Neurologic & Mental Health
Anxiety
What Is Functional MedicineΓÇÖs Approach to Anxiety?
Functional medicine support tailored to uncover the root cause of complex symptoms.
Consult with our care team to understand next steps and build a personalized plan.
Serving Denver Metro, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs.
About This Condition
Anxiety disorders are a group of conditions characterized by excessive fear, worry, or anxiety that is disproportionate to actual threat and associated with significant distress or functional impairment. They include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and related conditions such as separation anxiety disorder and selective mutism, with overlapping and comorbid features common in clinical practice.
Patients may present with persistent, difficult-to-control worry about multiple domains of life, recurrent panic-like episodes, avoidance of feared situations, or prominent somatic symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, chest tightness, gastrointestinal upset, and muscle tension. Symptoms often fluctuate with stress, hormonal changes, and life events, and many individuals initially seek care for physical complaints rather than emotional distress.
Anxiety disorders frequently coexist with depressive disorders, trauma-related conditions, substance use disorders, and medical illnesses, and they are associated with reduced quality of life, work impairment, and increased healthcare utilization. Diagnosis is based on clinical assessment, supported by validated screening tools, and requires careful exclusion of primary medical or substance-induced causes of anxiety symptoms.
Common Symptoms
- •Excessive worry or fear that is difficult to control and often disproportionate to the situation
- •Restlessness, feeling keyed up, or being on edge
- •Fatigue, low energy, or feeling easily worn out
- •Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
- •Irritability or feeling easily overwhelmed
- •Muscle tension, headaches, or generalized bodily tension
- •Sleep disturbance, including difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or non-restorative sleep
- •Somatic symptoms such as palpitations, chest tightness, shortness of breath, tremor, sweating, dizziness, gastrointestinal upset, or a sense of impending doom, especially in panic episodes
Conventional Treatment Options
Therapy and counseling
Mental health services as part of a treatment plan.
primary carespecialist
Medication management
When needed, recommend therapy and medication while designing overall personalized plan.
primary carespecialist
Lifestyle modifications
Nutritious diet, stress-reduction techniques, and tips for sleep optimization.
primary care
Our Functional Medicine Approach
What Is Functional MedicineΓÇÖs Approach to Anxiety?
Mind-Body Connection
- Recognizing that anxiety is the result of a ΓÇ£keyed-upΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£irritableΓÇ¥ nervous system, we look at where your physical health may be turning up the heat on your nervous system and cool the flames with lifestyle changes focused to minimize your response to stress, increase your bodyΓÇÖs own calming chemicals with a [nutrient-dense diet](/health-programs/nutrition-diet-management/), and avoiding environmental and dietary stressors that may worsen your symptoms.
Advanced Testing-
- Our approach to understanding your mental wellbeing may include salivary tests for cortisol (the stress hormone) and nutrigenomics (nutrition-based genetic testing) that may identify areas where you are more prone to the effects of stress and then create a path to minimizing those effects.
How Does Functional Medicine for Anxiety Work?
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- Our clinicians will help you recover your mental wellbeing by teaching you to navigate stress and setting you on the path to heal the mind-body connection. We highly support the use of mental health services as part of a treatment plan, and when also needed will recommend therapy and medication while designing your overall personalized plan which includes a nutritious diet, stress-reduction techniques, and tips for sleep optimization.
Related Conditions
DepressionInsomniaHeadaches