NeuroFeedback, NeurOptimal and Electroencephalography

[Meg]

I had my 23rd NO session yesterday. It was a pretty emotional one that lingered the rest of the day. I woke up this morning feeling fine. I was reviewing a journal I've been keeping since we started this experiment based on AI's post here: NeuroFeedback and Electroencephalography

How is your sleep? How would you rate your anxiety? What makes you anxious, and when? How is your overall sense of well-being? Do you experience mood changes? What are your energy levels like? What cognitive issues have you noticed?

And, as sessions progress, what do you notice about your dreams? Have you noticed anything new about yourself? Is there anything that bothered you before that doesn't anymore? Any physical health improvements?

Based on my answers when I first started, I've noticed improvements in all areas. Especially with anxiety, emotional regulation and sleep. My concentration and reading skills have improved. I can read for longer periods of time and focus better. I've also noticed more clarity in my thinking. I can see myself, others and the world more clearly, it seems. Also, not as many ruminating thoughts. And I still dream quite a bit.

I can also wear my lined bifocals now. I had a pair that corrected my vision completely, but I couldn't wear them without feeling disoriented and experiencing some sort of tunnel vision. I've been wearing them for about six weeks now without much trouble.

I've had some doom and gloom and feeling hopeless moments, but they pass quickly and I am better able to recognize them for what they are and not identify with the emotion as much. I also have moments were I feel balanced and other moments where feel really excited and happy after the sessions. Old memories have come up during some the sessions. Things that I had forgotten about.

As far as physical sensations, during one session, I felt a very dull ache at the base of my skull that lasted a few minutes and various sensations in my crown area during and after the sessions.

All in all, I feel like a new person as a result of the sessions. I can't wait to see what might happen next.

 

[goyacobol]

Thanks Goyacobol .

I have just rented a unit with NO3. It will arrive next week. I will be interesting too see what comes out of it.

That sounds great, Thor. Let us know how it goes. It's kind of exciting!

 

[Bluefyre]

I had my 18th session yesterday and fell completely asleep for the whole of the 3rd section of the music. My post was higher than my pre again which happens about 1 out of 3 times. I've also been struggling with a bad flu virus for weeks so that might have something to do with the inverted graphs, as my body is processing so much. The interesting thing for me was when the trainer showed me the graph and said it indicated that the hypervigilance was reduced enough that either autoimmune issues like celiac or depression were now able to be seen. I don't feel like depression is much of an issue anymore-although I don't trust my subjective perception fully at this point-but do have celiac. So it seems that my brain and nervous system is finally quieting down enough and reaching some sort of baseline of operation so that more resources can be dedicated to health issues? My sleep patterns are slowly improving, some nights I actually get 8 hours-not all at once though-others like last night, much less, like 5. It's two steps forward, one step back. I still wake up some mornings in body hyper-alert which before I started NO would have resulted in a flashback to one degree or another. I also experienced a deep pain along the occipital ridge during yesterday's session and remembered HDT talking about the diaphragm in that area and just went with it and it released by the end. I'm currently doing 2 sessions a week and don't think my body can presently handle more than that frequency. Perhaps a bit further down the road it will be able to. Much less anxiety and humour comes much more easily and much, much less editing of expressing myself, what I think and feel,, especially in the company of members when we meet for Reiki. The changes are subtle and gradual and most welcome.

 

[Laura]

I think I've had something like 29 or 30 sessions by now and things are starting to settle a bit. I did have a low-grade headache day before yesterday (after a session) and last night after a session yesterday. I had started taking L-tyrosine a week ago and it helped with sleeping, but maybe I've had enough now? I won't take one today and will see how things go.

Internally, I feel more stable in the new place of no "beating myself up".

 

[Scottie]

Internally, I feel more stable in the new place of no "beating myself up".

