Healing Through Neuro Biofeedback

A single red tulip stands alone. Photo by Melissa Arditti.

Lucy disappeared for a while, but now she is back. It was a little disheartening, but therapy of any sort can be very draining, both on the physical and emotional level.

As much as she wanted to tell me about all the progress she was making, those feelings were stuck and it was only this week that she contacted me and mentioned that she was ready to chat with me about her on-going experiences with Neuro Biofeedback.

Twenty-five sessions have been completed now. After starting off at two times per week, and then once a week, Lucy is now going for treatment once every two weeks.

The gradual decrease in sessions needed to be monitored closely because this is not a therapy that you just quit cold turkey. It can be very detrimental and so it was agreed upon that this would be the next step.

Once the autumn season rolls around, Lucy feels confident that once a month will be enough. This gives her the opportunity to receive not only the psychological assistance by talking about any conflicts that go on and how to deal with them effectively, but also incorporate the customized program, and work on her elevated brain activity levels of functioning with eyes closed.

Specifically, there have been some big improvements in a few areas of her life; one of those involving sleep.
We all know that if we don’t get a significant amount of restful sleep per night, we are groggy and irritable, and our energy levels are depleted. Caffeine only takes us so far and then we crash. Think of someone who has post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), along with general anxiety; this makes a pleasant sleep virtually impossible because the mind does not want to shut off.

However, there is a meditative state that Lucy feels when she is working on her program that calms her nerves, if not right away, then within a few trials. The annoying ‘racing brain’ seems to be at a pace that is tolerable now.

Lucy has been feeling pretty well, most days. Her anxiety has reduced in a significant way, which was shown through the brain activity on the screen, and she hasn't had a full-blown panic-attack for months. Sure, she still does have some crying spells and those pesky triggers, but she can get through them much easier now.

“I like waking up most days where I am not drenched in sweat from nightmares or anxiety. Feeling like my heart is beating through my chest and having visible shakes because of stress is one of the worst feelings ever,” she said.

The Neuro Bio-Feedback center is amazing here in Windsor, and I can’t help but tell more people about it. Of course, they are skeptical, and rightfully so, but aside from various studies that are favourable to this method of therapy, the proof for me remains in the changes that I see with my own eyes.

People with mental illness often feel isolated from the rest of the world, so amongst the beautiful yellow tulips, a single red tulip stands alone. This unique perspective can be turned into a positive image though that represents how we can embrace our life circumstances, no matter how difficult they may be.

I will leave you with a quote that says a lot about how powerful inner and outer transformation can be with the right support.

“It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars.” – Richard Evans