In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, we need to learn how to manage stress and anxiety effectively and in the long term, as medication is only a temporary solution. Everyone is under pressure every day, with many demands, much to do and little time available. There are lifestyle tips to help the body become more resilient to stress and better able to cope with stressful situations, but it is also now possible to consciously use the mind to manage stress and anxiety through biofeedback therapy.
What is the difference between stress and anxiety?
We use the terms stress and anxiety a lot, even synonymously, even though the two terms mean different things. Stress is the body’s response, a survival reaction. When we are under stress, the body starts to produce adrenaline and cortisol, which in turn make the heart beat faster, the pulse rate rise, the muscles tense up, ready to jump and the breathing quicken.
If the body did not respond to stress, it would not be able to cope with certain situations. Temporary stress can be a good thing, as it gives you a good adrenaline rush, but once the situation has passed, the body is able to get back to normal. So the source of stress is external.
Anxiety, on the other hand, comes from within. Anxiety is characterised by dread, a persistent fear of situations that distress us, that we fear, that we worry about. Whereas in the case of stress, the stressful state disappears when the cause of the stress disappears, in the case of anxiety, the anxious state does not disappear when the worry disappears.
Persistent anxiety negatively affects quality of life and can lead to the development of illness.
How to reduce stress and anxiety?
Learning to manage anxiety and persistent stress is a prerequisite for a balanced life. But what can we do about anxiety and stress ourselves?
- A vitamin-rich, varied diet: neurological disorders and anxiety can also be caused by a lack of vitamins or insufficient amounts of vitamins for the biochemical processes of the brain. Pay particular attention to the intake of vitamin B, magnesium, vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids.
- The following herbal teas can be consumed daily to calm the nervous system immediately:
– lemongrass
– lavender
– cat’s-root
– chamomile - Exercise, get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
- Change your mindset, your behaviour, your response to stress! Many people think that this is the hardest thing to achieve, but biofeedback in stress management is designed to do just that, to help the body do just that!
How does biofeedback help people reduce stress?
A state-of-the-art biofeedback tool for stress management, biofeedback therapy for stress is a mind-boosting method that can be used by anyone. Whether we are talking about the QUEX S or QUEX ED biofeedback devices, they use biofeedback with modern computer systems and innovative software to get to know your body better and consciously control your own bioelectric signals.
Biofeedback medical therapy devices monitor our heart rate, breathing patterns, brainwave activity through sensors, essentially displaying on a screen how our body is functioning.
The biofeedback therapist leading the biofeedback therapy uses the readings to explain how we can regulate and manipulate our body’s functioning to reduce stress and anxiety. Of course, biofeedback can also help with many other health problems, and by mastering biofeedback methods, we will gain invaluable knowledge for the rest of our lives through awareness of our body.
Biofeedback therapy for stress
So-called stress control biofeedback is one of the most effective stress management techniques. Temperature and skin conductivity clearly show the physiological signals by which bodily function can be fed back to the brain. The brain can then consciously guide physical and mental functioning in the optimal direction, allowing unconscious bodily functioning to be consciously influenced.
Skin conduction biofeedback is an excellent stress management biofeedback technique. During the training, the patient becomes relaxed and calm, stress levels are immediately reduced, while the individual continuously learns effective stress control.
During breathing biofeedback, sensors placed on the chest help the patient to learn their ideal breathing pattern. This is also a stress-reducing and immune-boosting technique.
EMG biofeedback monitors the tension in muscle groups, which can become very tense due to excessive stress. The training results in a reduction in muscle tone, which is a very effective stress reduction technique.
HRV training can be used to improve the ability of the heart to speed up and slow down. High HRV also means better anxiety and stress management skills and increases the heart’s flexibility.
There are various biofeedback methods that work well against stress and anxiety, and there are no side effects or drugs to worry about. All that is needed is the cooperation of the individual, a professional biofeedback therapist and the best innovative biofeedback equipment.
Those who participate in the required number of biofeedback sessions will, over time, master effective biofeedback techniques, so that they will be able to effectively manage anxiety, stress and other complaints in the future.