I've had 16 sessions so far. Nothing happened for the first few, but then the 3rd and 4th actually brought up some "AHA!" moments during the sessions. It was pretty potent, like, "Holy crap! How did I not think of THAT all these years?!"

Well, since then, nothing totally amazing has occurred, BUT... Generally speaking, even though I'm not like totally zen all the time or anything, I find myself taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture more often.

This leads to not getting stuck in negative thought loops as often. And when I do, it's easier to get out. I can usually step back, look at the big picture, and go, "Ya know, why are we so retarded? Look at all that useless energy being spent on all this personal and interpersonal drama - and for what?!"

It's not a judgmental kind of thing, though. It's almost like looking at myself and seeing what I do, but also seeing others and the silly things they do, and that view helps to chillax about things more because it's like, "Well, we're all in this mess together... Crikey!"

Also, now that I think about it, I don't have nearly as much stress related to getting things done. I can do stuff, review what I did, and not bash myself over the head for not getting this done, or not finishing that thing. More often, I find myself reviewing what I did one day and thinking, "Well, that's not too shabby. Maybe tomorrow I'll do This Other Thing."

Kind of interesting.

 

[Chu]

I've had 22 sessions so far, and I think that after the 15th one, things started to settle a bit. The first 10 were the toughest, with lots of stuff coming up. But now, even when there are ups and downs, I don't have my usual level of anxiety, a pit in the stomach, and paralyzing worries or guilt. That's huge for me!

I also feel like I know a bit better what I want, or don't want. It helps with putting more things into perspective, and for me, it is also giving me a bit of courage. Just trying new things, or doing the usual but with a different attitude. Appreciating small things every day, instead of dreading the past and the future. Being more flexible because I feel there is a bit more order inside me, instead of being more rigid in the past because I felt like there was more chaos inside. Understanding that as I can learn to see others differently and with more "colors" (not black&white), so can others/the Universe forgive me and see me with hope as long as I keep trying my best. Like nothing is "doomed". It's hard to put into words, but what I can say for sure is that I'm a SO grateful for NO! It has been a great help.

 

[Beau]

I've had 22 sessions so far, and I think that after the 15th one, things started to settle a bit.

I've had 26 sessions, and like you things changed after about 15 sessions. I wasn't plagued by interrupted sleep anymore, first and foremost. And while I didn't feel a difference in myself, the people around me have noted that I've been lighter and less moody since starting NO. I had to stop and think about that, and since then I've been paying attention and I do notice that there has been a shift in my attitude towards a more positive behavior. I'm hoping that with more sessions it can reduce my emotional reactivity to the point where it no longer gets control and is expressed. NO seems to have helped a lot in that department already, so I'm also very grateful for the benefits I've gained from it.

 

[Glenn]

I had my first Neuroptimal session today. It was with the same practitioner as Bluefyre and Zar. She is amazing, and took a lot of time explaining the sessions and how they work.

I was both relaxed and fidgety during the session, and the time went by pretty quick. I did hear quite a few clicks at certain times during the session.

After the session she went over the beginning and ending baselines. There were some frequencies which were a bit out of line, and I hope I am remembering it right, but the yellow, which is the conscious thinking, was a bit overactive, As was the purple, which I think is indicative of scattered thoughts and forgetfulness. She said right at the pink was high which can indicate either psychic abilities or just an overall good gut sense or feeling. I think it would be the latter.

And then the end baseline was shown, and there were small improvements in the above mentioned areas. But as they say, a long way to go. (My words, not hers).

So overall was positive, and looking forward to more improvements with further sessions.

 

[herondancer]

I've had 31 sessions now. I can't point to anything in particular, but my general sense of well being and optimism have really improved. The amount of intrusive, ruminating thoughts have dropped dramatically, as has the subtle feeling of dreading, well, I don't know, but something.. The whole experience has been worth it just for that! I know I'm dreaming more, but have trouble remembering them. As a bonus, I've also seemed to have skipped my traditional March chest cold.

