NEUROFEEDBACK FOR MUSICIANS

As a performing artists who spent many years building a career in the New York World, I can say that I wish that I had had access to neurofeedback training during that period.  Competing is extremely stressful, especially when there are hundreds of people competing for a few roles.  And many of those people are more talented than you.
So this articles talks about the benefits of neurofeedback training for the performing artist.  This is one of my specialties and it has proven to be very successful.  Performers tell me that the reduction in panic alone in the pre-production and audition period of their work has been a life saver.
Here is a link to a BBC article on this topic:

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3091595.stm

Published: 2003/07/24 01:26:03 GMT

© BBC MMX

What exactly is flight-or-flight?

by David Delaney, MA, CAR, LPC                 david@boulderneurofeedback.com

Fight-or-flight is the collection of physiological (body) and psychological (mind & emotions) changes that occur when you face a perceived threat–when you face situations where you feel the demands on you outweigh your resources to effectively cope.

When some event in your life triggers the state of fight or flight, a series of changes occur within your body and mind, often without our awareness. They include:

•A quickening of the pulse

•A burst of adrenaline (can mean shaking, feeling queasy, or hyper-alert)

•Redirection of blood from your brain and core to periphery

•The release of cortisol (stress hormone), putting you in a heightened state of alert. Your internal alarm system is on- even though you might not hear it!


Within seconds of any situation which causes you to become upset, which is fight-or-flight, the primitive amygdala (trauma center in your mid-brain) automatically sounds a general alarm.  The adrenal system promptly floods the body with adrenaline and stress hormones. Non-essential physiological (body) processes switch off.  Digestion stops, skin cools, and blood is diverted from viscera and small muscles into the outer, large muscles in preparation for a burst of emergency action (fight/flee/freeze).  Breathing quickens and becomes shallow, the heart races, and blood pressure skyrockets, infusing the body with oxygen while the liver releases glucose for quick fuel.  The entire body is suddenly in a state of high alert, ready for fight-or-flight.


Fight-or-flight is designed only for emergencies: not for everyday living!


Our culture today places so many demands on us, that we live in this state too often for good health and well-being.

In this state, learning ability, as well as other mental functions (including problem solving, reasoning ability, and relating to others) are inhibited. This response is incredibly powerful and can indeed be life-saving.

However, we experience this response on a regular basis through pressure at work, traffic jams, anticipating the future or stewing about a past event, family and relationship challenges, the intensity of school, and many more situations that are not life-threatening.

What makes it worse is the body’s design: if we get to really fight or turn and actually run, all those electro-chemical responses get used up.

But to be in this fight-or-flight state and not have to fight or run for our life, is extremely disabling and explains why stress is indeed the biggest killer.

What we need most of our day is the opposite state, called the Relaxation Response. It brings us out of the fight-or-flight state. Research shows that our approach to Neurofeedback will induce the balanced production of alpha and theta brain waves, which will then reduce our heart rate and blood pressure, relax muscles, and increase the quantity of oxygen flow to the brain.  Incredibly, because your brain is plastic (adaptable) it will remember how does this in the future because it changes in response to experience.  In other words, you can train your brain; you can increase your brain fitness.

Many researchers have also noted that this Relaxation Response is very beneficial for super-learning, enhanced creativity, healing, and optimal performance in life.


“The relaxation response is a physical state of dynamic rest that changes the physical and emotional responses to stress.”

Herbert Benson, M.D.

Herbert Benson, M.D., is the Director Emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute (BHI), and Mind/Body Medical Institute Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. A graduate of Wesleyan University and the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Benson is the author or co-author of more than 180 scientific publications and 11 books (listed below):

The Relaxation Response, 1975

The Mind/Body Effect, 1979

Beyond the Relaxation Response, 1984

Your Maximum Mind, 1987

The Wellness Book, 1992

Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief, 1996

The Relaxation Response – Updated and Expanded

(25th Anniversary Edition), 2000

The Breakout Principle, 2003

Mind Over Menopause, 2004

Mind Your Heart, 2004

The Harvard Medical School Guide

(c) David Delaney, 2009.  All rights reserved.

