NeuroFeedback, NeurOptimal and Electroencephalography

An update on the NO journey: at around 47 sessions so far since the first session in January, with a break between the first and second sessions, the second starting in April, and the benefits seem to increase with the sessions. I am more present in an indescribable way. It’s such a dramatic shift that it’s really astounding. Around session 5-7, I became more tired.

Perhaps a switch from the paleo diet to ketogenic affected this. I don’t crave alcohol or substances anymore which is a relief. I don’t panic too much about contact or communication with others. At times I get sugar cravings, which might be as a result of not having enough fats or eating too late in the day for my body. As much as possible I bake or make my own sweet treats with Xylitol or Stevia.

Between session 10 and 15, my sleep patterns changed – there was a time when it became pretty difficult to sleep some nights because I felt so energised. This levelled out around the 20th session. Strangely I think this was helped with longer or more sessions; so long as the sessions were an odd set of numbers, i.e. 2 or 4 sessions a day followed by some time off, it showed good results. The most sessions I have had in one day is 6. I remember Val mentioning somewhere that just one session a day suffices and that the brain needs time to catch up with the work it undertakes whilst having a session and getting feedback and added that it doesn’t hurt to have more, it’s just more taxing so I proceed with caution with this in mind.

I had an Energy Medicine session with an Eden Energy Medicine (EEM) practitioner back in January in between the Brainworks session and the first NO session.

As the Brainworks practitioner suggested that it might be energy level issues that need addressing after examining the initial QEEG assessment results, I found an Energy Medicine practitioner locally. It made a huge difference seeing her. It was a combination of kinesiology and Traditional Chinese Medicine mainly. There is more information on Eden Energy Medicine and Donna Eden here and here.

The EEM practitioner gave me some tools, tips and exercises going forward. As she had recommended three sessions and I have only seen her once, I felt I had what I needed from the exercises she had given me for the time being and would review after starting NO whether I required more EEM sessions.

Overall, I am much more aware, I notice things I didn’t before, seem to learn and recall better and have more energy. I am more organised, collected and disciplined which results in increased compassion OSIT.

All in all, the rest of the family have had less sessions. I have asked if they could learn to apply so that during busy life periods they can still benefit from the sessions even if I’m not present.

My younger brother said he felt more optimistic right after the session. He has had 8 sessions so far. His overall wellbeing has improved – I haven’t heard him speak about his depression since he began the sessions, so this tells me it has changed for the better.

And two younger sisters: they seemed more hyper and active after their respective initial sessions. The elder of the two has only had 2 sessions so far. She has been busy with exams revision and house renovations.

After her first session, she said she felt no change though a subtle change was noticeable in her: she seemed more energetic and, as mentioned above, hyper and active. She has requested to have her own music while doing NO and has sent me a playlist, so as soon as the music is there, she will be much more willing.

The youngest has had 8 and she has definitely seen improvements. She is sleeping better at night. She generally seems calmer and less agitated, She is 11 in a week so it's really interesting to observe the changes in her as her brain has the most development left to do in this lifetime.

My mother has been sleeping better. She has had 12 sessions. She finds her mind is clearer following sessions and that she is less stressed. She is pre-menopausal so maybe that’s why she has noticed a greater difference in comparison with the children? I think it might also improve her blood pressure, which makes sense overall if she is less stressed.

As a side note, I have asked my mother and my younger brother if they were able and willing to learn to administer a self hook-up as this means they can have sessions more frequently as sometimes it gets too busy and they cannot have it as pre-scheduled. We are still working on this front so hopefully there is some change the next time I post an update.

A friend said they feel they performed better cognitively after 5 sessions, which is really good to hear. That’s all for now. I am so very grateful for this NO journey and it is wonderful to see and read everyone else’s experiences and input. Thank you! Onwards and upwards! :-D
 
I've had 40 something NO sessions (I tested the NO3 version, which is really easy and fun to use, and the music is great). It's really hard to assess one's own progress. As Dr Brown commented in the recent SOTT radio show, there are some people who don't seem to notice anything in particular. I can't say that's my case - I did notice subtle things. But as he said about the wife who observed how her husband's behaviour changed for the better while HE didn't notice anything, the best way to assess whether it has any concrete effect would be to ask people around you.
Overall, I think I might be slightly better at spotting my thinking errors and observing my reactions while they happen, or spotting things about me that might seem 'new' when in fact they've been there for a long time, only I didn't see them before.
I might be less inclined to feel depressed/hold negative thoughts about everything, and be slightly less cyclothymic (one of my rather pronounced tendencies). I still have bouts of anxiety, just like everyone else, more often that not for no particular reason… though these bouts tend to be shorter than before (but no less crippling and annoying). I chuckled at Dr Brown's remark about how people tend to find it suspicious when nothing bad has happened in their life for quite a while, which in turns triggers anxiety and make them clench their fists in anticipation of some personal or general apocalypse. :umm:

I would say that the effects tend to wane overtime - deeply ingrained behaviourial and emotional patterns are not something you can change overnight (call me "Mrs Obvious" :rolleyes:).
 