In the last couple sessions I've also had more sensations of physical 'adjustments' in my neck and skull. Movements so small, they might be well be imaginary (like my eyeballs changing shape and position in their sockets ?) or one side of my jaw feeling longer than the other for half the session, then the other side eventually drops to match. Weird things like that. I have no idea if it means anything but the overall result is feeling very relaxed at the end. NO is the best!

 

[Gaby]

I've had 25 NeurOptimal sessions and 11 Othmer Neurofeedback sessions. I decided to stop doing the later, as the NeurOptimal has much better effects and it is safer. After my 20th NeurOptimal session on March 30th, I finished with a contraction phase. Anxiety levels came back almost to pre-neurofeedback levels in a couple of occasions, though I had the impression that I had more will.

Sometimes I notice myself behaving oddly, but it is not accompanied by crippling anxiety. There are more resources freed up to do something differently instead of the usual frozen to death scenario. Sometimes I can only observe myself, though not hopelessly, but with interest. Like, uh, I'm behaving so oddly or like an idiot, let's try to change that kind of thing.

This week, I had the opportunity to train 5 more NeurOptimal sessions. By the 5th session, I felt very calm. It was not like I had to train from zero in order to get a hold of my anxiety, more like my brain remembered the training that I did in March. It didn't felt like starting from zero, but rather like picking up where I left up.

 

[Windmill knight]

It's very encouraging to read all these accounts of improvements from people! I'm really happy for you all! :)

As for myself, I've had 20 sessions and although I've generally retained a sense of skepticism towards N.O. (while being open), I have to admit that my mental state in the last few weeks - after session 6 or so - has been generally quite bright and relaxed. It's a subtle difference, but there's no oppressive sense of 'something is going to go horribly wrong now' or wanting to hide in a shell. I'm a bit reluctant to declare this a victory yet cause I don't want to jynx it. I've had, after all, 'bright' phases in the past, and then darker ones. But we'll see what the future brings and how long-lasting this is. My feeling is that at least twice as many sessions will be needed for things to sink-in and crystalize, but that's just me guesstimating.

Thanks to everyone who made this possible!

 

[Jacques]

38 sessions so far and the changes in the screen are really unbelievable. Let's say that up to 25, the horizontal bars were going everywhere and were very large. Now they are very small and very very close to the main vertical bar.

And this is our last day of our rental equipment. I will write a summary part 2 in a couple of weeks after that everyone in our group had the time to share their observations but everyone is very happy and has some good to excellents results.

I finished the month with a total of 44 sessions. However the mother JS of the little girl LL has rented the equipment for one month after we had finished with ours and she offer us to do more sessions if we wanted. I will try do 5 or 6 other sessions. I should be able to write a summary of the global experience in a couple of weeks.

JS: 5 treatments. No comments for the moment. She accompanies her daughter LL.

LL : 3 treatments. Child with great difficulty. She was born without a corpus callosum. Let us note that this child never wanted to draw and that since the first care, she draws what completely surprised her mother JS.

Just a note, since JS have rented the equipment, her daughter has seen very good improvements as well as her. Another child with great difficulty is also having sessions at her home and she will keep us informed about the results.

 

[Esprit]

I took 11 sessions at Gandalf's place thanks to him and his wife. I was working both night shifts and day shifts in the same week for one year. I was pretty messed up with sleeping cycles and started the sessions one week after quiting the job. So bare in mind that I was already very tired and in the middle of a big change concerning sleep.

After the first session I quickly felt heat in my head arms and hands. Second session, the same day I felt very tired.
I selpt in 3 parts that night, waking up in the middle of the night reading and surfing the net back to sleep , and slept another 3 hours during the day. That was nothing new for me with my job schedules.