50 to 70 million with sleep disorders in U.S. alone….

by David Delaney                                                                           
david@boulderneurofeedback.com

Graciella (not her real name) has had sleep problems most of her life.  This is not why she came to seek help with me but I discover during our intake that this is a serious problem for her.  She has a very difficult time falling asleep, staying asleep, and then finds it very difficult to rise in the morning. Her original concern for why she sought help was anxiety and depression. And now research has demonstrated that there is a direct link between sleep problems and depression!

Depression and sleep disorders now linked…

It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from a disorder of sleep and wakefulness, hindering daily functioning and adversely affecting health and longevity.The cumulative long-term effects of sleep deprivation and sleep disorders have been associated with a wide range of degenerative heath consequences inducing an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, hearth attack, and stroke. The Institute of Medicine (IOM), Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research concluded that although clinical activities and scientific opportunities in the field are expanding, awareness among the general public and health care professionals is low, given the magnitude of the burden. 1

Why is sleep so important to our function as human beings?

While we sleep, all the energy that would normally go toward conscious activity is utilized for regeneration of our organism.Sleep slows heart rate, calms brain activity, reduces blood pressure, sympathetic nerve activity slows (fight/flight responses are controlled by this branch of our nervous system), muscle tone relaxes, respiration is slowed and deepended, and so on.We let go!We enter a phase of suspended rest where all our systems relax and rebalance.So those who have sleep issues are not able to benefit from this important health function.

How could neurofeedback training aid the Central Nervous System in sleep improvement?

The Central Nervous System, what we generally call the brain, controls sleep.Sleep is an adaptive mechanism of survival.If we do not sleep well, we do not function well in the waking state.In order to be alert and focused for our chosen tasks, we need to have restful and regenerative sleep.I have had many clients with poor sleep hygiene and most of these individuals have had issues with depression and anxiety as well as health issues which are improved as a consequence of feeding back to the Central Nervous System how it is functioning moment to moment.

Adaptability is the basis of neuroplasticity; our ability to respond to changes in life.

Because of neuroplasticity, which is the ability of our brain to change in response to direct feedback from our environment, it can learn to let go of the perturbation (or inefficient brainwave activity) that it is producing unintentionally (based on stress and trauma in our past).This has a direct impact on lowering cognitive, physical, and emotional reactivity, regulating stress, and based on hundreds of comments from clients, help them improve their ability to sleep.

There is nothing like good sleep to get you going in the morning.

Jean notices within a handful of neurofeedback sessions that she is able to get to sleep faster and even if she awakens, she says that she is now more apt to fall back to sleep quickly whereas prior to training she often experienced the suffering of not being able to get back to sleep.She also tells me that she wakes up refreshed and able to get up with a positive attitude toward her life. Previously, she was anxious and fearful about what the day might bring her.  Not so now!

Drop it, and move on? Easier said than done!

 

by David Delaney, MA, CAR, LPC

Johnny’s (not his real name) Mom contacts me to say that he is having anxiety and school is about to begin.Can I help? He is feeling upset in anticipation of the school year and all the stress that that brings with it.He is upset allot and that is affecting the family as a whole.It’s true, if one family member is not doing well, everyone feels it.Whether we are an adult or a child, we all have to deal with the anxiety of anticipating changes that school and life brings, and honestly, some of us cope better than others.

What might cause anxiety?

Anxiety can be caused by major life changes, work, school, social relations, financial problems, being over-scheduled, inability to accept uncertainty, pessimism, negative self-talk, unrealistic expectations are a few of the things that can go with anxiety. And it seems allot to do with our inter-relations with other humans. Our interactions with other humans put pressure on us and some of us aren’t as facile as others in dealing with certain personalities and the social demands that go accompany it.

What is happening inside when we are experiencing anxiety?

