Typically when we think about anxiety, we imagine symptoms such as worry, nervousness, panic and sleep problems.  Underlying many of these symptoms is a chronic overarousal of the mind and body.  The heart beats fast and irregular, muscles tighten, breathing is constricted and shallow, thoughts race and seem “out of control.”  

One effective strategy to manage anxiety is to learn to control the way the mind and body behave.  This can be done very directly through various types of biofeedback. Biofeedback, very simply, is the use of technology to gain awareness of physiological processes that we normally think of as “out of our control.”  The most basic type of biofeedback measures skin temperature (usually in the fingers).  This is useful information because peripheral skin temperature tends to decrease when we are under stress or become anxious.  As we relax, blood flow increases and the hands warm.  Learning to increase hand temperature is a very easy and successful strategy for relaxing the entire nervous system.  Other, more complicated, forms of biofeedback can be utilized to address other parts of the mind/body system that may be impacted by stress or anxiety.  For example, someone who worries excessively may show excessive amounts of fast brain wave activity in the left frontal regions of the brain.  By observing this information and creating programs to encourage a decrease in this activity, the person can learn to relax and let go of some concerns.    

With biofeedback technology you can learn to modify and control your skin temperature, electrodermal response (EDR), heart rate variability (HRV), muscle tension (EMG), and even your brainwaves (EEG).  Using sophisticated equipment, you place a sensor somewhere on your body.  If you are measuring your heart rate variability, for example, you might place a sensor on your finger or earlobe.  If you were working with muscle tension associated with headaches, you might put the sensors on the neck or shoulders.  The sensor is connected to a computer allowing you to observe how your body is responding to stress as well as the impact of strategies you are using for self-calming.  These types of interventions have been shown in numerous research studies to lower anxiety and help manage stress.  

In many cases, this type of training is used in conjunction with other stress management skills.  For example, heart rate variability training may incorporate specific breath techniques and visualization practices  to lower arousal and help create coherence in the heart.  EEG biofeedback may be used to help you increase alpha brain waves for relaxation, utilizing specific meditation tools, such as mantras or concentration exercises that also help to boost alpha wave production.  

With biofeedback use, the person is able to gain direct information on their body's response to stress.  In this way, biofeedback tends to increase self-awareness, helping the person to identify what is happening in their mind/body.  They are able to practice different strategies for relaxation and examine the way the mind and body responds.