NeuroFeedback, NeurOptimal and Electroencephalography

I'm 21 session in, and I think it has affected me in a similar way. I have noticed in the last few weeks that I have been feeling quite insecure in my relationship, which has never happened before in my adult life (this has now abated).

As from my post above regarding my kinesiology experience I think I this insecurity came from early life (my kinesiologist said around 5 years old). So I would have to agree with your assessment whitecoast!

I think the thing to remember here, is that these things that come up are temporary and are part of the healing process IMO.

I agree with you Baz. Actually yesterday I was talking to my brother about how I was feeling after my NO session, and particularly this week. But I can't say it's completely due to the NO cause i'm pmsing, and that's also a roller coaster for me sometimes hehe. And another topic that i've had in my mind for the past couple of weeks, which is my relationship with men, kind of made itself more present these days. Like if its a reminder that I still need to work to break the patterns that i've been following for quite some time now, and I kinda thought it was getting better after my kinesiologist sessions and such, but truth is there's still quite a way to go in healing properly this aspect of my life, which also dates back from my early years and all the things about my dad i've shared before. So these days I was a bit sad about this, and kinda feeling down.

Yesterday after my NO session I couldn't concentrate for some studying I need to do, and I had lots of ruminiation and just feeling down. But instead of fighting it I just accepted that NO is not going to magically disappear everything, that it will take some time and some work on my part, and in this I also think that it's good idea to have some sort of counseling if one is really dealing with traumas coming back or so on.

IMO, it's like with everything we've tried, say counseling and even iodine, we've all been through ups and downs, things coming up, things we thought were no longer there but then we realize they are still there, so it's like if we are reminded to not take things for granted in some way and keep the constant work going. OSIT.
 
Don't miss the Health and Wellness show at SOTT Radio Network! :-):thup::clap:

Interview With Dr. Valdeane Brown - Nonlinear Dynamic Thinking With NeurOptimal Neurofeedback

Ever heard of neurofeedback, non-linear dynamics or a “bottom-up” approach towards better health? Have you ever heard of a tool that can help with optimization of the brain’s automatic or unconscious behaviour? Join us on this episode of the Health and Wellness Show as we interview Dr. Valdeane W. Brown, co-creator of NeurOptimal, and learn about our favourite brain-training tool at SOTT.net.

Dr. Valdeane W. Brown is an internationally recognized “trainer of neurofeedback trainers”, who has taught and consulted widely on personal and organizational transformation. With a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and a background in math, physics, computer programming, philosophy, yoga, meditation and martial arts, Dr. Brown brings a presence and precision to his work. This is further informed by a profound sense of compassion, a facility with energy dynamics and a deep commitment to revealing the elegant simplicity inherent in learning and transformation.

Developer of the Five Phase Model and co-creator with his wife Dr. Sue Brown of the Period 3 Approach to Clinical Neurofeedback, Dr. Brown has realized his vision of a truly comprehensive training system in NeurOptimal. His vision in bringing NeurOptimal to the world is to make personal transformation effortless and available to all.

This is a unique opportunity to hear us pick the brain of one of the most interesting, forward-thinking minds of our time as he illuminates some of the latest information about the brain and the most cutting edge neurofeedback system available. Don't miss it!

Sott.net Radio Network

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 15:00:00 GMT
 
IMO, it's like with everything we've tried, say counseling and even iodine, we've all been through ups and downs, things coming up, things we thought were no longer there but then we realize they are still there, so it's like if we are reminded to not take things for granted in some way and keep the constant work going. OSIT.

Certainly, life (including the internal life) will always have ups and downs, no matter how many therapies and Work we do. The same issues will always come back - but! they will eventually come back in more domesticated forms, and we'll be much better at handling them. And one day, maybe they will no longer come back, but then surely we will have to worry about something else. What I'm trying to say is, life is not meant to turn into Nirvana; life is about balance so we can't escape the pendulum, but we can get better at how we swing with it. We can get better at choosing how we suffer when we have to, making the most out of it, being more responsible, and generally flowing more gracefully with the blows of life and getting back on our feet faster.