When we experience ongoing anxiety (or any negative emotional state), our nervous system is in a fight-or-flight or unresolved stress response mode, or simply said, in ‘arousal’- it is aroused and not calm.We are feeling that we are threatened (even if mild) even though we may not always be able to put our finger on it.In the animal kingdom, when the animal experiences a threat to its survival, it fights, flees, or freezes; thus the term fight-or-flight.When the animal no longer experiences that threat, it ‘shakes’ until the stress leaves it body (called streaming), resolving that fight-or-flight state and triggering the Relaxation Response.The Relaxation Response is the opposite of fight-or-flight, and the way the body brings itself back into a relaxed, secure mode of living in the present moment.

Learning ability inhibited…

But in this fight-or-flight state, learning ability, as well as other mental functions (including problem solving and reasoning ability) are inhibited. Since flight-or-flight is a life saving physiological state for when threatened and need to protect ourselves, it is not meant for more that short periods of time.However, many people experience this response on a regular basis through pressure at work, traffic jams, relationship challenges, social pressures, school and work pressure, and many more situations that are not life-threatening, and thus we are depleted quickly.Again, any state other than clam and relaxed will ask more energy of our body than can be replenished in current time; we use up reserves.

To be in this state (increased blood pressure, shallow breathing, hyper-vigilance, speedy mind, etc.) and not have to fight or run for our life is extremely debilitating and explains why chronic stress is indeed the biggest problem for humans.It appears that our culture is addicted to these arousal states and we are thus unable to bring ourselves out of this protective survival mode into the Relaxation Response where all our body, emotional, and cognitive processes function at a rate conducive to enjoying satisfying work, activities, and relationships; calm, present, productive, alert, and relaxed.

How to orient away from fight-or-flight

Within a few sessions of seeing him, Johnny’s anxiety is gone they tell me.His Mom and Dad seen a big change in his behavior; his brother has noticed it too, and Johnny as well notices a palpable shift in his mood and lack of anxiety in anticipating the start of school.

After seven sessions they decide that he is fine and he no longer comes in for the brain training sessions.They are clearly relieved that another mother who had brought her children to see me, told them about this FDA approved brain training method of providing the brain information about its own behavior and it producing it’s own adjustments.

Natural state of the brain…

Our natural brain state is calm, relaxed, and efficient, able to adapt quickly to the countless adjustments that are demanded of us daily in our technological society.

See the website for other articles as well as comments by clients about the benefits of NeurOPTIMAL™ neurofeedback training.

Children, ADD, and Medication Side Effects


The following is an excerpt from chapter five of The ADD Answer: How to Help Your Child Now by Dr. Frank Lawlis and published by Viking. For more, go to www.franklawlis.com.

Medical students are often warned that “sometimes the treatment can be worse than the disease.” I sincerely believe that is often the case when children with ADD are given medication to control their symptoms.

ADD medications are most often prescribed by family physicians — not by a pediatric psychiatrist — which makes me very suspicious. How much understanding do such physicians have of these very potent drugs? My personal and professional opinion is that they should be used very cautiously and only on a short-term basis with specific goals in mind. Most experienced school counselors concede that such medication loses most of its effectiveness by the teenage years anyway, so medications are not a long-term solution for ADD.

There are better and healthier options for treating your child’s ADD, beginning with a strong family environment and a focus on healthy behaviors and goals, as we have discussed already, and including a range of approaches to stimulate the brain and focus the child’s attention naturally, which will be discussed in subsequent chapters. I base my understanding of medication on years of experience in working with children and on years of working and researching ADD. Although I have had training in psychopharmacology, I always seek recommendations from referring physicians in matters related to medication. I also want to be very clear that I do not have any direct responsibilities for issuing prescriptions or for making the necessary laboratory assessments critical to any drug protocol, especially with children. However, I consult with a group of medical experts when devising medication strategies.

Let us be fair with doctors. There is an old saying credited to Abraham Maslow, a famous psychologist: “If the only tool that you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Physicians nowadays are asked to evaluate and treat hundreds of childhood problems, and most feel that the only tools they have are drugs. Doctors also rarely observe the daily behavior of the child who is being treated. They usually have to rely on the observations and opinions of parents and teachers — not only as a basis for diagnosis but also for evaluating the results. Too often the only feedback the doctor receives on medication is that the parent no longer brings the child in to see him. If the physician doesn’t hear anything more, he assumes the medication worked properly. But in truth, it could be that the parents simply looked elsewhere for help, or gave up.

