Prolonged stress changes the brain — and that is reversible

Stress clinic · Restore

Recognising the conditions

What patients most often come in with. If you recognise yourself in one of these descriptions, that's a reason for precise diagnostics, not for waiting.

Sleep

Sleep doesn't restore

You sleep enough hours but wake up tired — rest brings no energy, and you're drowsy during the day.

Tension

The tension won't ease

The body stays clenched even at rest: jaw, shoulders, neck — hard to “let go” even when there's nothing to react to.

Body

The body reacts first

Palpitations, tightness in the chest, headache, stomach cramps with no organic cause — stress speaks through the body.

Cognition

Harder to concentrate

Scattered attention, forgotten arrangements, harder to hold a thought — memory and focus drop under strain.

Reserve

Exhaustion

Indifference to what used to bring joy, “not wanting anything”, emotional flatness — not laziness, but a depleted reserve.

Diagnostics

What we measure

Stress is not a “mood” but a measurable state of the nervous system. We assess it on several levels so the load is visible in numbers and the change can be tracked.

Autonomic balance

Heart rate variability shows how far the nervous system is stuck in mobilisation mode and whether it can switch to recovery.

Stress markers

Cortisol and related indicators over time — an objective measure of the stress load, not just how it feels.

Sleep and EEG

Sleep architecture on EEG: whether the brain reaches the deep restorative stages or the night stays shallow.

Screening

Stress load assessment

A short test doesn't make a diagnosis — it shows whether there's a reason to book a visit and where to start the conversation with a doctor.

If the result falls into the high category, we immediately show crisis-support contacts — helplines that operate around the clock. It is not a diagnosis but a safeguard: in an acute state it matters to have somewhere to turn at once.

Treatment

How we work

We don't mute the symptoms — we restore the nervous system's ability to recover. The methods combine into one managed plan.

Neuromodulation

taVNS and micropolarisation (tDCS) calm an overactive stress system and give the nervous system back its capacity to recover.

Sleep recovery

Protocols for sleep hygiene and restructuring, not sleeping pills: the goal is to bring back the deep stages the brain's recovery depends on.

Support

Where needed, psychotherapy and medication support within one plan, so both the cause and the symptoms are addressed.

Differentiation

Stress or something else — how we tell them apart

The same complaint can have different causes behind it. Each one needs its own kind of help, so the first step is always precise diagnostics.

Memory under stress

Stress worsens memory, but with a different profile from early neurodegeneration. Neuropsychology shows what we are actually dealing with.

The thyroid

Hypo- and hyperthyroidism produce a picture very much like stress: anxiety, palpitations, changes in weight and sleep. Ruled out by a blood test.

Sleep apnoea

Night-time breathing pauses make sleep unproductive and cause daytime fatigue and irritability — often missed and treated “for stress”.

Support

This is a programme, not a one-off prescription

Every case goes through the full cycle — led by a personal programme manager.

Consultation

Review of the complaints, history, routine and load; we decide what to measure.

Measurement

Autonomic balance, stress markers, sleep architecture — an objective baseline picture.

Protocol

Neuromodulation, sleep recovery and support — an individual combination.

Follow-up

A repeat measurement by the same methods; the plan is adjusted to the trend.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is this for a psychologist or a neurologist?

Both, within one programme. We start with an objective assessment of the nervous system, then choose a combination — neuromodulation, work on sleep, and psychotherapy and medication support where needed.

I don't have a “diagnosis”, just a hard time. Is this the right place?

Yes. Most people come with exactly that: a state that has no name yet but is already wearing them down. The first stage measures the load and looks for reversible causes.

Will you prescribe pills straight away?

No. Medication is not the first or a mandatory step. Neuromodulation and sleep recovery are often enough; drugs are added only when they can't be avoided, and always within a managed plan.

How is your neuromodulation different from “just a sedative”?

taVNS and tDCS act on specific mechanisms of the stress response rather than dulling sensation in general. The effect is judged by measurements — heart rate variability, sleep architecture, markers.

How long does it take?

Assessment is one or two visits. The active phase is usually a few weeks with a control measurement at the end. Part of the follow-up is done remotely.

Will this go into my medical record? I don't want it known.

You choose the format. There is a normal booking, a “name or alias” field, and an anonymous messenger contact — no name, no number and no entry in the record. You can start with a conversation, with no commitment.

Booking

Get to the bottom of the stress

Leave your contact details — a coordinating doctor will clarify the details, answer your questions and offer the nearest convenient time. You can message anonymously, with no name or number.