Also, I think that to be able to tell if N.O. is making any difference, we need at least some 15 sessions or so, and we need to listen to what other people think about how we have changed. Some people seem to think it has had no effect at all, but to external observers the effect is quite evident!

Speaking for myself, I've had 33 sessions and I do feel there is an overall improvement. Issues are still there and certain things still bother me, but generally I feel stronger and less anxious about those things, and happier when they are not in my mind. I do feel at least another 20 would be good for me though. I've also noticed that the day when I've had N.O. I tend to be in a particularly good, clear-minded type of mood.
 
Hmm, I paid for a certain number of sessions up front, planning on one a day. I have noticed after a week of sessions that I had a lot of anger and irritability coming up at the end of the week. I did beatha Thursday, and I think I should have skipped it. But I was feeling pretty good during the beginning of the week. I'll probably hold off on beatha until I'm done.
This definitely wasn't something I was anticipating N.O. to bring out of me, and I think it's a testament to its ability to deeply heal parts of us we don't even realize are broken.
I think the thing to remember here, is that these things that come up are temporary and are part of the healing process IMO.

I agree. And I can also say that around my 14 session or so I started feeling a general decline in mood and rise in irritability. Many things started to come up too. I also noticed that Beatha has more effect than before so yeah, maybe it's good to limit it if things are too intense.

Apart from remembering that it is part of the process, as you say 987baz, and maybe having a therapist to talk to, one thing that seemed to help me now is taking proper care of my sleep habits and taking 5HTP, I never took it before and I must say that I can definitively notice the improvement in general mood when taking it, and also Iodine. So maybe it can be something to try out if too many negative emotions come up. I think that maybe the changes in the brain can also shake the brain chemistry a bit. Or maybe the behaviours that used to compensate for brain chemistry imbalances start to fade or change and it becomes more evident... I don't know, but I noticed a difference for sure.

I recently reviewed the thread where "The Mood Cure" is discussed, it's here, in case you want to check it.
 
I am experiencing pretty much the same thing, so many things being brought up. A lot of old fears and anxieties, and a general feeling of worthlessness, or lack of self worth. These are things that I struggled with in my youth, and I guess I was successful in burying them, until now when NO is bringing them back to the surface. I must say, that the process is rather unpleasant, but as I approach 20 sessions, things seem to be leveling off a bit.
 
Apart from remembering that it is part of the process, as you say 987baz, and maybe having a therapist to talk to, one thing that seemed to help me now is taking proper care of my sleep habits and taking 5HTP, I never took it before and I must say that I can definitively notice the improvement in general mood when taking it, and also Iodine. So maybe it can be something to try out if too many negative emotions come up. I think that maybe the changes in the brain can also shake the brain chemistry a bit. Or maybe the behaviours that used to compensate for brain chemistry imbalances start to fade or change and it becomes more evident... I don't know, but I noticed a difference for sure.

I was also thinking about the effects on proper sleep today, my first time with 5HTP a while back was not very positive, but I might give it a try this time and see what happens. I was also thinking about food, since there is so much energy being involved in this changes I think taking more care of our diets is also important. At first I noticed that I was veery hungry, but it was for just a couple of days, and now in the mornings i'm barely hungry, have my usual coffee with coconut oil and collagen and then like 3 hours later eat something, and I remembered JP's video about eating a proper breakfast even when not hungry... so maybe consuming things that help our brain with neurogenesis might be worth trying even more now, like curcumin, fats as we know, blueberries, green tea and so on.
 
I was also thinking about the effects on proper sleep today, my first time with 5HTP a while back was not very positive, but I might give it a try this time and see what happens. I was also thinking about food, since there is so much energy being involved in this changes I think taking more care of our diets is also important. At first I noticed that I was veery hungry, but it was for just a couple of days, and now in the mornings i'm barely hungry, have my usual coffee with coconut oil and collagen and then like 3 hours later eat something, and I remembered JP's video about eating a proper breakfast even when not hungry... so maybe consuming things that help our brain with neurogenesis might be worth trying even more now, like curcumin, fats as we know, blueberries, green tea and so on.

