Anxiety and Phobia - Alternative Treatment for Anxiety and Phobia

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Anxiety and Phobia

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Description

Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias and generalized anxiety disorder. Patients with anxiety disorders suffer from symptoms that are chronic, unremitting and usually grow progressively worse if left untreated. Tormented by panic attacks, irrational thoughts and fears, compulsive behaviors or rituals, flashbacks, nightmares, or countless frightening physical symptoms, people with anxiety disorders are heavy utilizers of emergency rooms and other medical services. Their work, family and social lives are disrupted, and some even become housebound. Many ofpatients with anxiety disorders have co-occurring disorders such as depression, alcohol or drug abuse, or other mental disorders.

How IUCCA Upper Cervical Care Relates to Anxiety and Phobia

While medical science has not determined the exact cause of anxiety and phobia, recent research has pointed towards a likely head trauma-induced origin for certain cases of anxiety disorders.^1-19 Evidence supports that trauma (in particular mild concussive injury to the head, neck or upper back) increases the risk of onset of anxiety and phobia.^1-19 Following the trauma, anxiety disorders can be triggered immediately or can take months or years to develop. The purpose of IUCCA upper cervical care is to reverse the trauma-induced upper neck injury; thereby reducing irritation to the injured nerves in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). While many anxiety sufferers recall specific traumas such as head injuries, auto accidents or falls, some do not. An upper cervical examination utilizing Laser-aligned Radiography and Digital Infrared Imaging is necessary in each individual's case to assess whether an upper cervical injury is present and whether benefit from upper cervical care can be achieved.

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Case Studies

View Case Studies related to Anxiety and Phobia

Research Articles and Publications

"An Interview with Dr. Erin Elster: 2001 WCA Researcher of the Year" by Pattie Stechschulte, Today's Chiropractic. January/February 2002

References:

McCracken LM, Iverson GL. Predicting complaints of impaired cognitive functioning in patients with chronic pain. J Pain Symptom Manage 2001 May; 21(5): 392-6.
Goldstein FC, Levin HS, Goldman WP. Cognitive and neurobehavioral functioning after mild verses moderate traumatic brain injury in older adults. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2001 Mar; 7(3): 373-83.
Mayou RA, Black J, Bryant B. Unconsciousness, amnesia and psychiatric symptoms following road traffic accident injury. Br J Psychiatry 2000 Dec; 177: 540-5.
Van Reekum R, Cohen T, Wong J. Can traumatic brain injury cause psychiatric disorders? J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2000 Summer; 12(3): 316-27.
Scheutzow MH, Wiercisiewski DR. Panic disorder in a patient with traumatic brain injury: a case report and discussion. Brain Inj 1999 Sep; 13(9): 705-14.
Piccinielli M, Patterson M, Braithwaite I. Anxiety and depression disorders 5 years after severe injuries: a prospective follow-up study. J Psychosom Res 1999 May; 46(5): 455-64.
Bryant RA, Harvey AG. Postconcussive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder after mild traumatic brain injury. J Nerv Ment Dis 1999 May; 187(5): 302-5.
Thurber CA. Anxiety and closed head injury in young people. Pediatr Rehabil 1998 Oct-Dec; 2(4): 149-55.
Berthier ML, Kulisevsky J, Fernandez Benitez JA. Reactivation of posttraumatic stress disorder after minor head injury. Depress Anxiety 1998; 8(1): 43-7.
Bowen A, Neumann V, Conner M. Mood disorders following traumatic brain injury: identifying the extent of the problem and the people at risk. Brain Inj 1998 Mar; 12(3): 177-90.
Gass CS, Apple C. Cognitive complaints in closed-head injury: relationship to memory test performance and emotional disturbance. J Clin Neuropsychol 1997 Apr; 19(2): 290-9.
Emilien G, Waltregny A. Traumatic brain injury, cognitive and emotional dysfunction. Impact of clinical neuropsychology research. Acta Neurol Belg 1996 Jun; 96(2): 89-101.
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Barrett K, Buxton N, Redmond AD. A comparison of symptoms experienced following minor head injury and acute neck strain (whiplash injury). J Accid Emerg Med 1995 Sep; 12(3): 173-6.
David D, Giron A, Mellman TA. Panic-phobic patients and developmental trauma. J Clin Psychiatry 1995 Mar; 56(3): 113-7.
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Silber A. The importance of real trauma on phobic symptom formation. Int J Psychoanal Psychother 1982-83; 9: 553-60.
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Hoffman BF. The demographic and psychiatric characteristics of 110 personal injury litigants. Bull Am Acad Psychiatry Law 1991; 19(3): 227-36.

The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.

"This is the way I used to be -- very outgoing. I love to go out, anywhere and everywhere, with a bold adventurous outlook. I have been told that I am not shy. I have always been able to talk to complete strangers with ease and I am always eager to explore new places. This is the way I started acting-- Trip Anxiety. The thought of going out of town was overwhelming. My sister would completely pack me, and I usually didn't even know what she would pack. That was enough of a problem, but I ran into serious trouble when I gradually found it harder and harder to leave my house.

Going to work became increasingly difficult. I would be ready, at the door, and it would take five minutes, then ten, and eventually hours before I could leave. It got to the point where I would try to leave, then return, and try to leave again, sometimes five or six times, before I could actually leave my house to go to work. After work I would go right home. If I needed groceries I would have to stop on the way home from work, and I would bring a list. If I didn't talk myself out of the need to stop while on the way, while in the store I would cross off most of the items and just get what I actually had to have. I began to find it almost impossible even to go to the mailbox after dark.

Dinner out was out of the question...it was delivery or take-out or cook at home and movies on pay-per-view or cable, never the theater. I really started to miss hearing those live concerts too. This is what I tried to do to fix the problem-- Medical Doctors of all kinds including traditional western docs and psychiatrists and Alternative Medicine Doctors of of all kinds, to no avail. Acupuncture was the only thing that helped, but it was a short-term band-aid. I became completely dependant on my husband and friends/family to come and get me if I needed to leave the house on a weekend or at night.

In my initial meeting with Erin Elster, she explored WHEN I started to have signs of trouble. Through her questioning, and the angle of impact that she suspected my injury had come, I remembered an instance when I had been hit on the head over a year and a half ago. After just a mild bonk on the head with my head cocked to one side at just the wrong angle, I had become dizzy for a second, panicked for a moment, and I remembered that I lost track of time for a few hours that evening. I thought nothing of it the next day. Dr. Elster took x-rays and showed my husband and me how that slight impact had pushed the atlas to one side impairing the ability of some of the nerves to function properly.

After she had time to study the x-rays, my husband drove me to her office and Dr. Elster laid me down on her special table and pushed that atlas back into place in one motion. After a few minutes of resting, I went out to breakfast, even choosing a second restaurant and then shopping. I've been running around ever since. Thank you Dr. Elster."

~Janette, age 34, Boulder, CO

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