“Anxiety for me is the fear… the fear that despite the effort I put in, there is still lack. Coming to Spinewave has allowed me to let go of a fair portion of those anxieties.”
This is one of those topics you won’t understand unless you’ve truly experienced it yourself, or you’ve lived with someone with anxiety for quite some time. This will also be the first time I’m sharing my own story coupled with a case.
One morning a few years ago, around ten o’clock, I found myself collapsed and shaking on the kitchen floor. Sobbing, hyperventilating, cold, stiff, and it felt like my heart was going to break through the wall of my chest. I had never experienced anything like it and had no idea what was happening to me. My vision narrowed to a tunnel and it took a couple minutes to regain my senses and slowly sit up, stabilise my breathing and think clearly.
I’ve only had a handful of major anxiety attacks like that since, but there have been a score of aftershocks. The problem, and beauty, with the brain, emotional cortex, amygdala and various other bits and pieces, is that emotional experiences are seared into its living matrix to be continually revisited until the synapses are broken and rewired. To start that process you need simply to understand who and what you are, and what is happening.
Anxiety has presented to me in practice countless times in the form of numbness, tingling, pain, palpitations, abnormal breathing, insomnia, blackouts, tension, seizures, burnout, adrenal fatigue, headaches and all the mood disorders that hold anxiety’s hand, like OCD or depression. Personal experience has been the only factor in making the differentiation between mind and body, and implementing the appropriate strategies to deal with anxiety because oftentimes people will be sent away from practitioners with the diagnosis of “there’s nothing wrong with you”. Obviously though if there’s a problem… there’s a problem.
Anxiety is based largely in the realm of irrationality and the illogical – but it’s real to the person who experiences it. The world continues to turn but for the anxious mind, it stops. The world pauses and the imagination takes over in that gap, wreaking havoc with the monsters under the bed it creates. Part of the problem is that the world is turning faster than it used to. And as it spins it opens holes we think need to be filled, creating a sense of lack in our lives: We’re not good enough; we don’t have enough; we’re not achieving enough; we will never be enough; or just that it’s all going to come crashing down. From the lack come the triggers for the anxious mind – the thoughts and behaviours which set it off on a path of neurological hard-wiring. The idea that this process can begin in childhood should come as no surprise.
Anxiety opens these holes and our wholeness is never realised. The rift between desire and lack gets bigger. Problems become insurmountable and soon any activity of daily living in work or relationships can become triggers when they never used to be. Your loved one seems to have… “changed”. I describe it as whirlpools of fixation. The stream of consciousness in one’s mind used to be a pleasant bubbling brook but now there are whirlpools of particular thoughts that circle the drain over and over and over because we never let go, and let them get sucked out. The damage this can create to oneself and loved ones is immense.
We forget to realise that we are more than this. That “this” – whatever is going on in our life – is separate from who we are. We lose sight of the whole by only seeing the hole.
About a year ago, I was suffering from ongoing sleeping problems primarily owing to stress and anxiety over financial burden. Being an anti-drug supporter, I decided to seek alternative health treatment. My previous chiropractic experience reminded me that mental health issues can be addressed by chiropractic care, so I decided to search for a new chiropractor after having difficulty fitting regular appointments with my previous carer. I ended up getting in contact with Spinewave Wellness Centre after searching around online through health related websites and directories.
The initial consultation with Neil was helpful for not only did Neil cover all the essential health checks, but also listened to my overall needs and concerns. Neil uses a variety of techniques to care for specific needs of patients and I must admit that my experience here with Spinewave has done exactly that! I was given many specific adjustments to improve postural alignments of the body, strengthening of mid back region and anxiety relief through specific upper cervical adjusting, advice and strategies for anxiety.
For me, the anxiety comes from the lack of sense of achievement in life; the lack of understanding from family and friends; and the lack of support from society. I also got anxiety over my health deteriorating at a rate much faster than what I could handle and that there was not enough time for me to do meaningful things in life. Anxiety for me is the fear… the fear that despite the effort I put in, there is still lack. Coming to Spinewave has allowed me to let go of a fair portion of those anxieties, embrace a sense of warmth and support (both physically and spiritually), reconnect and refocus my energy, and become more aware of regions of the body which could be over or under worked.
While Neil excels in the treatment room, Pip excels out in the waiting area at the front counter here at this purposely built clinic. While fitting a suitable time at other clinics can be a hassle, Pip makes booking and managing appointment times to be a hassle-free experience. Both Neil and Pip exhibit friendly and attentive characteristics making the clinic feel like a second home to all patients.
Member of Spinewave Wellness Centre “50 Club” (over 50 sessions)