A general rule of thumb for me is this: if I am feeling depressed and without ambition to do stuff, I know that's depression and I take a lower dose of L-tyrosin (not 5-htp) before bed. Generally, I will have very active dreams if I do and taking it one, two or three evenings in a row usually does the job and I get balanced and don't need any more. If I am feeling anxious and have racing thoughts when I go to bed, I'll take half a GABAcalm lozenge and that will do the job. Usually, I can't take that more than two evenings in a row before being balanced.

So: depression= L-tyrosin; Anxiety=GABA. And notice that the anxiety usually has "racing thoughts" that you can't "put down."

I think what happens is that NO "exercises" the brain and that can burn up or use up neurochemicals of one sort or the other and you just need to top up the tank.

Of course, everyone is different, so a person may need to take it a bit longer than I do, or just once to get the balance back.
 
I’ve done 23 sessions so far and it seems like I’m finally get over the sleep issues that have been plaguing me from pretty much since the beginning, which I’m sure were related to the NO. Fingers crossed! I did take a 2 week break after my 12th session and I think the break allowed some time for things to integrate. After restarting, the weird mood swings are less frequent and pronounced and when I do feel strong emotion it’s much easier to not get too identified with it and let it pass. Besides that, it seems like things happen in subtle way. It’s not like a magical switch (well for me anyway, but it seems like it can have that effect on others) where everything has changed.

For example, one of the things I noticed from earlier was less anxiety and fear when it came to writing or speaking but it still isn’t that it was ‘gone’. It was more like at the moment I had to make a choice to speak up (my default reaction was to be silent or withdraw) and even if I didn't want to, I felt less resistance to doing it and each time I went ahead and said what I was thinking it got just a tiny bit easier. So while it may not be a magic cure all, it is helpful to oneself when trying to work out personal issues provided that efforts are also put forward at the same time. If you don’t try and push yourself just a little you won’t really be taking advantage of the benefits that can be gained... osit.

The effort towards change goes hand in hand with the optimized brain. I’d say it’s a key component. I think that creates a positive feedback loop that really has no limit. I’m planning to do more sessions and then at some point stop for another 2 or 3 weeks (or longer) to allow things to integrate some more and reinforce the new habits and brain tracks on my own. I think something like that will allow for lasting if not permanent changes (sort of like ‘do something consistently for 30 days to make it a habit)and not be reliant on NO to simply ‘fix’ things. Although, I still think even at that point, having the occasional NO session as a “top up” will be beneficial, just to remind the brain and keep the little guy on track ;-)
 
For example, one of the things I noticed from earlier was less anxiety and fear when it came to writing or speaking but it still isn’t that it was ‘gone’. It was more like at the moment I had to make a choice to speak up (my default reaction was to be silent or withdraw) and even if I didn't want to, I felt less resistance to doing it and each time I went ahead and said what I was thinking it got just a tiny bit easier. So while it may not be a magic cure all, it is helpful to oneself when trying to work out personal issues provided that efforts are also put forward at the same time. If you don’t try and push yourself just a little you won’t really be taking advantage of the benefits that can be gained... osit.

Wow, fabric, I've noticed the same thing even though it's been a while since I did my 16th session. When I have something on my mind which seems slightly out of the ordinary, or doesn't 'fit' with the conversation at hand, I usually just ignore it for fear of offending the other person or creating a slightly awkward situation. However, when I said what's on my mind, more often than not I'm pleasantly surprised by the response, and it feels like a little bit of reality just opened up to me, and I knew myself a little better because of it. It's a subtle, day-to-day phenomenon that is pretty amazing in it's implications, if projected into the future.

Yet - I also have another side of me which is very talkative and which I find can be sometimes too obnoxious (just my subjective perception) and just plain noisy. Hmm. It reminds me of the part in "A Symphony in the Brain" which describes the Othmer's 3 part diagnosis of brain disorders in people. It comprises of underarousal, overarousal, and brain imbalance. The remarkable thing about this is that, according to the Othmers, it obviates the need for the whole slew of psychiatric diagnoses in the DSM and simplifies things considerably. Lucky I have a Kindle book so here's an excerpt:

Viewed through the prism of neurotherapy, human beings do not suffer an epidemic of depression, chronic pain, immune system dysfunction, addictions, anxiety, or any one of a laundry list of other afflictions. Instead, the epidemic is in hyperactive or worn-out nervous systems—buffeted by birth perhaps, infancy and childhood certainly, by a culture that encourages overwork and has created some of the most stressful places on earth: modern cities. There are only three diagnoses under the Othmer model: One, a person is so chronically overaroused he or she cannot relax, resulting in, for example, anxiety, agitation, impulsivity, and anger. Two, a person may be chronically under-aroused, resulting in some types of depression, lack of motivation, and spaciness. The third principal diagnosis is brain instability. Using an automobile analogy, the lug nuts on the wheels are loose and the front end is wobbly. The driver can sometimes drive quite well, but suddenly the car veers off in one direction or another, and there is little the driver can do. Bipolar disorder (manic depression), migraines, PMS, panic attacks, motor and vocal tics, vertigo, bruxism (teeth grinding), epilepsy, and many others are all considered stability problems. In a sense, the model is a move back to a much simpler pre-molecular time in neuroscience and to a much simpler time in psychology. (The notion of an under- or overaroused nervous system was first proposed by Walter Rudolf Hess in the 1950s.) The Othmers have essentially thrown out most of the hundreds of diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the encyclopedia of all the psychological dysfunctions, and replaced them with just three. Nearly all health problems, this model holds, flow from over-arousal, underarousal, or instability in the central nervous system. With any of the three conditions, the stressed-out brain and the rest of the central nervous system are not robust enough to manage the body appropriately and so render people susceptible to any condition to which they may be predisposed: Joint pain flares up. They can't sleep. Or they sleep too much. They get headaches. Panic attacks. Manic depression. Pain. Depression. They are anxious. Nervous. Have panic attacks. Can't pay attention. Simply treating a person for one of the three conditions can alleviate hundreds of different and seemingly disparate problems. That is why with twenty sessions of neurofeedback in the same two sites, a patient often reports that four or five symptoms diminish or disappear. The hundreds of traditional diagnoses are simply farther downstream from the diagnosis of a stressed-out central nervous system. This iconoclastic view of mental illness received scientific support in October 1999, when Dr. Rodolfo Llinas, an eminent neuroscientist at New York University, proposed a revolutionary new theory about seemingly unrelated disorders. Speaking at a Society for Neuroscience meeting, Dr. Llinas said that there are six layers of cells in the cortex, divided into specialized regions, that allow movement, planning, speech, and response to emotions. According to a description of his talk in The New York Times, the sixth layer of
cells provides connection to the thalamus, which is the part of the brain that takes sensory information and passes it on to the cortex. But the thalamus is more than a relay—it is a generator with special cells that set the pace for the cortical cells. They in turn feed information back to the thalamus. This loop creates the symphony of the brain, coordinating actions, perceptions, movements, and even consciousness. Dr. Llinas studied patients with brain disorders and found that parts of their thalamus seemed to be abnormally slow, even asleep. The critical parts of the cortex that govern many aspects of a person are misfiring, because there is no thalamic conductor to set their pace. Without proper control by the thalamus, the cells in the cortex become overly excited. Because the thalamus has many highly specialized regions a whole host of things can go wrong in a very small area. If one small area—perhaps no bigger than a pinhead—of the thalamus is suffering a “brown out,” for example, then because it connects to the motor area of the brain it causes the tremor of Parkinson's disease. Another small area which is very close by connects to a different area of the cortex and it causes the cells that govern pain to become excited, and so the patient is in chronic pain. Dr. Llinas also cited some types of depression, tinnitus, and obsessive compulsive disorder as problems that may be caused by a thalamus and cortex that are out of phase. The Othmers believe Llinas's model sheds light on the mechanism of neurofeedback. They believe that when people train with neurofeedback they are training one end of that loop between thalamus and the cortex. The changes made on the cortical end project back on the thalamus, which is deep in the brain. “Changing the cortical rhythm changes the rhythm of the thalamus,” said Sue. “If the cortex slows down the whole system slows down. The lower parts of the brain get involved because the system is interconnected.” The most critical variable in the Othmers’ model of higher-range training is frequency. The general approach is the 12-to-15-hertz, or SMR, training on the right side, which calms and enhances the emotional aspects and relaxes physical tension, while 15-to-18-hertz training on the left side helps improve attention and alertness. In 70 percent of the patients the Othmers and their affiliates see, the approach is the same: the left side needs to be brought up to the 15-to-18-hertz frequency, while the right side needs to be calmed to 12 to 15 hertz. The reason, says Sue Othmer, is that the left hemisphere organizes more localized function, which requires higher frequencies, whereas the right hemisphere organizes function more globally, which happens with lower frequencies. While this is the general approach, each brain is different, and frequencies are tailored to each individual's response. A change in the Othmers’ approach is where the electrode is placed on the brain. For years neurotherapists used only C-3 and C-4 sites, which are midway between the top of the head and the ear on each side, and some still insist that those tried-and-true sites are best. But the Othmers and others have experimented with sites on the temporal lobe, an inch above the ear on each side, for problems of stability, and they have proven to be very effective. And they have combined their training on the central parts of the brain with prefrontal and parietal sites to enhance specific effects related to the function of those parts of the brain. In other words, training right brain might bring up emotional aspects, while adding FP-1 helps coordinate the emotional well-being with thinking and planning, since FP-1 is over the prefrontal cortex, which governs those issues.

