Two months ago I started NF sessions in a Clinic in Spain to treat ADHD, chronic pain, BPD -emotional disregulation- sleep issues, depression -dysthymia and no motivation type, dissociation- and binge/emotional eating. Lot of things, yeah. But they are all connected. I tried almost everything meds avaiable, Ketamine treatment, psychedelics, etc. TMS and Neurofeedback were/are my lasts options and I wanted to try the less invasive so I opted for NF.
We did a QEEG that showed problems related of everything I have. Now I am close to my 20 session now and yes, I felt subtle changes some days in the past weeks -mostly less anxiety overall and less dissociation, feeling more like myself- but the process is really slow, not enough compared to the money and energy I am putting into it. Since two weeks I was also more irritable and angry, having issues with my partner due to this and now this lessened but I am more depressed, anxious and the chronic pain I feel in my body is more intense than ever before.
I am telling all of this to my practicioner but there is no change or anything that have improved yet.
Some people in a Fb group told me that working in SMR can worsen chronic pain for some people but I am not findind any paper or anything to show this to my practicioner. Other says that my protocol is too strong for me…
Are you combining the modalities you mentioned, with any processes to address your patterns of thoughts and beliefs? Some of these systems also work with ancestral / developmental traumas. A particular expert in this field is Bessel van der Kolk, at the Trauma Research Foundation. His book is a best seller and widely acknowledged in the field:
Some of the cognitive approaches that he recommends include:
I am doing CBT and I am interested in doing Somatic Experiencing soon.
My practicioner today adviced me to take a break from Neurofeedback and do Psilocybin Therapy for a bit to go through trauma and then come back to Neurofeedback.
He says that because they are working in taking me out of dissociation, I am going to feel worst. I just don’t understand why I feel so much pain in my body.
I didn’t know that in Neurofeedback you feel worst before feeling better sometimes, nobody told me this in the two Centers I went looking for information.
I’ve read the book The body keep the score too. That’s one of the reasons I am doing NF.
Great. I was just trying to convey that any of these modalities you mentioned on your original post, would be synergized by the addition of the somatic and other approaches mentioned by Van der Kolk.
It is also possible that the type of neurofeedback you are receiving is NOT what Van der Kolk’s clinic would be using.
In the past he has also endorsed Sebern Fisher’s work:
Ruth Lanius Interview: PTSD, Emotions, and More with Sebern Fisher and Jay Gunkelman
DESCRIPTION
Ruth Lanius MD, PhD, FRCPC PTSD Expert is interviewed with Sebern Fisher Author of Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: Calming the Fear-Driven Brain and Neurofeedback Tech Legend Jay Gunkelman BIOGRAPHY Ruth A. Lanius, M.D., Ph.D. is a Psychiatry Professor and Harris-Woodman Chair at Western University of Canada, where she is the director of the Clinical Research Program for PTSD. Ruth has over 25 years of clinical and research experience with trauma-related disorders. She established the Traumatic Stress Service at London Health Sciences Center, a program that specializes in the treatment of psychological trauma. Ruth has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the Banting Award for Military Health Research. She has published over 150 research articles and book chapters focusing on brain adaptations to psychological trauma and novel adjunct treatments for PTSD. Ruth regularly lectures on the topic of psychological trauma both nationally and internationally. Ruth has co-authored two books: The Effects of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease: The Hidden Epidemic and Healing the Traumatized Self: Consciousness, Neuroscience, Treatment. Ruth is a passionate clinician scientist who endeavours to understand the first-person experience of traumatized individuals throughout treatment and how it relates to brain functioning.
Curious why we see MANY NeurOptimal owners selling their used systems on this discussion forum. Several per month. Is there a reason, do you think? They just ‘finish’ with what NeurOptimal can do or has done, and they move on?
I think for many people the effects of Neuroptimal are too subtle - they don’t notice any changes and are disappointed or bored. I had strong effects up to approx. for the 200th session, after that it became less and I think Neuroptimal has trained what it can train. I feel much more awake now than I did a few years ago.
