Marsha was 36 when she experienced her first panic attack. It hit unexpectedly in her familiar neighborhood grocery store. Right there in one of the aisles, her heart started racing, she had trouble catching her breath, and it felt like the world was closing in on her.
She abandoned her shopping cart and raced outside to her car, where she sobbed for over an hour. Over time, the anxiety and panic attacks became more debilitating, and Marsha eventually gave up her job as a critical care nurse and basically stopped going outside her house.
She tried going to a mental health counselor, but talk therapy didn’t help.
Marsha refused to take any form of anti-anxiety medication because she had seen how her mother, who had also suffered from panic attacks, had become addicted to Valium. Marsha thought the drugs had changed her mother’s personality and made her mean.
She also believed she should be able to “tough it out” and handle her anxiety issues on her own. The fact that she wasn’t able to fix the problem on her own made her feel like a failure.
Marsha’s husband thought there had to be better solutions for anxiety treatment for his wife. He suggested she visit Amen Clinics for a comprehensive evaluation, including brain SPECT imaging. What they saw on her brain scans changed everything for Marsha.
Her brain scan indicated increased activity in the right side of her basal ganglia, an area involved in setting the body’s anxiety level. Marsha’s setting was too high, making her feel anxious for no apparent reason.
When Marsha saw her brain scan, she realized that her problem was biological, not psychological. This revelation made her more willing to try a variety of anxiety treatments, including medication.
Her targeted anxiety interventions included:
After two months on a personalized treatment program tailored to her unique brain, Marsha was feeling good enough to leave the house and return to work. Eventually, she gained control over her anxiety disorder and panic disorder and was able to go off the medication.
A brain scan helped Marsha get her life back. What can it do for you? In this blog, you’ll discover the brain imaging benefits for anxiety treatment, including how it might help you with your anxiety.
Press Play to See What Anxiety Looks Like in the Brain
In this video, social media influencer Taylor Arco talks about seeing her brain SPECT scan and the impact it had on how she views her anxiety.
Click below to tune in.
Anxiety is often misunderstood as simply a reaction to stress or negative thoughts, but the reality is far more complex.
Brain imaging has shown that anxiety is not just an emotional state—it has a biological foundation that varies from person to person. Understanding this deeper level is essential for effective treatment.
SPECT is a functional brain-imaging technology that measures blood flow and activity in the brain. A brain scan can uncover which specific areas of the brain are overactive or underactive, providing valuable insight into what’s fueling anxiety.
Here are a few common patterns, based on scientific research as well as over 250,000 SPECT scans performed at Amen Clinics:
Traditional approaches to treating anxiety often take a one-size-fits-all approach, assuming all anxiety disorders are the same. However, the different brain patterns associated with anxiety suggest that what works for one person may not work for another.
Brain imaging can help tailor treatments by:
For Marsha, seeing her SPECT brain scan convinced her that her condition wasn’t something that she should be able to control on her own. It made her realize that taking medication might be necessary on a temporary basis.
For many people who seek treatment at Amen Clinics, seeing their SPECT scans validates their feelings.
Most people assume that people with anxiety experience the same signs and symptoms. This isn’t true.
The brain-imaging studies at Amen Clinics reveal that anxiety is not a single or simple disorder. In fact, there are seven different brain patterns associated with the condition, and each one requires a targeted treatment program.
The seven types of anxiety disorders are:
Type 1: Pure Anxiety
Type 2: Pure Depression
Type 3: Mixed Anxiety/Depression
Type 4: Over-focused Anxiety/Depression
Type 5: Temporal Lobe Anxiety/Depression
Type 6: Cyclic Anxiety/Depression
Type 7: Unfocused Anxiety/Depression
Related: Getting to Know the 7 Types of Anxiety and Depression (ebook)
Many people with anxiety feel like their condition is a sign of weakness, a personal failure, or a lack of willpower. This can prevent you from seeking help, which compounds the problem.
When you realize that anxiety disorders aren’t your fault, it’s much easier to seek the help you need. You stop feeling ashamed and start feeling empowered to do something about it.
Some family members may have a hard time understanding your struggles with anxiety or panic attacks. They may think you aren’t trying hard enough to get over it.
Seeing your brain scan can help them realize that your condition is biological in nature. This typically leads to family members being more encouraging and supportive in your healing journey.
Anxiety can be caused by many things, such as genetic vulnerabilities, neurochemical imbalances, hormonal issues, adverse childhood experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), head injuries, certain medications, and more.
Brain scans can offer clues about anxiety causes. This provides psychiatrists with valuable information that allows them to ask better questions to help get to the root causes of anxiety. By understanding underlying causes, mental health professionals are better equipped to develop more effective treatments for anxiety.
Related: The Long-Term Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences
When people see their own brain scan compared with a healthy brain scan, it can prompt them to develop something the experts at Amen Clinics call “brain envy.” Wanting a better brain makes you more inclined to follow an anxiety treatment plan.
It also encourages you to make simple yet powerful lifestyle changes that optimize brain function. With better brain function comes better anxiety management.
Brain imaging at Amen Clinics has shown that some anti-anxiety pills are damaging to overall brain function. For example, on SPECT scans, people taking benzodiazepines typically have reduced overall brain activity.
Research shows that decreased brain activity is associated with memory loss and an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Finding treatments that don’t impair brain function is critical for better health.
Many people with anxiety disorders have a co-existing disorder. Common co-occurring disorders include ADHD, depression, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and chronic pain.
For example, among the tens of thousands of patients seen at Amen Clinics, anxiety and depression occur together 75% of the time.
SPECT scans offer important information that helps you see if you may have depression or other mental health conditions in addition to anxiety. Understanding if there are co-occurring disorders helps mental health professionals find solutions that address all underlying issues for better anxiety control.
When it comes to treatment in the field of psychiatry, health care providers basically throw darts in the dark at conditions. Brain imaging offers objective data for more targeted and effective solutions.
Treatment for anxiety disorders can include a wide range of interventions, including medications and nutritional supplements, different types of psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), killing the ANTs, and more.
Looking at your own before-and-after SPECT scans offers an ideal opportunity to see how well your treatment is working. Seeing improvement in your brain function provides motivation to stick with your anxiety treatment program.
In addition, brain imaging lets your mental health professional know if treatment adjustments could enhance your progress.
Seeing the brain scans of other patients who have overcome anxiety and regained their life can be very powerful. Witnessing another person’s successful healing journey can give you hope that you can overcome anxiety.
When viewed through the lens of brain imaging, it’s easier to understand why some anxiety treatments work while others fail. By identifying the exact brain mechanisms at play, you can pursue interventions that are truly effective rather than relying on trial and error.
Brain scans provide a window into what’s happening beneath the surface, offering hope and clarity to those struggling with chronic anxiety.
Macpherson T, et al. Role of basal ganglia neurocircuitry in the pathology of psychiatric disorders. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Volume73, Issue 6, 2019, Pages 289-301. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.12830
Hu, Ping et al. “New Insights into the Pivotal Role of the Amygdala in Inflammation-Related Depression and Anxiety Disorder.” International journal of molecular sciences vol. 23,19 11076. 21 Sep. 2022, doi:10.3390/ijms231911076
Kenwood, M.M., Kalin, N.H. & Barbas, H. The prefrontal cortex, pathological anxiety, and anxiety disorders. Neuropsychopharmacol. 47, 260–275 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01109-z
“Link between Alzheimer’s disease and benzodiazepines suspected.” Nursing older people vol. 26,10 (2014): 13. doi:10.7748/nop.26.10.13.s15
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