Brain Integration Technique- A Great Alternative Medicine Approach to Anxiety

Heightened awareness and emotions are necessary for survival. When you sense that something is stressful or not quite right – even a little– the brain responds by activating a series of response that prompts you into action. This is a good thing!

In our every day lives, this may look like: the drive to complete a last minute project, vigilance when walking in an unfamiliar area at night, heightened awareness during a sporting or public speaking engagement, increased attention while crossing a busy street, or recognizing that your personal boundaries are being crossed.

Anxiety is normal response to a stress or perceived threat. It is a complex emotion that involves a combination of cognitive, emotional, physiological, and behavioral components. While a sense of anxiety can be a helpful response in certain situations, alerting us to potential dangers and preparing us to respond, it can become problematic when it is excessive, persistent, or interferes with daily life. The level of anxiety we experience should ebb and flow as our varying situations require. It should not be the the baseline emotional state from which we live.

“Anxiety is everywhere. It always has been. But in the last several years, it has come to dominate our lives in a way that it perhaps never has.”

Judson Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety.

Our bodies are equipped with a survival mechanism called the ‘fight or flight’ response which helps keep us alive in dangerous situations. According to Psychology Today, “Occasional bouts of anxiety are entirely normal and one of the unavoidable costs of being—and staying—alive.” However, the reaction to perceived danger should only last a short time before returning to its normal relaxed state.

Significant life changes such as, divorce, death of a loved one, or moving across the country can cause extreme stress. But the emotional intensity created by these situations should be temporary. The person should able to process through and adapt to the situation so that the nervous system returns to a balanced state and is not emotionally overwhelmed. When everyday experiences become too much to handle for too long, the response goes in overdrive, thereby creating conditions for illness and dis-ease.

A Normal Emotion Gone Haywire

Recognizing Subtle Everyday Anxiety

The effects of stressful situations are meant to be temporary. And we are meant to return to a normal, calm neurological state following removal of the stress. Chronic or excessive anxiety can lead to long-term changes in the brain and may contribute to the development of anxiety disorders. The longer these emotional instabilities continue, the more people forget how they felt before the symptoms begin. The intense feelings begin to feel normal and they may ignore them until illness and dis-ease begin to impact their every day lives.

There are many ways ways to address anxiety including medications, supplements, psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, medications, and various holistic approaches. In this article, we will be discussing an alternative medicine modality, Brain Integration Technique, as an anxiety intervention.

Anxiety can be sneaky and difficult to recognize in a high-functioning individual, making it difficult to see the impact it has on our overall health and quality of life. It can easy to justify day-to-day angst as normal part of our busy and complicated lives. Many report becoming aware of their condition only after symptoms subside as they notice themselves responding to familiar situations differently or experiencing an uncharacteristic sense of ease.

                                            Common Symptoms of Anxiety

 People experience anxiety in different ways. Most of us are familiar with the most common symptoms of anxiety, including:

• Rapid Heart rate, sweating, tense muscles

• Nervousness, irritability, and restlessness

• Inability to focus or concentrate on tasks at hand

• Weakness, tingling. trembling

• Panic, fear and worry

• Insomnia

• Digestive problems, such as gas and constipation

• Inability to sit still (either physically or mentally)

                                              Hidden Symptoms of Anxiety

People experience anxiety in different ways. For many of us, the symptoms of anxiety may be more subtle and more difficult to recognize. Some symptoms and can be discarded as personality or work ethic. This often looks like: 

• Being extremely productive

• Over-thinking

• Over-analyzing

• Over-preparing

• Fear of failure

• Perfectionism

• Self comparison

• People pleasing

• Difficulty saying ”no”

• Dwelling on mistakes

• Repressed emotions

• Thoughts of “what if.”

• Procrastination

• Constant focus on the future

  
  

How Anxiety Effects the Brain

Everyday anxiety arises in response to normal stressors and challenges, and has both psychological and physiological effects on the brain. When faced with a perceived threat or stressor, the brain activates a complex series of processes to prepare the body to respond. Here’s a simplified overview of what happens in the brain during everyday anxiety:

• Activation of the “fight-or-flight” response (amygdala)

  • The amygdala, a region in the brain associated with emotions, particularly fear and the processing of emotional stimuli, plays a crucial role in the anxiety response.

  • It quickly assesses incoming information for potential threats and activates the “fight-or-flight” response if a threat is perceived.

    
    

• Release of neurotransmitters such as adrenaline and cortisol (amygdala, hypothalamus)

  • The amygdala signals the hypothalamus to activate the sympathetic nervous system, leading to the release of stress hormones, particularly adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol.