I would say that the effects tend to wane overtime - deeply ingrained behaviourial and emotional patterns are not something you can change overnight (call me "Mrs Obvious" :rolleyes:).

Indeed and what is happening constantly on this BBM is something that can contribute to our anxiety and therefore Dr Brown recommends if possible to do sessions regularly.

(I tested the NO3 version, which is really easy and fun to use, and the music is great).

I just love the NO3 and the music and the G-Force video. I have done 6 sessions with this new version.
 
I would say that the effects tend to wane overtime - deeply ingrained behaviourial and emotional patterns are not something you can change overnight (call me "Mrs Obvious" :rolleyes:).

Yes, this is true to some extent. But I've noticed that having things calmed down gives you the space you need to create new patterns.
 
Thank you very much for the interview with Val Brown. And for the transcription. It helps me a lot, gives me hope (about why there is no result).
I made a pause, then currently reduced the rythm to 1 each 2 days (before, it was 2/day)
 
We (Lys and I) did our first session 5 days ago, I came to find a practitioner who offers reduced prices for people having "social minimal" through Annuaire des praticiens de neurofeedback / Directory of Neurofeedback Practitioners and he even offered us the first session. So we benefit from sessions costing 25€ versus 50€ which seems to be the greatest deal since the rental is not something we can do. It seems to be NO2 from what I've seen of the icon on his computer desk.
It was very relaxing for both of us. Great music, the images are really hypnotic and I had the tendency to make associations with fractals and shapes in nature. I oscillated between looking at it and closing my eyes.

A detail that stayed a bit in my mind, in the first minutes of the session he asked me with curiosity if I had a phone on me since he saw the same kind of waves "alteration"(not sure for the legitimacy of the term) that can happen when a phone is reaching out for network connexion. I didn't have my phone with me and Lys had her on flight mode. He said it was like there were two kinds of different brain waves prevailing. He hesitated a bit to ask me, I think he didn't want me to reach any specific conclusion and he kind of knew I would naturally search for one. He still had to ask since it was evident that he was curious about it.

Next session will be the other week. We won't be able to have more than 1 every 2 weeks approximately, but still grateful to have discovered this tool. Thanks!
 
Some little good news:
45 sessions on NO2 - 2 sessions / day : no change
Pause 2 months
NO3: I hear the clics (interruptions of music) with this version! And I hear lots of them !
1 session / 2 or 3 days - 15 sessions. The bars (on the spectra screen) begin to shorten !! They are, roughtly, half-shorter.
During a session, I try to be mindfull, ie being present, not wandering my thoughts (one of my issues, i'm like 'in the clouds' in my everyday life). I think this is one of the keys in order to fully benefit from this brain training device. I followed Chu's and fabric's advices about putting some personal efforts, that NO is a help, not a magic wand.
I'll continue on this path of mindfullness during a session. Next stages will be, for example, meditating during a session. And maybe making stretching exercises (I'm very stiff). I'll go step by step, and experiment.
With the high rythm of NO2, I had a lesson : when you go too fast compared to your abilities, you lost more time than you wanted to gain.
 
Just wanted to jump in quick here. I have just had 10 sessions so far, as I shared the first time, it seemed that my ruminiation was "controlled" in a way, I no longer felt like related to what my monkey mind was telling me. But then, after the 6th session I think, I started getting my old ruminiation back, things about relationships, about my body, and the usual thoughts I would have that then triggered me to go binge and purge. Luckily the binging/purge part is long gone! So that's a good thing, but it was a bit annoying to have those thoughts back again and it made me really angry..

These past days specially i've felt very angry, like all of a sudden I just want to hit a pillow or something. It is a bit scary to me cause i've been having a roller coaster of emotions, i'm in a good mood, dancing singing one moment, and then i'm just very very irritable. Today in particular i've been feeling quite angry, I was trying my clothes on and realized how I still continue to buy huge big clothes that is not my size, I know it may sound stupid, but this is related to all the bulimia things that don't seem to go away just yet.

So today i'm meeting my kinesiologist, cause I think that as much as I have my family whom with I always share how i'm feeling and the forum, I do think I need someone else, some sort of therapy to see what's going on too. Also something curious is that I have a lot of energy and I feel more calmed in a way when i'm either running, working out, doing yoga, cleaning or just moving, I can't seem to be able to stay still in front of the computer for much time.

Will see how things go today with the kinesiologist and let you guys know about it.

Added: I have also noticed how i'm not ashamed or scared to say what I think about stuff with other people, buut I do realize that I still need to find the proper way to do so, cause i'm realizing sometimes I can come across a bit rude.
 
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So it was an interesting visit to my kinesiologist to say the least, my appointment lasted 2 hours and all I can say is that it did help to understand why I was feeling the way i've been this past days. I see her as a guide and although we worked to make closure in several things i'm aware that it's all a constant work and all I have to do is keep up with it. She did tell me that my energy was all over the place and I told her about my NO sessions so she mentioned that of course I started getting all this feelings since all the work i've been doing with my brain. We talked about many many things, and not that I don't want to share with you guys, but I think it's things that needed a closure and just stay in the past where they belong. Still need to process stuff and continue with my constant work, but i'm truly glad I went with her and recieved her counseling.

