and goes with real problems. With generalised anxiety disorder the worry is present most days for months, is difficult to control and comes with physical symptoms such as muscle tension, poor sleep and fatigue. It can affect work, relationships and health. A doctor or psychologist can assess whether what you are experiencing meets that description.
Can I do neurofeedback while taking anxiety medication?
Neurofeedback involves no medication, and nothing is sent into your brain. Tell your prescribing doctor that you are considering it. Any decision to adjust or stop medication belongs with your prescribing doctor and should never be made on your own. Neurofeedback works alongside your medical care, not in place of it.
How soon might I notice a difference?
It differs from person to person, and no one can give you a reliable timeline. Brain training is a learning process and learning takes repetition. Results vary, so it is reasonable to ask about this when you contact the practice.
You have probably been carrying this for a long time, and carrying it well. If you would like to find out whether neurofeedback could help your nervous system find a lower gear, you are welcome to contact Irine and ask whatever you need to ask.
- gad
- generalized anxiety
- worry
- chronic stress
- calm