  • These hormones prepare the body for quick action by increasing heart rate, redirecting blood flow to essential organs, and sharpening the senses.

    
    

• Impact on cognitive functions:

  • When more urgent needs are prioritized, cognitive functions such as concentration and memory can be affected.

  • The heightened state of alertness may lead to increased vigilance, both physically and mentally.

    
    

• Impact on decision-making and emotional regulation (prefrontal cortex):

  • involved in evaluating the threat and determining an appropriate response.

  • Chronic stress or anxiety can affect the prefrontal cortex, potentially leading to difficulties in decision-making and emotional regulation.

    
    

• Formation of memories:

  • Formation of “glitchy” emotional memories that results in the persistence of anxious thoughts and overthinking.

    
    

What is Brain Integration Technique?

Brain Integration is a safe drug-free, non-invasive alternative medicine technique that can improve communication within the brain to enhance brain function by using principles of neurophysiology, specialized kinesiology, and acupressure points. The newly streamlined connections reduce nervous system stress, which helps to take us out of “fight or flight” mode.

A constant state of anxiety has become common place and many people do not realize that they spend every day functioning from a neurologically heightened state. BIT helps to diffuse brain stress so that it can operate more efficiently, and no longer overthinks or strives. After BIT, the brain can now function from a relaxed, non-reactive stated, thereby decreasing anxiety. This is a fantastic and relaxing way to reduce anxiety, gain clarity, improve overall brain function, and get “unstuck.”

The BIT protocol takes between 12-14 hours to complete and is usually done over several 2-3-hour sessions. The in-depth protocol addresses brain areas that influence a person’s ability to think, feel, and behave.  Much of it is very relaxing and other parts are quite fun!  (Please note that for complex cases, including anxiety and PTSD, it can take much longer and/or may only be effective to a certain degree.) 

How Does BIT Help Reduce Anxiety?

These days, most people are not living in a way that allows them to fully process and adapt to the stressors they experience. There is no emotional “down time” and the nervous system remains in a perpetually heightened state. Thereby, they are forced to continuously behave from a reactive- but functional- standpoint. This takes a tremendous toll on our minds, bodies and spirits over time.

When stress is taken out of the system, there are now resources to deal with the stresses that were not previously available. Their processing can now diffuse or prevent the stress and they no longer have to rely on the reactive coping mechanism they did before,

“The goal is to break the loop of overthinking so that the mind finally has a way to relax.”

The Crossinology Brain Integration Technique addresses many areas of the brain including the limbic system, sensory input/organization, and emotional connections to brain functions. This allows you to see, hear and perceive the world from a more accurate, less emotionally charged state. Sensory input is more organized and no longer has supercharged emotional attachments that can cause communication “hang-ups” in the brain and body.

While BIT does not erase your traumas or cause you to “put your head in the sand” regarding situations requiring your attention, it the emotional strings that stressful events and thought patterns tie to your everyday life. You can now navigate these situations in a more calm, logical manner- without the emotional baggage getting in the way.

Once anxiety levels are reduced, your brain can now take on tasks that it may not have had the “mental bandwidth” for in a long time— things that will allow you to reach your full potential. After sessions, people often:

• describe feeling unencumbered, lighter, and “able to breathe.

• experience increased creativity and vision for their lives

• find that they can think clearly and create goals for themselves

• report decreased levels of fear and worry

• have the ability to focus on other things

• experience the inspiration to create goals, and an increase in joy and gratitude

• are no longer over-thinking and they sleep better

• Find that their minds are quiet

  
  

I love helping people find relief from anxiety! As someone who can deeply relate to any of the above emotions, it is extremely satisfying to be able to offer others a simple, drug-free way to break out of the cycle and find RELIEF.

DISCLAIMER

Brain Integration Technique is NOT a substitute for appropriate medical care or therapy.  BIT is not a “one size fits all” modality, nor is it a magic bullet. Holistic anxiety management involves input from your medical provider and adherence to healthy lifestyle and self care practices. BIT can be a wonderful addition to an already established plan to holistic address anxiety.

References

• Brewer, Judson. Unwinding Anxiety. New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Health Your Mind. New York: Avery, Penguin Random House. 2022.

• What is Anxiety? https://www.anxiety.org/what-is-anxiety

• What is Anxiety? https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/anxiety

How McKinney Brain Integration Can Help

I customizing all sessions to fit my clients’ needs based on an in-depth consultation.  My background in physical therapy, counseling, coaching, wellness and nutrition enables me to add great intuition and depth to what I do using this alternative medicine technique.  I am continually adding to my knowledge base so that I can serve my clients with the highest quality and provide the best results.