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DEFINITION
A feeling of apprehension and fear accompanied by
physical symptoms such as palpitations, sweating,
and feelings of stress. Anxiety is also associated
with excessive panic and worry, restlessness, easily
fatigued, poor concentration, irritability, muscle
tension and sleep disturbance.
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TYPES OF ANXIETY
Generalized Anxiety Disorder: excessive
thinking about “what if’s”, constant worry, fear of
harm, physical manifestations such as headaches,
trembling, twitching, irritability, frustration, and
poor concentration.
Social phobia: the constant
feeling of being watched and stared at in public places,
uneasiness, inability to relax, excessive
self-consciousness, compelling desire to avoid a
situation.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: experience or
witness of a traumatic event like a disaster, war,
torture, accident, fire or violence. The traumatic event
is re-experienced through recollections, dreams, and
feelings. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated
with the trauma is common.
Panic Disorder: panic attacks that may be
associated with major life transitions such as
graduating from college, getting married, having a first
child, etc. Symptoms may include racing heartbeat,
difficulty breathing, terror, dizziness, trembling,
sweating, shaking, choking, chest pains, hot flashes,
chills, tingling of fingers or toes, and fear of going
crazy or dying.
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rTMS AND ANXIETY DISORDERS
- Patients suffering from depression that also
have anxiety components can receive a large
reduction in anxiety levels, simply as a result of
the treatment protocol used in the treatment of
Depression. However, in some cases, therapeutic
benefit is not fully achieved from depression
treatment protocols alone. In this case, with the
analysis of Anxiety assessment scales, verbal
feedback from patients, and advisement from MindCare
Centres medical staff, supplementary right-sided
treatment for Anxiety can be provided.
- This treatment
specifically consists of 5-10 high-speed rTMS
sessions on the right Dorso-Lateral Prefrontal
Cortex (RDLPFC) administered once per day over one
to two weeks.
- For patients only seeking relief from anxiety,
rTMS can be administered twice a day for five days,
totally ten treatments.
- The therapeutic application of rTMS for anxiety
disorders is best understood through Neuroimaging
studies. These studies demonstrate that anxiety is
visible through elevated activity of the right
frontal and hippocampal-parahippocampal regions of
the brain, thus low frequency rTMS is helpful in
reducing hyperexcitability.
- RDLPFC treatments decreased anxiety symptoms by
78% and panic symptoms by 59%, with benefits
remaining at one month follow up (Zwanzger et al.,
2002).
- The 10 daily treatments of 10-Hz rTMS at 80%
motor threshold over the right dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex had therapeutic effects on PTSD
patients (Cohen et al., 2005)
- Treatment-resistant Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder was also markedly improved with rTMS
treatments to the RDLPFC (McCann et al. 1998).
- Please contact MindCare Centres
staff members directly to obtain further details.
Search journal articles on Anxiety
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