Anxiety, Stress & OCD
How Much of Your Anxiety Is Your Brain?
You know what anxiety feels like. Worry. Fear. Overwhelm. A mind that won’t shut off at night. A racing heart. Panic.
It’s easy to focus on what’s causing the stress — work, relationships, health, money, life.
Probably more of it is your brain than you realize
Brain Mapping: See What Your Brain Is Doing.
We use brain mapping to identify patterns that drive or contribute to anxiety.
Different patterns can show up as a racing mind, feeling overwhelmed, fear, worry, poor sleep and more.
Once people see their map, they often feel relieved. They’ll say, “It’s not just me. There’s a real reason I’m like this.” They can see their brain is playing a role.
The map also gives us the basis for how to help you change those patterns. See what a brain map shows.
You Don’t Always Need a Map
Some approaches to anxiety don’t require one.
Over the past 25 years, the field has developed protocols that target areas of the brain known to play a role in anxiety. They start from the same locations, but they aren’t one-size-fits-all. We adapt them to each person and adjust as we see how you respond. That takes experience.
Many people get real help from this training without a map. That tends to be when anxiety and emotional balance are the main things they want to work on. Clients tell us they feel less anxious. Many also say their mind is quieter, or they sleep better, or both.
When there’s more going on, or goals besides anxiety, we’re more likely to need a map to see what’s happening in more detail. That’s also more often true when anxiety has been there a long time. A map costs money, too. We talk it through and work out what makes sense for you.
It’s a case-by-case decision.
Training the Brain
Neurofeedback helps train your brain to be calmer and respond with less stress.
Most people have never been told this is an option
When the brain regulates better, people tend to handle things better. They’re less easily triggered, more emotionally balanced, and less overwhelmed. Some are surprised by it. They’ve been anxious so long they stopped expecting anything else.
It doesn’t mean all anxiety goes away. It means you’re often much better able to manage it. Life may not change, but you can respond to it with less angst and overwhelm.
How long it takes varies a lot. It depends on the person and how long the anxiety has been there. A lot of it comes down to sticking with it.
People with anxiety often get stuck in obsessive thinking or rumination. For some, it’s OCD. Specific brain circuits play a role in obsessive thinking and OCD, and neurofeedback can target those circuits.
Neurofeedback is one tool. We also use biofeedback and other forms of neuroregulation — approaches that help the brain and nervous system regulate better.
An Anxiety Case from Neurofeedback 101
A Therapist Who Couldn’t Quiet His Mind
From Neurofeedback 101: Rewiring the Brain for ADHD, Anxiety, Depression and Beyond, by Michael Cohen
A mental health therapist came to one of my training courses. His mind had been racing since he was young, he said. Non-stop conversations in his head.
Over five short sessions we trained the areas associated with emotional calming and a racing mind. We adjusted the training based on what he reported.
Toward the end of the fourth session, his mind went quiet. He said the effect lasted several days. He couldn’t remember experiencing that kind of calm in his life.
He decided to bring neurofeedback into his own practice.
That was a fast response. Most people take longer, and not everyone responds the way he did.
The Gut-Brain Connection
Your gut and brain are closely connected. That connection can play a role in anxiety.
There’s a growing body of research on the gut microbiome’s role in anxiety.
There’s also research on what light does to gut function.
That research is part of why we got the Firefly. It’s a photobiomodulation device — light applied to the abdomen or head. Some of our clients wanted to try it.
We’ve gotten a lot of feedback from clients with anxiety that combining the light with neurofeedback seems to speed up their progress.
Xiong RG et al. The Role of Gut Microbiota in Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Disorders. Nutrients. 2023;15(14):3258.
Guimarães GNF, Dos Santos Cardoso F, Gamboa L, Barrett DW, Gonzalez-Lima F. Abdominal Photobiomodulation and the Gut-Brain Axis: A Systematic Review of Mechanistic and Translational Evidence. Biomedicines. 2025;13(12):3042.
Why Center for Brain Training
We’ve worked with neurofeedback and brain mapping for 30 years. Many of our clients had tried just about everything else.
We look at what’s driving or contributing to your anxiety, and what combination of approaches may help. Neurofeedback may be part of that.
We also sometimes recommend other forms of neuroregulation, or other approaches.
Every brain is different. We build the training around what the map shows, or around what we see clinically when there isn’t one.
Michael Cohen is a QEEG-Diplomate, a brain mapping credential. He’s taught thousands of health professionals about neurofeedback. He wrote Neurofeedback 101, an introduction to the field that’s highly rated on Amazon, and The Mind Rewired.
Our clinical team works from the same approach. That includes Jessi Trifiletti, our Center Director, Darcee McAninley, our brain mapping specialist, and the rest of our team.
Medication and Therapy
Neurofeedback doesn’t have to be an either/or choice.
Some people come to us while taking medication or working with a therapist.
Some have been on medication a long time. We’re often asked whether working with the brain can change their reliance on medication. That’s a conversation to have with the prescribing doctor or provider. If you have a map, it may show information relevant to medication that you can discuss with your provider. We’re glad to talk with them directly.
Over 30 years, many of our clients have worked with their doctors to adjust medication over time.
Medication decisions are between you and your prescriber. We don’t tell you to stop and we don’t tell you to keep going.
A map can also give your therapist new information to work with.
Get in touch
Schedule a consultation to see what a brain map could show and what your options are.
For more information or to book your confidential consultation, call or text us at 561-744-7616 or click the “Contact us” button below.