Robbins, Jim. A Symphony in the Brain: The Evolution of the New Brain Wave Biofeedback (p. 201). Grove/Atlantic, Inc.. Kindle Edition

Then the book goes on to talk about training specific sites on the brain, which, according to Dr. Val Brown, is an outdated model, and that electrodes on the scalp measure the potential energy generated on the scalp, which can't be correlated which actual functional areas in the brain, or so I think. Well, I didn't get to listen to the whole podcast with Val Brown so I will listen to it later when it's up.

It's been 4 weeks since my last NO session, and I don't feel like there's a dead end in sight so far. It's been helped by the fact that work is providing a steady stream of new experiences, and I've also started a tennis class which has been a revelation in itself. So, I suppose I don't need to do any sessions at this point in time? Travelling to get the treatment is also quite tiring, especially when I have to cross the border to get to Singapore. Well, who knows until I do it again. In any case, I think I'll keep myself occupied until I get the chance for a tune-up some time in the future.
 
That was a great interview, thanks for hosting Val Gaby and Doug! I found the part about doing NO in a group, where each individual was receiving feedback not only about their own minds, but the minds of others in the room, to be incredible. Talk about attunement and connecting chakras!
 
Thank you everyone for your reports and sharing the benefits NO brought for you as well as the struggles that come along with it. I had a similar experience back in May, when I had the opportunity to receive 17 NO session in a very short frame of time. There was a mix of positive effects as well as an upsurge of "disturbing" emotions and issues. Since I hardly did any journalling of the process, I have to rely on my memory here at most.

One main effect I had from NO is that it made me re-discovering how to actually relate (or re-relate) to people - i.e. becoming more connective and relaxed around others. From reading the book of Heller, "Healing Developmental Trauma", I figured out that I live the connection survival style BIG time. That book had nailed down things pretty much down in this direction for me and it has even been confirmed by some osteopathic sessions that I took since March - especially the talks with the osteopath during the treatments. She even suggested to me on the most recent treatment (the only one I took after having received NO) that I might have light autism issues, based on what she could feel from my tissues. According to her, the same goes for my difficulties to connect to others in a more open and flowing way (probably due to embryonic as well as inherited trauma, and I include karmic possibilities into the equation as well).

And I can remember Heller making a point of autism issues being related to the connection survival style as well. The osteopath also said, I seem to her like filled up with a lot of enclosed emotions (like a stuffed Christmas goose) which I tend to deny to myself (or benumb my mind against them out of fearing their rawness and immediateness). And that I live mostly through my head and less through my emotions and body.

Indeed I think, that's the modus operandi I have been living under most of the time and it felt / feels like a prison of being isolated and alienated in a deep sense (though my mind protects or benumbs me often enough from experiencing those feelings in an immediate way). The NO sessions however pried that prison open in some way, at least for a while - or thinned the prison walls. The sessions gave me an idea of how it would be to live (again) without being enclosed by this horrible prison over the course of the time I was able to receive them.