Thanks for reading guys.
 
One thing I have to say about NO3 - the visualizations are just gorgeous. As I kid, I was always entranced by computer graphics and this would have definitely caught my attention and as an adult, it still does. Hopefully, this will help some kids learn to like Neurofeedback therapy, if they already don't. My practitioner tells me however that most clients aren't too bothered by visualizations, preferring to be occupied with their own activities.

My 17th session so far, and ended up feeling more relaxed than when I came in but still somewhat anxious, with racing thoughts. After turning in early last night, and a relatively good night's rest, waking up once in the night to go to the loo, I feel a lot better. There's still some anxiety and fear which I sense comes from childhood issues, but I need to remind myself to "tune my receiver" to a better frequency every time this comes around. I think these old traumas correlate with the "'bad' Theta" in the Cartography of Consciousness document shared earlier:

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There seems to be a method to so-called "tuning the receiver". I feel that it involves concentration without any particular object as a target. Maybe it's something like the Open-Focus exercises, I'm not so sure. The idea is not to expect anything to arise or to make itself appear in one's consciousness, but to have an open attitude, while trying one's best not to react to traumatic material that is being rehashed. Quite the mental balancing act, indeed. I also find that, as this exercise is performed, one's attention naturally gravitates to the body.
 
There's still some anxiety and fear which I sense comes from childhood issues, but I need to remind myself to "tune my receiver" to a better frequency every time this comes around. I think these old traumas correlate with the "'bad' Theta" in the Cartography of Consciousness document shared earlier:

View attachment 27067

Funny timing. I started trying meditation using binaural beats and was trying out different frequencies. A few times I had annoyances with my body (perhaps subconsciously driven?) when I was using 5 or 6 hz theta. "Pops out and back" comes to mind when doing 7 hz theta or 8 hz alpha, where I would be in that state of drifting to catch myself and it would really feel like I popped back. It's similar to that state where you are about to fall asleep and catch yourself.
 
I'm 12 sessions in, and reporting my progress:

My first session was being done with NeuroOptimal trainer and it was NO2. The rest of them were done at home with NO3 machine.

I immediately felt different when I did the first session with NO2. I felt like I was given a very good physical massage! The relaxation lasted for two days, though I had a trouble sleeping at night.

Session 2-3: it was relaxing but nothing like the first one done with the old version, I didn’t notice any difference. Though after the 3rd session, I found a lump the size of my thumb on the left side of my neck. Maybe it was totally unrelated, but I was worried! One week had passed, the lump disappeared and although my shoulder was still stiff, the usual sharp shoulder pain was gone. In addition, I had a rare dream where I didn’t want to wake up in the morning and noticed I could pay sharper attention.

I heard more clicks between Session 4-6 and I was moved by the beautiful music and visual presentation which gave me teary eyes each time I did it. And I thought of NO immediately when one of my colleagues complimented the sales report I did at work, saying that I have a good memory recording all the details.

Session 7 was different. Unlike the other calm & relaxing sessions, I was getting rapid heartbeat, anxiety and stress afterwards. Then, the same old self-destructive thought loops came back, and it got to the point where I felt painful being in my body, so I decided to do the 8th session on the same day.
The session gave me a break down. It was interesting because I was aware that my mind was observing from a distance and gave me acknowledgement like “So you just wanted to cry, huh!” I felt a lot better afterwards.

After this session, three people told me that my hair grew so long…weird.

From Session 9 onwards, it’s got more interesting. I think NO has been bringing up a lot of stuff I have been avoiding. Or, the better way to put it is that I’m actively listening and acknowledging the staff I have been avoiding, which has always been there to begin with, but without beating myself up or creating unnecessary drama. I feel like I am standing on the better ground (however it's a slow progress) to observe things in the better perspective and found the effects of NO to be very interesting so far.
 
Merci AYA pour ce passionnant partage...

Thank you AYA for this exciting sharing...
 
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I have done 10 sessions with NO3 so far and the experience has been very interesting. The first five helped reducing anxiety, I felt more calmed, and focused... I mean, nothing like Jason Bourne (yet) :lol:, but it was noticeable.

I was doing them twice a week, and decided to do them daily for three days, and anxiety and rumination got triggered after the last one, but the thing is that I felt in control, and found that it was easier to calm down and change to a more constructive thinking.

Then, I decided to slow down and started doing it 2 times a week again, and since the last session I started to have a general feeling of well-being, but there's also something interesting, I noticed a change on my way of thinking about certain things or situations, and thus, the emotional responses associated with them. I'm actually surprised by this. This also translates to breaking the cycle of negative emotion faster, which is good news.

And well, I understand that it's like ups and downs along the sessions, but in general it has been a great experience.
 
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