BUT NOT EVERYONE who’s dealing with anxiety wants medication. To avoid drug side effects, some anxiety sufferers explore alternative treatments ranging from yoga and meditation to acupuncture.
Recent research spearheaded by McLean resident Ladan Eshkevari, a nurse anesthetist, certified acupuncturist and associate professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, suggests that acupuncture may block the release of cortisol, the stress hormone, in the body. In a controlled study at Georgetown, rats (which are “naturally curious animals,” Eshkevari says) were subjected to stressful conditions and then set free to roam in a divided box. Those that had preemptively received acupuncture for stress reduction were more likely to explore all the quadrants of the box, whereas those that had not stayed in one corner.
Ioana Boie, the counseling professor at Marymount University (who maintains a private practice in Herndon), uses equine therapy to treat anxiety that is manifested in eating and exercise disorders. “Horses require that you stay present in the moment in order to work with them [rather than allowing your mind to race ahead],” she explains, “and they provide nonjudgmental feedback.”
Following my panic attack on the flight to New York, I decided to try a new approach to dealing with my anxiety. I found the Renascence Center, a counseling outfit in Arlington near the intersection of Route 50 and Glebe Road that was close enough to my kids’ preschool that I could sneak in some sessions during my limited free time.
After a few sessions, my therapist, Janice Grose, suggested I try EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a method of psychotherapy in which alternating sides of the body are stimulated while the therapist walks the patient back through the memory of a traumatic event. Some patients follow a light from side to side with their eyes, but my treatment involved holding an electronic buzzer, about the size of a small stone, in each hand. The idea behind EMDR (which is often used to treat patients with PTSD) is to help the brain re-categorize the event as a past memory and not as a present threat. Grose says that bilateral stimulation exercises the brain in the same way that REM sleep helps people sort out and process the events of the day.
EMDR has its detractors. Some say it’s essentially just talk therapy. But I found it painless and side-effect-free, and it took only a few sessions for me to work through the origin of my anxiety (the break-in at my apartment) and gain a calmer perspective on that traumatic event. While I am still prone to anxiety, I haven’t had a full-blown panic attack in nearly seven years.
I still visit New York frequently, although these days I usually take the train. I recognize that my panic attacks could come back, but I no longer allow them to dictate my life.
I remember one train ride home when, just outside Manhattan, the train stopped dead in a tunnel. Suddenly and mysteriously, the interior lights shut off, and I could hear the systems power down. The dark silence was terrifying.
I got out of my seat, intending to find the conductor and ask what was going on, but instead I found a woman slumped to the ground, her head between her knees, shaking like a leaf. Her daughter and husband stood helplessly above her, but I knew what she was going through.
I sat down next to her, introduced myself and said, “I know what you’re feeling. I have panic attacks, too.” Using my CBT process, I reminded her to breathe and to know that she was safe. This, in turn, helped me remember to breathe and know that I was safe. We talked about what was really happening rather than what we were afraid might happen—which helped me remember to keep my thoughts in the present.
Somehow the simple act of articulating our fears—exposing them to daylight, so to speak, even on that dark train—helped defang the invisible beast. And as we discussed the finer points of our panic attacks, we felt less alone and more okay.
Then, just as suddenly as it had stopped, the train powered back up and started moving forward again, carrying us with it.
Adrienne Wichard-Edds recently visited the top of the tallest building in the U.S. and flew cross-country twice—with no panic attacks. Read her Washington Post article about parenting with anxiety here. You can follow her on Twitter at @WichardEdds.