Anxiety is one of The Most Prevalent Mental Illnesses Affecting Youth Today

According to statistics from the National Institute of Health, roughly one in three teens (ages 12-18) experience symptoms endemic of an anxiety disorder. What’s worse, these numbers have steadily risen each year. For example, between 2007 and 2012, anxiety disorders in children and teens rose 10%. These numbers are estimated to be much higher in 2020 (by 20% by some estimates). 

Like depression, anxiety amongst youth has caused the rate of teenage suicides to sky-rocket over the last decade. As of 2020, suicide is the third-leading cause of death among American teens. 

What’s Causing Anxiety in Today’s Youth?

While experts there is consensus among today’s experts, there are a number of factors they seem to agree are causing today’s unprecedented number of clinically anxious teens: 

• Unrealistically high expectations and pressure to succeed in school, sports, etc. According to High Education Research’s most recent survey (2016), 41% of college freshmen feel as though they are overwhelmed by all they have to do. This is a steady rise from years before, 2000, 28%; 1985, 18%. 
• The current state of the world. In a world that seems scary and threatening (school shootings, riots, worldwide pandemics, etc.) it’s no wonder that many teens feel unsafe and unsure about, not only their future but the future of the human race as a whole. 
• Social Media. The self-esteem, self-worth, and world-perspective of today’s youth are inextricably linked to their online presence, namely, on their social media platforms. This can easily lead a teen to develop anxiety as they compare their lives to those they admire and follow on social media.

What is Neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is a computer program's way of training the brain to function more efficiently using by observing the brainwaves, utilizing a reward system, and teaching the brain to self-regulate. 

Neurofeedback is also known as electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback because it is a therapy that is based on the electrical activity of the brain. To put it simply, neurofeedback training teaches the brain how to self-regulate itself - biofeedback that is applied to the brain directly teaches it how to self-regulate, consequently improving its all-around functionality in the process. 

What's more, neurofeedback - in teaching the brain how to self-regulate - addresses the various problems the brain may have in what is known as dysregulation. Disorders and illnesses that are caused by dysregulated brain functions include, anxiety, depression, spectrum, attention deficits, sleep-related, and behavior disorders, as well as neurological-related conditions such as seizures, autism, and cerebral palsy. 

How Can Neurofeedback Help with Anxiety?

Teenage girls who have anxiety disorder have what is known as a chronically hyperaroused central nervous system. Typically speaking, this state of hyperarousal is due to genetics. However, other causes can be linked to the trauma of the central nervous system and prolonged periods of feeling stress. In addition to causing feelings of overanxiousness, anxiety can also affect a teenage girl's immune system, memory, and other severe physical symptoms. 

What's more, physical symptoms that stem from anxiety may persist long after the mental symptoms have been treated. 

Anxiety results in an overactive brain.  Individuals tend to worry or ruminate excessively and are hypervigilant.  This causes increased brain activity that is chronic and results in excessive consumption of oxygen, glucose, and neurotransmitters as well as a host of nutrients.  The effect of this appears in PET scans as well as topographic EEG brain maps.  The heightened level of metabolic activity also results in higher levels of fast brain wave activity known as beta brainwave activity.  We call this condition "brain too fast" in contrast to depression in which the brain is running too slow.

With neurofeedback, the goal is to train the brain to slow down and operate in a more optimal zone of functioning.  As the brain practices being in this more efficient zone of operation it begins to grow networks that help it regulate itself better when it is not practicing in the clinic.  Over time this new zone of operation becomes the default or normal zone of operation.  The symptoms of anxiety progressively dissipate as the individual trains and the brain normalizes functions.