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- How We Successfully Treat Anxiety
Anxiety is not "all in your head." It can affect your entire body and jeopardize your health. The word anxious comes from a Latin word meaning to strangle, an apt description of acute anxiety, which can cause rapid heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, trembling, dry mouth, and a choking sensation. But even if your symptoms are less dramatic, chronic anxiety can take its toll.
The conventional treatment for anxiety is prescription tranquilizers such as Valium and Xanax and antidepressant drugs like Prozac and Paxil. These medications only mask symptoms, and even worse, they have terrible side effects. Tranquillizers (benzodiazepines) are highly addictive, and withdrawal symptoms are similar to those of barbiturates and alcohol (tremors, cramps, vomiting, and sweating). And Prozac, Paxil, and other SSRI antidepressants are linked with increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior.
Whether you experience periodic acute anxiety or are chronically anxious, the Whitaker Wellness Institute's treatments are far more likely to provide long-term relief than prescription drugs. During your stay at our Back to Health Program you will learn how diet changes, moderate exercise, targeted nutritional supplements, and unique therapies such as Dilantin, neurofeedback, acupuncture, and therapeutic massage can help ease anxiety symptoms and improve your quality of life.
- Our Unique Therapies
Supplements, Not Drugs
At the Whitaker Wellness Institute we use several anti-anxiety supplements including magnesium, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). These supplements and minerals help calm nerves, elevate mood, and reduce anxiety, and are far safer than prescription drugs. For our patients with anxiety-related sleep problems, we use gentle aids like the herb valerian root and the hormone melatonin at bedtime. We do not recommend prescription sleeping pills or benzodiazepines, as these drugs often interfere with deep sleep and create dependency.
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Many patients suffering with anxiety have hormonal imbalances. When you come to the clinic, we will test your blood levels of thyroid, testosterone,
estrogen, progesterone, DHEA, and adrenal hormones. If levels are low, you will be prescribed an individualized program of bioidentical hormones. For many patients, this approach goes a long ways toward relieving anxiety.
Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback, a favorite of Whitaker Wellness patients dealing with anxiety, is a type of biofeedback for the brain. It uses electroencephalography (EEG,
a common tool in neurology) to "feed back" information to the brain and enables patients to change brainwaves in order to enhance health and well-being. Neurofeedback has been shown in hundreds of clinical studies to be an effective therapy for numerous cognitive, emotional, and neurological conditions, including anxiety. If you are chronically anxious, you owe it to yourself to check out this innovative therapy.
Acupuncture and Therapeutic Massage
Acupuncture and massage are tried-and-true therapies for anxiety. Acupuncture realigns the body's energy patterns, and therapeutic massage releases muscle tension that is caused by—and is sometimes a cause of—anxiety. Our well-trained and highly experienced acupuncturists and massage therapists have been helping patients overcome anxiety for decades.
Dilantin
Dilantin is one of the few prescription drugs that Dr. Whitaker wholeheartedly endorses—but not for the same reason most doctors use it. This old, inexpensive medication, which is used primarily to control seizures, is a remarkable therapy for anxiety, depression, and other conditions. By normalizing the electrical activity in the brain, it calms you down, pushes negative thoughts into the background, and provides a heighted sense of well-being. Few physicians are aware of this off-label use of Dilantin, but we consider it to be one our most effective therapies for anxiety at the Whitaker Wellness Institute.
- Personalized Lifestyle Program
Lifestyle issues play a significant role in anxiety. During our Back to Health Program, you will learn how your dietary choices can affect your mental and emotional well-being. Excess sugar and starches, alcohol, and caffeine as well as food allergies may contribute to this condition, and identifying and eliminating these and other problematic items can often help relieve anxiety symptoms.
Exercise is another powerful therapy for anxiety. It literally changes your brain chemistry, releasing "feel-good" endorphins in the most natural and health-enhancing way. At the Whitaker Wellness Institute, our exercise physiologist creates a personalized exercise program tailored to your individual concerns—and gives you tips for sticking with it over the long term.
In addition to a good diet and exercise program, learning to relax is a vital part of controlling anxiety, and our health care professionals will help you learn effective relaxation techniques you can practice anywhere, anytime.
- Our Patient Success Stories
Click on the links below to read about how other people just like you came to the Whitaker Wellness Institute, overcame their anxiety, and got back on the road to health.
- Additional Articles on Anxiety
Click the links below to read more about the Whitaker Wellness Institute's safe and effective treatments for anxiety.
You owe it to yourself to explore how the unique, drug-free therapies offered at the Whitaker Wellness Institute can turn your health around. Call us at (800) 488-1500 to speak with a Patient Services Representative. We can customize a treatment program that fits both your budget and your health goals.
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