The Circular Firing Squad

Too often when a child has ADD, everyone responsible for helping him is shooting in the dark. Doctors often don’t get good follow-up information. Parents get frustrated and make decisions without adequate professional input. Instead of circling the wagons against ADD, we form a circular firing squad and shoot at one another.

Typically, parents, physicians, and teachers find themselves at odds over a child’s treatment. Parents are often bewildered about what to do to help and protect their child. School administrators, understandably, are most concerned about the learning environment for all of their students. Too often, busy physicians treat the symptoms, not the child.

That is madness. But it is understandable madness and it is prevalent. We are a pill-popping, quick-fix society. School administrators are under pressure themselves to get classrooms under control. Few physicians are trained adequately to deal with ADD children. I have attended medical conferences on ADD in which the doctors on the dais obviously had no clue about the long-term adverse effects of medicating children. It is a very serious business, especially when dealing with any drugs that affect a child’s neurological system.

Until recently, no studies systemically examined the long-term effects of drugs on children, such as Ritalin and amphetamines (Dexedrine and Adderall). Some of the side effects of these drugs can be profound. They can be a greater threat to a child’s health than most, if not all, ADD symptoms. Certainly they can cause psychosis, including manic and schizophrenic episodes …

Unfortunately some physicians typically do not stop medicating when psychotic symptoms appear. Instead, they may slap on another diagnosis, of depression or antisocial personality, and then treat this diagnosis by adding antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or neuroleptics (commonly used for epilepsy) to the treatment mix. It is not unusual for children to be taking as many as five different medications, all based on adult prescriptions. Meds upon meds is madness upon madness …

The side effects are not restricted to psychiatric problems. Stimulants excite the whole body, not only the brain. Stimulating medications also affect the cardiovascular system. One of the side effects of Ritalin is that it boosts the activity of the heart and the cardiovascular systems so that they develop beyond what is considered normal. There is also some danger of liver damage from medications used to treat ADD and side effects. Sleep and appetite problems resulting from medication are also of concern …

Parents need to understand the potential dangers used to treat ADD. Although only 50 percent of children with ADD can be helped through drug therapy, the ones who respond to drug treatment face the following side effects:

  • nervousness
  • insomnia
  • confusion
  • depression
  • agitation
  • irritability
  • stunted growth and development

    Other side effects, in a lower rate of incidence, include:
  • exacerbation of behavior symptoms (hyperactivity)
  • hypersensitivity reactions (allergy-type reactions to environmental agents)
  • anorexia (eating disorder)
  • nausea
  • dizziness
  • heart palpitations (heart rate fluctuations)
  • headaches
  • dyskinesia (movement-of-the-body problems)
  • drowsiness
  • hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • tachycardia (rapid, racing heartbeat)
  • angina (heart pain)
  • arrhythmia (heart rate changes)
  • abdominal Pain
  • lowered threshold for seizure
  • Source: http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/153

Benefits

Improving its own adaptability…

Because the Central Nervous System has the job of adapting to life’s constant changes, it is able to literally change itself in response to life experience.  This means that it can change how it reacts to life’s circumstances if given feedback about its own behavior (feedback is the basis of all life).  Prior to 15 years ago, it was generally accepted that after 18 years of age the brain did not change.  But within the last 15 years, research has demonstrated that it is a self-organizing, instinctual organic system and its very nature is ADAPTABILITY.  Adaptability is the hallmark of survival.

NeurOPTIMAL™ Neurofeedback training is a unique approach, an evolution of all other neurofeedback approaches, communicating with the brain in its own language, letting it know each time it is about to produce what we call perturbation (suffering event).  Because the brain (CNS) is so highly sophisticated and instinctually intelligent, it can change it’s own function to become more relaxed and more efficient. When this occurs, it drops behaviors that once caused you to lose your composure, your precious life energy and thus be happier and healthier.

