Many people live with stress and anxiety based conditions for years with no relief. Maybe they have tried medications which really only camouflage the symptoms and dont really manage to get to the root of the problem. Some have tried the traditional therapies which will work to some extent. Techniques like cognitive-behavioral therapy can work quite well with
some people but there remains a high relapse rate for these approaches. What anxiety and stress sufferers require is a permanent and lasting solutions to these debilitating states of mind that they find themselves having to endure on a sometimes daily basis.
Lets look at some other approaches that although are not mainstream yet are certainly worthy of attention according to reports as they are giving large amounts of people freedom and real relief from their anxiety without the fear of relapse that the traditional methods often do.
The first one that comes to mind is the EMDR method made famous by Francine Shapiro. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing although overly technical sounding in name, integrates elements of many effective psychotherapies in structured protocols that are designed to maximize treatment effects. These include psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, experiential, and body-centered therapies. EMDR is an information processing therapy and uses an external stimulus, usually a finger moving in front of the line of vision, to break up recurring patterns of anxiety. Recent research on EMDR shows
positive benefits and fast removal of anxiety related issues.
The second technique is known as Thought Field Therapy but a revised version of this approach is also known as The Emotional Freedom Technique .It was originally discovered and utilized in treatment by the American clinical psychologist Roger Callahan Ph.D, I can personally vouch for this method because it took my fear of public speaking away in two rounds of treatment.
It actually uses acupuncture points on the body which are tapped (by yourself) with your fingers in specified sequence for a couple of minutes until you try to get the anxious feelings back but you cannot because they have simply vanished. It is actually quite miraculous and is presently undergoing research because it is such a simple method to employ and very cost effective and the client can take the skill away and do it on themselves with all manner of problems anytime they wish.
Another method that is receiving a lot of attention recently is the method devised by Charles Linden, himself an chronic anxiety sufferer, who has a scientifically based technique that allows you to reset the amygdala which is a small gland in the brain that seems to perpetuate the anxiety we have. An American National Mental Health institute even endorsed many of
his findings concerning how anxiety disorders start and then become magnified. His method is known simply as The Linden Method and is performed at home at the clients leisure.
Of course anxiety and stress sufferers should also aim to employ a daily relaxation regime to calm over-arousal whilst they attend to these other treatments. A regular regime of stress management via relaxation works wonders to refresh our nervous system. The technique that I use goes beyond the traditional methods that only take you to a superficial level of calmness and actually involves switching off the brain stress centers that are responsible for causing stress in the first place.
The technique is like an internal massage for your brain and very quickly lowers your arousal in a simple but profound manner.