Another, accompanying effect of this re-connecting in a social sense was more connectivity to my emotions - which was great in one sense, especially when the emotions belonged to the positive category, and disturbing in another sense when it came to the rawness of the negative emotions. The latter point regards aggression and anger especially, while the sadness that also came up was disturbing too - especially because it was accompanied by intense feelings of shame and false tales about myself of being a burden on others, that I don't deserve anything good, etc. There was also the fear of being punished present (probably stuff from early childhood).

But in a deeper sense the sadness was relieving, while I had much more difficulty in what to make of that anger and aggression. It was most disturbing for me when I felt them directed against people around me in my mind for no plausible reason, other than that the (thanks to NO) upcoming stuff was projected on my surroundings. Then that kind of state turned into one where I felt just the rawness of those feelings as they were. And in the end that state dissolved or changed into one where I experienced positive emotions while being able to connect.

What stuck out regarding positive emotions, was that I was also able to experience a child-like joy, joked around and communicated in a way like an innocent and curious child would do for some times. My body felt lighter on these occasions and everything seemed to flow just more naturally – the body language (less or no “stiffness”) and connecting to others went more naturally.

Those positive states were more intense - or more issues even seemed to become resolved (or at least I became able to deal with them more efficiently) in a fluent way - when a NO session took place after doing HIIT workout. There’s one instance of such a combination, where I felt the following during the subsequent NO: Somehow I started to accept myself with all my flaws and strengths, shortcomes, quirks and potentials consciously and in a non-forced way. It was a deep inner sense which was going on consciously while I was in a state of deep relaxation. It was a real WOW! experience for me – that it just came naturally to me when I started to acknowledge my self-worth without any kind of self-coercion. On that evening I felt very much like an innocent, curious child while experiencing a kind of calm, deep joy which seemed to brighten my being.

That sense of being able to accept myself or (re-)integrating parts of myself was the conclusion of a series of a bandwidth of emotions – among them nervousness and anxiety, calm, fear, joy, sadness, shame, aggression and anger, relaxation, re-connecting and then the acknowledgement of my self-worth with the calm, deep joy. However, I see that latter especially as the beginning of a long process and that I just got some clear idea how to put things into practice where before it seemed more abstract to me or where I just “didn’t get it”.

In my everyday life, directly after the last NO treatment, the effects of being more relaxed, open and joking around lingered for some time. And I felt being more grounded in my body, with my feet planted firmly to the ground. The natural flow to connect to people also went on for some time. I do tend to think there’s still something of that present, and that I became a bit less of a worry wart. My tendency for excessive rumination seems to have lessened as well.

But what I noticed very much, was that a kind of new, fresh “personality” was uncovered by that whole process. It was like a young child with potential for lots of goodness, sincerity and curiosity appeared and it even seemed to have started growing a bit and gaining strength in bone and flesh. Thanks to that “child” it was like I seemed to live less through my head and more immediately through heart and body, while there was a calm consciousness (and maybe even something of a deeper sense of “conscience”). It was like discovering something which I could truly acknowledge and love. However, my perception of this kind of state or “personality” has dimmed down again while ordinary life progressed after the last NO treatment. Also, old habits are starting to take over which have been macerated (or shown another direction) by the NO.

I would like to continue what has been initiated / encouraged by NO and therefore am looking forward to pursue with the treatments as soon as possible. It’s not in my reach right now, but when that time or possibility comes, I will cherish it very much. For now I will use other available means. All in all, things have been set in motion and the process does / has to continue in other ways right now.
 
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That was a great interview, thanks for hosting Val Gaby and Doug! I found the part about doing NO in a group, where each individual was receiving feedback not only about their own minds, but the minds of others in the room, to be incredible. Talk about attunement and connecting chakras!

I was also thinking about what he mentions on trauma, that we are no longer victims of trauma, but survivors and now it's just finding that way to help everyone thrive. Which, IMO, is something we oughta remember every time we fall into this depressive states and such..

Thanks guys for the interview, Val seems like such an intelligent and caring person.
 

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