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By Renee Chillcott, LMHC
The truth is that anxiety and depression are patterns of neuron firing in the brain that can be present from birth, and life situations can exacerbate them to the point of dysfunction. Changing our environment, situation, or behavior won’t alter the patterns, which is why you can’t talk someone out of their mood. Adults can’t “change” their way out of them, and children can’t be disciplined out of their feelings.
What It Looks Like
In babies and toddlers, anxiety patterns may present as colic, fussiness, poor sleep, tantrums, or difficulty with separation. You may be thinking these are normal for children this age, and they are, which is why mood disorders in young children are difficult to diagnose unless symptoms are severe.
Even when symptoms become abnormal for a child’s stage of development, parents tend to blame behavior, personality, or a hectic schedule. The reality is that neither is the culprit. It’s the neural patterns in the brain that keep a child from handling schoolwork, friendships, food choices, and sleep. And anxiety and depression patterns can look different but produce the same results.
A QEEG might show increased beta and high beta in the central and frontal lobes, which could cause OCD, irritability, impulsivity, excessive worry, and feeling overwhelmed. We also tend to attribute anxiety to trauma, which makes early anxiety harder to recognize in children who haven’t experienced it. But these firing patterns may be present from birth. It’s a pattern they are born with.
From school age into adulthood, symptoms may include:
- Worry about grades or parents dying
- Separation anxiety and fear of getting sick
- Social anxiety, isolation, and dropping out of activities
- Nightmares, sleepwalking, or trouble sleeping
- Fatigue, appetite loss, tics, stomachaches, or headaches
- School refusal, meltdowns, or failing classes
- Depression, panic attacks, and suicidal or homicidal ideation
- Drug, alcohol, or sexual risk-taking and self-medicating
- Lying, stealing, or violence
- Other disorders, such as OCD, eating disorders, phobias, or addiction
A Widespread Treatment Gap
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 80 percent of kids with a diagnosable anxiety disorder and 60 percent with diagnosable depression are not getting treatment. Some professionals dismiss symptoms as normal childhood behavior; others blame parenting. Medication is used in severe cases, but many children are medication resistant or not severe enough to medicate. Adults face a guessing game, and some struggle with side effects and dependency.
How Neurofeedback Can Help
Neurofeedback can reduce your specific symptoms and “retrain” the brain’s neural patterns so stress is better managed throughout life. Through neuroplasticity, it aims to become a lasting correction. Also called EEG biofeedback, it has been practiced since the late 1960s. It is exercise for your brain: you see the frequencies your brain produces in real time, and visual and auditory feedback teaches it to regulate itself, safely and without medication.
While the client sits comfortably watching a movie, EEG equipment measures electrical activity. When it detects too many “slow” (delta/theta) or “fast” (high beta) waves, the therapist adjusts a reward band, and auditory beeps and visual changes encourage balanced activity.
What Can Improve?
Neurofeedback can improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, sleep disorders, bipolar disorder, seizures, migraines, chronic pain, brain injury, stroke, autism, learning disabilities, and OCD. We teach you to tune into your own functioning; changes after sessions, like better sleep, energy, focus, and mood, indicate a learning process.
What Is a QEEG?
A QEEG, or brain map, records brain waves from 19 electrodes and compares them against a database of peers of the same sex, handedness, and age. It shows which areas need attention, isn’t always needed, and can inform medication and supplement decisions.
How Do I Get Started?
A telephone consultation can determine which services are best for you. Email info@bocabraincenter.com, text (561) 206-2706, or visit www.BocaBrainCenter.com. Brain and Wellness Center, 5458 Town Center Rd, Suite 13, Boca Raton, FL.
5458 Town Center Road, Suite 13
Boca Raton, FL 33486
(561) 206-2706
www.BocaBrainCenter.com