We work with and have seen great benefit with these conditions:

ADD/ADHD, Autism, Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, Depression, Anxiety, Phobias, Addictions, Lyme Disease, OCD, Performing Artists Anxiety, Optimal Performance, Bi-Polar, and many other conditions. Since all behavior is controlled by the CNS, this is why we see such benefits across a wide spectrum of conditions- physical, emotional, and mental.


Here is what clients tell us about what NeurOPTIMAL has accomplished for them:

  • Peak Performance Improvement
  • Enhanced Concentration
  • Strengthened Active Focusing Skills
  • Reduced Distractibility
  • Enhanced Creativity
  • Less Self-Doubt
  • Building Motivation and Self-Esteem
  • Overcoming Test Anxiety
  • Controlling and Channeling Performance Anxiety
  • Learning Habit Control
  • Letting go of Addictive Behaviorss
  • Enhancing Mindfullness (meditation) Practice
  • Developing Centering and Quieting Skills
  • Increasing Mental, Emotional, and Physical Energy
  • Improved Performance at Work, Sports, and Performing Arts
  • Diminishing of Depression and Anxiety
  • Ability to remain present
  • Deeper relaxation than expected
  • Letting go of fear (and only recognized that they had fear after beginning training)
  • Improved sleep (poor sleep hygiene is implicated in most behavioral issues and CNS controlled)

DON’T JUST DO SOMETHING: SIT THERE!

By David Delaney, MA, CAR, LPC                        david@boulderneurofeedback.com

Bob (I have changed his name) finds that he cannot stop himself from being on the go all day long.And then he has problems getting to bed and staying asleep.Sometimes in the middle of the night, when he cannot sleep, he will get up and read or get on the Internet, which further adds to the problem.He is overloaded and this overload is affecting his health and well-being.He came to me based on a recommendation by a client who thought that I could help him.

Pent up energy…

Sometimes we end up doing so much that we recognize we are overloaded and the ‘doing’ is some sort of mechanism that is not actually effective and is taking us in the wrong direction.Why would we need to check email many times daily?Wouldn’t a few times be effective, and then have some time to read something of interest and take a few moments to regenerate by closing our eyes and gently breathing?How about a walk to get your focus off the things that are weighing on your mind?

Fewer and fewer quiet moments…

Yet, we find ourselves more and more finding less and less quiet time in our lives.Many of my clients tell me that they cannot take quiet time.They have to have the television on when they are home or the radio has to be on.They wish that they could, but are unable to give themselves quiet moments where they are in repose.Something is keeping them from it, they say.

When we take time for repose, we are signaling our brain to relax and change modes.Yes, of course, we have to take action; that is the nature of this culture.However, unless we consciously shift gears, we do not give our organism the chance to de-stress and regenerate and we know that all organisms can regenerate themselves from the constant process of decay.This is basic science, which we may have forgotten.

Breathing and the Central Nervous System…

Breathing, slow and gentle, signals the Central Nervous System to relax and just ‘be’.When we consciously breathe, we send blood to the brain and trigger the release hormones into the bloodstream that induce the para-sympathetic nervous system (that which brings us out of fight and flight and into relaxation) release pent up stress, to discharge the reserve of held energy and move it through our system.When we consciously encourage this blocked energy to begin to move by way of breathing, we subsequently encourage mental, emotional, and physical relaxation.

So why do we resist doing it?

Because survival is our number one motivation, it can actually work against our personal well-being when we become overloaded.When stress accumulates in our system, it encourages more accumulation of stress unless we can learn to observe the signs and signals of stress within.I am angry with my partner and really, she has done nothing out of the ordinary.Or, I am eating more than I actually need. Or I am upset with someone to the point of obsession.Any time I am charged, it is probably indicating that I am overloaded and need to recognize and act to reduce that overload.

Now that charge can’t be helpful; if I am in a survival situation where I need reserve energy to deal with the threat it is helpful indeed.Past that, it can only deplete us and this is not the normal state to maintain in daily life.Creativity and clear analysis never happened in fight or flight.In addition, we can train ourselves to come out of fight or flight, what is called arousal, only when we recognize its signs and signals.

