Anxiety

You can’t escape anxiety because it’s your body’s natural response to challenging or dangerous situations, but for many people, everyday anxiety turns into an overwhelming and debilitating condition. Oluseyi Awodele, MD, MS, Joel Apides, MD and the expert team at BrainCare Performance Center in Carlsbad, California, offer an innovative anxiety treatment, Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy (MeRT). MeRT uses safe, painless, noninvasive magnetic pulses to improve brain function and provide long-lasting relief from anxiety. Call the office or connect online to request a time to speak with their New Patient Coordinator and learn if you’re a good candidate for MeRT.

What is an anxiety disorder?

Everyone occasionally has anxiety because the human body is hardwired to respond to fear, worry, and dread. 

Anxiety becomes a disorder when it’s so persistent or severe that it interferes with your life. For example, your anxiety may stick around when you don’t face a challenge, or you may change your daily routine to avoid feeling anxious. 

You can develop several anxiety disorders, including:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (excessive worry over everyday situations and issues)
• Social anxiety disorder (anxiety when meeting new people or in social situations)
• Separation anxiety disorder (extreme fear when apart from loved ones)
• Panic disorder (unexpected and repeated panic attacks)
• Agoraphobia (fear of leaving home, being in crowds, or going places that may cause a panic attack)

You can also have anxiety mixed with depression. The two conditions often occur together.

What symptoms does anxiety cause?

Anxiety disorders cause one or more of the following symptoms:

• Constant worry
• Nervousness or restlessness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Problems sleeping
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Muscle twitching
• Racing heartbeat
• Sense of impending doom or danger
• Panic attack (chest pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath or rapid breathing)

Children with anxiety may have stomach aches or refuse to go to school.

How is anxiety treated?

The conventional treatment includes therapy and medication for severe symptoms and panic attacks. But you have another option: Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy (MeRT).

Anxiety is directly associated with low nerve activity and neurotransmitter levels in specific brain areas. MeRT uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the nerves, restoring regular brain activity that relieves your anxiety.

What should I expect during anxiety treatment?

Your BrainCare Performance Center provider begins with sophisticated diagnostics that guide your MeRT treatment.

They perform a quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) and an electrocardiogram (EKG). The qEEG maps your brain, targeting imbalances in brainwave activity. The EKG records your heartbeat, showing if it’s in sync with your brain.

If you decide to proceed with treatment after your diagnostics, you have two weeks of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). At the end of two weeks, your provider evaluates your symptoms and performs another qEEG to verify improvement in your brainwaves.

As long as you have improved, your provider schedules two or three additional treatment sessions (each lasting two weeks) to achieve long-lasting results.

Call BrainCare Performance Center or book online today if you want long-term relief from anxiety.