You may have read last year (or even a decade ago, if we go waaay back) that I’d been suffering from debilitating panic attacks. I’ve experienced generalized anxiety on and off for my entire adult life, but for awhile last summer, my panic attacks were bad. Every 2-3 days they were triggered, seemingly out of nowhere. I was extremely sensitive to sounds. I was barely seeing anyone.
Fast-forward to this season: Global pandemic, months of lockdowns and restricted movement, family health challenges, and – most recently – a move across town. Some of you kind souls, fearing the worst, have been checking in with me: How are the panic attacks?
Well, I’m happy to report something to you:
I’ve been virtually panic-attack free since last November!
Like, I’ve maybe had three in the past 9 months. But last summer and into fall, I was having three in a week.
What changed?
It wasn’t meds, which I’ve tried before, to no avail. (For me. I realize they’re game-changers for some.)
It wasn’t complicated hypnosis, mind-over-matter, or cognitive behavioral therapy ‘brain hacks’…been there, done that. I usually end up feeling exhausted and even guilty after trying (and failing) at these supposedly ‘fool-proof’ techniques to talk myself out of my sensations and emotions. But no, my panic was nothing I could ‘trick’ my brain out of.
I could point to a number of healthy habits and lifestyle shifts. But if I drill down to the essential change that kick-started all of the others, what virtually eliminated my panic attacks was this:
A specifically-chosen, supervised, five-day audio brain-reset protocol – overseen by the folks at Brain Harmony.
My medical doctor, Gus Vickery, told me about Brain Harmony after hearing their co-founder, Carol Garner-Houston, interviewed on a podcast. In that episode, she told the host how their clinic has helped thousands of people with panic attacks, generalized anxiety, sensory processing disorder, vertigo, and autism spectrum challenges find a new lease on life through specific guided audio programs whose frequencies helped re-set the vagus nerve and inner ear.
I was intrigued, so I took their Neurological Profile quiz online, and booked a free exploratory call.
The woman I spoke to at Brain Harmony shared more details with me about how re-training the ears’ (and brain’s) sensitivity to sounds can change everything for how calm, centered, and at-ease we feel in any given moment.
She then gave me a specific program recommendation for what would likely help my panic attacks, at a price that I found surprisingly affordable. Once mailing me the protocol, they would then walk me through how to do it well, step by step.
Best of all? They offered their skills, equipment, and services for my entire family at the same rate that these would cost me, by myself. They believe in whole-systems family health, and put their money where their mouth is.
That was the final confirmation I needed. I signed up for my family of four.
I did the initial five-day protocol in early fall, and began seeing some results right away. My oldest daughter did it (with some cajoling), and while she didn’t notice any changes, I noticed positive changes in her attitude and her school performance, My youngest loved doing a gentle kid’s version of the audio program, and we noticed that she began sleeping better.
After checking in with one of the Occupational Therapists that Brain Harmony has on staff, we decided that a second round of the five-day protocol would serve me well. And so in November, I did just that, completing it right before I hosted a belated weekend birthday party for myself, with friends coming in from several states. It was rubber-meets-the-road time.
You know what I found? Sounds, people, travel – all the things that had gotten so triggering – weren’t. Two rounds of this Brain Harmony protocol eliminated my panic attacks, and substantially curbed my generalized anxiety, too.
Brain Harmony’s at-home programs have been so helpful for me and my family that I wanted to share their opportunity with you.
If you (or one of your kids or grandkids) have been struggling with anxiety, depression, or sensory processing sensitivities, check these folks out. They’re pretty awesome.
I hope you’re finding peace however you can during these challenging times. And if you need some extra, research-based support, I hope you consider Brain Harmony.
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