Noticing your breathing pattern is a central sign of your physical state.Is it shallow, or irregular, mostly in the upper chest?Or is it long, and, deep, and slow?

Time to Check In, Rather Than Check Out…

Checking in occasionally is helpful in monitoring and regulating ourselves to maintain internal relaxation and balance.Driving is a wonderful time to work on relaxation breathing since you receive instant feedback by feeling your back and buttocks against the seat.If you are breathing slowly and deeply, without straining, you feel the respiratory diaphragm at the based of your ribcage moving downward on the inhale and relaxing back up on the exhale.Try this and see what you discover?

Self-regulating…

Bob has been observing himself in the past few months and is able to better regulate his breathing throughout the day. He has noticed that he accomplishes more quality work and his sleep is improving too.He feels generally better and more relaxed and experiences less anxiety and panic in his day-to-day life.He never believed that focusing on breathing could have made such an impact.Now, he even tells others about its benefits and encourages friends and family to do the same.He has really learning the benefits of self-regulation and relaxation.

YOUR BRAIN CAN IMPROVE ITS OWN FUNCTION; ITS VERY NATURE IS ADAPTIBILITY.

by David Delaney

His father brings nine-year-old Harold (not his real name) to my office.Neither he nor his mother is able to get him to go to sleep at night; sometimes they find him wandering around late because he cannot sleep.He gets up repeatedly when they put him back to bed.This kind of behavior is wearing on his parents!

They are really at their limits and have no solutions other than medication which they are not attracted to.Then he wants to sleep with them, and when he does, he thrashes all night long and they cannot get the rest they need; and everybody now knows that good hygiene is vital to our health and well being if you have seen any of a number of PBS specials on the brain and sleep hygiene.

Get on the Brain Train…

Because the brain (Central Nervous System, hereafter CNS) is adaptable, changeable, it is possible to literally train it to let go of the habit of causing it’s own perturbation or stress, experienced as anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, inability to focus, to let go of stress states that become negative habits and prevent us from orienting toward relaxation.

The Orienting Response…

The mechanism that allows us to maintain present and a relaxed focus has been termed the Orienting Response. The Orienting response, also called orienting reflex, is the reflex that causes us to respond immediately to a change in our environment (what is different about this moment? it asked constantly) first described by Russian physiologist Sechenov in the 1850s in his book Reflexes of the Brain, and the term was coined by Ivan Pavlov, who also referred to it as the “What is it?” reflex. This Orienting Response takes us toward relaxed, present moment focus, rather than being hi-jacked by past, unresolved events that manifest as repetitive negative feelings, emotions, and thoughts that are counter to our personal survival.If we cannot remain oriented to the present, we cannot face life’s constant changes.Without a strong Orienting Response, we therefore are out of touch with what is happening moment to moment.

Why is our brain unable to remain present to what is happening?

Chronic or acute stress, overload, traumatic reactions, injuries, illness, flight-flight responses, and acquired family and cultural behaviors can all cause stress to build-up and negatively influence the function of our Central Nervous System.Stress can be seen on a brainwave electroencephalograph monitor (EEG) when there is perturbation occurring in the CNS. Perturbation (literally being ‘perturbed”) is seen not as regular wave patterns, but as irregular, highly volatile patterns, meaning inefficient, ineffective use of our personal energy causing us to behave in ways that are counter to our own best interests.

Brain upset…

When there is perturbation in the CNS, you do not feel relaxed, calm, alert, present, and in harmony with yourself and the world,but feel angry, depressed, anxious, hyper, unable to rest: perturbed.By evoking this Orienting Response through brain training, your brain is able to literally ‘drop’ these negative states and come back to the present moment.There have been thousands of people since the 1970’s who have benefited from this sort of training including Olympic athletes, NASA astronauts, business professionals, professional performing artists, people with depression, anxiety, traumatic brain injury- just to name a few.

