Brainwaves; their significance in your everyday life!
NeurOPTIMAL neurofeedback brain training uses the same EEG that is used in hospitals, doctors offices, and in research which is the electro-chemical activity that is happening inside your brain 24/7/365, asleep or awake. This energy activity is survival oriented and is about maintaining a sense of ‘harmony’, even in the midst of stress and fear. But when we have to resist stress too often for too long, it can erode our brain’s ability to keep us calm and produces feelings that we neither control nor desire. Anxiety, depression, poor focus, over working, over eating or consuming, hyperactivity, to name only a few.
Young boy gets assistance for a better life…
The mother of a 7 year old boy contacted us because he was having difficulty regulating himself in school and at home. When he got upset, he was really unset and could not come back to a relaxed and calm place. His mother was very upset herself because of this and was concerned about his welfare and relationships. The school was putting pressure on the family to get him on medications to control his behavior, which was causing significant disruptions in the classroom.
At our first meeting, he could not sit still and was all over the office. He even pulled back curtains, grabbed items from my shelves, tried to open closed doors in the hallway; basically, he could not stop himself. And this, even while his Mother and Father sat there during this first meeting. I recognized this hyperactivity as a survival tactic! What does this mean? This young boy had no control of his behavior. Overload shows up like this in some humans. They cannot stop themselves, cannot regulate themselves and this hyperactivity is the body’s attempt to manage the pressure has accumulated over time. It is like that for every human as we all carry unresolved stress within. Maybe we don’t show those symptoms as he did but we honestly all have behaviors that are more automatic and these are the body’s intelligence at work to keep us from burning out basically. It is called compensatory behaviors as they are well known.
Things improve noticeably by about session number 10…
There are signs that he is more able to self-regulate. Mom and Dad notice that he is more able to actually hear what they are saying to him and he is more calm and less reactive. The teachers tell Mom that there has been a big improvement in his classroom behavior and that is he doing significantly better overall. Mom is noticeably calmer when she comes in as I finally suggested that she receive some neurofeedback sessions as well, which she is doing. Since children are so dependent on their connection to their mother, by having her do sessions simultaneously with her son, their is a symbiotic benefit that they both receive and this will extend to the family overall. More calm is transmitted throughout the family!
At our 14th visit, his mom asked me how many further sessions that he needed. I actually never tell folks home many sessions I think they need. Since all brains are unique, I prefer to let them make that decision based on there own experiences and instinct. I do caution them, if they decide to take a break, simply monitor to see if there is a return of old symptoms and to return for a booster session/s in that case. Sometimes we have not reached the point where the brain holds the benefits yet. And everyone’s experience is unique and so I continue to consult with my clients so that progress continues.
What I have noticed…
I sit with this young boy during his sessions, stay connected to him emotionally. I make emotional contact with him from the moment he comes in to the moment he leaves. He likes to use his Mom’s phone to play games during his sessions which is fine. In an ideal world, I would have a person sit quietly and close their eyes during the session, but that would be simply unrealistic with young children and so we do whatever works to allow that feedback to happen. He has been able to feel more connected with me as sessions have moved forward. He is more available I guess you could say, warmer, more interactive with me. This is how I can tell that things are chaining significantly.
There is no way that talk therapy or the like was going to make these kinds of changes for this boy. Brainwaves are the reflection of the internal state of our psyche, our biology which are one and the same. And the language of the brain is not English but energetic, or more specifically, electro-chemical and NeurOPTIMAL speak that language and the brain benefits greatly from that information over time.