Therapy for Anxiety
 

Hey everyone,

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to heal from concussion-related anxiety? After chatting with my PCP and psychiatrist, we agreed that the vast majority of my remaining symptoms (extreme sensitivity to physical contact/light bumps/tense shoulders and neck/morning nausea) are related to anxiety and trauma.

Their explanation is that my amygdala has become over-sensitive to any contact and will trigger a fight or flight response & recollection of the past injury, and that I need to deprogram my brain to return to normalcy.

Aside from a few recommended supplements (vitamin b, magnesium, fish oil), my psychiatrist also recommended me to pursue biofeedback and EMDR in addition to standard talk therapy to expedite my recovery. They were relatively hopeful about the timeline - in addition to the 10 weeks since the injury, they project another 2-4 months to return to baseline if I'm aggressive enough with rehabilitation. Has anyone here had any success or recommendations with resolving concussion anxiety?

P.S. I've been prescribed a low dosage for Klonopin for emergencies, but haven't used them at all nor am I planning to. Tried a SSRI but had an adverse reaction to it. I prefer non-medication routes as well - exercise, diet, and therapy.

The useful sticky threads are in the upper section on the main tbi, pcs page- if you haven't seen them yet..
https://www.neurotalk.org/traumatic-...sion-syndrome/

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often suggested.

seattledrizzle,

First, anybody, professional or not, who tries to suggest a timeline for any recovery related to a concussion is talking without any valid basis.

Why are you seeing a psychiatrist? Do you have pre-existing psych conditions? Are you suffering from PTSD?

Have you convinced yourself that these bumps are not concussions?

You have never stated anything about your original concussion. Some history regarding that would be helpful.

10 weeks out from a concussion is just the start of Post Concussion Syndrome.

The vitamin sticky at the top includes a regimen to help the brain tolerate the stress of this event.

It seems like you are having an over-active inflammatory response to the minor bumps. The brain's ability to regulate inflammation can become compromised after an injury and so it will over-react and pump out too much inflammation in response to a given stressor.

So your brain needs to learn to stop over-reacting. BurritoWarrior had success with the Targeted Exposure method. Check out his thread: Repeat "Concussions" From Low-Force Events? My PCS/Atypical Migraine Story

I also describe a gradual re-introduction of activity in my Concussion Protocol.

A lot of the foods we eat, especially refined carbohydrates, cause inflammation which will exacerbate your sensitivities and impede the healing. So you should adopt an anti-inflammatory / ketogenic / sugar free / wheat free / organic diet to help keep the inflammation down as part of your treatment.

• Stop eating sugar and refined carbohydrates (wheat, white flour) because they cause inflammation, lack nutrition, and are acidic. Replace wheat with whole grains such as Quinoa flour, Almond flour, or Chickpea flour.
  
• Avoid processed vegetable oils and unsaturated fats such as Canola oil as they can cause oxidation and inflammation which is destructive. Cook with healthy saturated fats such as Coconut oil, Olive oil, butter, or animal fats instead.
• Processed foods often contain the bad ingredients so they should be avoided.

Diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates cause increased levels of anxiety. Metabolic syndrome is also linked to anxiety. Sugar and refined carbohydrates are the culprits behind metabolic syndrome so that is another reason to adopt the dietary guidelines above.

No doubt the restrictions may seem harsh but once you break the sugar addiction then the brain will learn to crave more nutritional foods.

The goal is to give the body optimal nutrition and optimal conditions so the brain can heal itself.