Brain Neuroplasticity…

Many people do not know that the brain can learn new ways of behaving on its own, but now with so much research over the past few decades, it is clear that our CNS is constantly learning and growing in response to what is asked of it- or shrinking if not challenged.It is now known that a blind person’s brain who utilizes their hands to read brail will develop more sophisticated nerve branches in that area of the CNS which controls that function that you or I will.People’s brains that have had a stroke are able to produce new neural pathways to help them recover functions which they lost, if appropriately directed.

A relaxed CNS allows us to let go of the past to be in the present…

After one session of brain training, Harold falls sleep right away 4 nights that week.His mother arrives for session number two clearly relieved.She wants to continue training him so that he can help him achieve a more relaxed way of being, helping him move away from his hyperactive tendency.

Source:  1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orienting_response

(C) 2009, David Delaney.  Cannot be used without the written permission of the author.

WIRED FOR MIRACLES?

Jim Robbins article is a classic on the neurofeedback field.  He interviewed all the original leaders in the field and it is a pretty good historical look at the how the field has evolved.  He does not speak about non-linear, dynamical neurofeedback, which NeurOPTIMAL is, but it will provide an interesting look at how the field evolved.

 

By: Jim Robbins

Can we learn to respond to stress in a new way?

by David Delaney, MA, CAR, LPC

Scotty, beam me up fast; I’m tanking…

Jim (not his real name), an ad agency executive, is making a campaign presentation to clients and begins to panic. He is aware of how important landing this client is for his agency, which makes him feel even more tense. He can not stop the negative spiral of stress and he now is loosing his natural, relaxed ability to present this ad campaign of which he has great natural passion for and knowledge of. No matter how hard he is trying, it makes things worse.

I’m tap dancing as fast as I can…

We have all had the experience of our heart beginning to pump rapidly, our thoughts racing, and we are jumping from past to future negative scenarios in our mind. Our breathing pattern is shallow and we are not able to stay present to what is happening around us now. The voice is straining, we feel like a big ball of tension, and we are hardly relating to those around us. And what is more, we see no way out. Yikes!

When this happens, in order to bring your self back to composure and reduce your effect from the stress, slow and deliberate belly breathing is your central ally. If you can stay with it, you will soon have access to the creative faculties that can only function when we are relaxed and feeling secure and grounded in the present. You will begin to feel more yourself again.

But don’t wait until the panic strikes…it’s too late then.

A highly stressed situation is not the ideal time to begin your breathing practice. This has to begin long before the presentation takes place. Transforming stress is an ongoing process that must be integrated into an activity from the very beginning. Waiting until the last moment will not be sufficient to ward off stress. Not that you won’t get stressed; but with ongoing preparation for such an event you will have prepared yourself so that when the stress-rush strikes, you are ready to transform it to your advantage.

Deep belly breathing, the opposite of upper chest/shallow breathing, has been shown through research to transform stress into positive energy. Many people who have to speak in front of others unknowningly allow the stress to overwhelm them. They don’t yet know that stress can be transformed into useable energy for their optimal performance.

But won’t I get lightheaded if I breath too much?

Actually, upper-chest shallow breathing, the same as hyperventilation, brings on stress and makes us unfocused. So in a certain way by not incorporating belly breathing in our preparation, we are actually producing your own negative stress states.

When I am overloaded, the last thing I want to have to think about is breathing.

When under stress, the breathing becomes shallow and oxygen is decreased in our bloodstream and so produces confusion, low energy, depression, lack of focus, all the unwanted feelings that make us feel terrible.

Look Ma, no hands…

After some training, our ad agency executive Jim is learning to transform his stress into useable energy that will help him make his presentation, make his sale, and do it in a satisfying, relaxed, and creative manner.

A little inspiration goes a long way…

When we are in stressed environments, be it work or school, the basketball court, the stage, or making that sales presentation, our body goes into a heightened state of overwhelm that can support us if we know what to do with it and have practice at actually having done in already. By remembering to do deep breathing, we send the message to our body and mind to relax and stay present to what it happening now. This allows all our natural aptitudes to come to the forefront without having to try so hard.

Next Step

Read other articles on my website (they are being added weekly) and feel free to pass along this information to friends and family who you suspect might benefit from the information.

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(C) 2008, David Delaney.  Not to be used with the written permission of the author.