The next day another set of 2 sessions. First session still tired, but at the second session I was more focused, had more energy and was more positive.
During the night something weird happened: I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I drank 12 coffees. I was feeling very irritated and on edge, I felt nauseated. I eventually went back to sleep after walking around in my room. I still slept in 3 parts but this time they were aligned closely to each other during the night. I woke up very calm and relaxed feeling great. At this point I was wondering if the sessions were too much and was willing to test one more and see what happens.

One session the next day I was feeling very grounded. Also I noticed that I'm less looking for aprobation from others...interesting. Also a very important and fascinating thing for me, I used to have a solid negative introject, it was gone ! Like what ?? How can this be ? I was literally trying to force myself to have some negative thought about myself and I could feel, and still to this day ( 7 weeks later) that when the brain is trying to operate in this way it hurts ! I can feel signals going from the brain into the body like following a pair of rods down the neck. It's demanding and feels uncomfortable to behave in a way I used to. Wow...ok. It was worth it for this alone.

On another 2 sessions day I did a morning session nothing special. In the afternoon I was extremely tired I felt asleep and even though I started my day knowing I had 2 sessions I woke up and completely forgot about the other session. I can say that my notion of time was cloudy in general during the week but on that particular day it was way off. I woke up and starting to cook myself a meal, meanwhile my calendar alarm warning of an appoinment in 1/2 hour on my phone on charge went off in my room and I did'nt notice. I received a phone call from Gandalf later on did you forget something ? OOpsss....sorry Gandalf ! No one home trying to find my brain somewhere...

The next night I slept in 2 parts.
Next session I'm less tired but my day dreaming is pretty strong and still is to this day. I'm still working on it and Healing Developmental Trauma is so helpfull. A goldmine this book is, it's such a great wedding with the NeurOptimal sessions.

Other sessions nothing special that I noticed.

It took about 2 more weeks for my sleep to get back to regular nights. Wich is much better than the previous 6 months it took me from another nightjob. I also started expirementing a lot of great emotions lately, deeper feelings and relief. Although I attribute it more to Healing Developmental Trauma than NO, it was worth it for sleep regulation overall calmness and the stop of negative introject.

 

[Laura]

I had session 30 today. Like WK, I have an idea that more are needed; except for people who have almost no issues, I don't think 20 is enough.

Anyway, during today's session, I again had that feeling of tetany in the right jaw (mainly) that you get when hyperventilating (Beatha Breathing), and at one point, I turned my head slightly to the left and a BIG release in neck vertebra with a lound "crack" happened. This is the second time for something like this and I should note that for some days last week, I had a "catch" in my neck and a few headaches that seemed to be related to it.

I don't know what this is, or how it happens, but there it is: it has physical effects that are rather astonishing to me. I've had to go to chiropractors for years to get my neck adjusted and to be able to have an adjustment happen automatically is just amazing.

In general, my spine feels looser and my legs less heavy, too.

 

[beetlemaniac]

I've completed 12 sessions thus far. The 10th session had a very notable direct after-effect of a strong feeling of anxiety. It literally felt like I was a scared child in and adult body, a very surreal experience. As I was doing the usual routine of travel back to Malaysia after the sessions, getting on the bus with other people, the anxiety was very obvious and much higher and "louder" than usual. It dissipated completely the next day. Otherwise, things are okay. I have more of a desire to read, to express my feelings in words, to be a real person with more depth. It's remarkable and still somewhat unbelievable. I don't think I will ever "believe" again - it's just a rudimentary psychological method of functioning that keeps the mind disconnected from reality.

I'm also adding a bit more physical exercise in whenever I can. I've recently been unable to get good sleep. Also, my eating patterns are all wonky now. It's not clear whether I'm hungry or not, and I'm questioning whether I need to eat as much as I usually do.

I've also noticed my driving habits changing. I seem to need to be more aware of my speed and the traffic on the highway in general, when I would usually just let everything run on automatic. I literally needed to hold the wheel and drive - like the old Incubus song. However if I had something mentally engaging to listen to, then the driving would have been subsumed to the subconscious level, as the brain would have something to focus on.