As an example, Helen is having trouble getting to sleep. Her concentration is suffering, and she is finding herself unable to control her emotional reactions.
We review her case and determine that we will likely be able to help. We record a brain map, and can see that her brain is on high alert; the areas involved in emotional reactivity and anxiety are running at triple the comfortable rate. No wonder she’s uncomfortable.
After careful analysis of her brain activity, we see that this underlying anxiety is affecting her ability to shift from an alert state to rest; the likely culprit in her sleep troubles. While there is no visible problem with her concentration per se, her anxiety is taking the majority of her brain’s resources and there is little left for concentration and clear decision making.
Having identified the areas of concern, we create Helen’s neurofeedback training plan. Her favorite movie is Batman Returns, so we’ll use that as the feedback for her training session.
During Helen’s neurofeedback sessions, we monitor the areas involved in her anxiety in real-time. When her brain is moving towards a calmer position, her movie plays – a positive signal letting her know that her brain is heading the right way. When she’s getting a bit more internally anxious, the movie will go dark and the sound fades – a negative signal telling her that she’s heading the wrong way.
The better she gets at it, the more difficult we make it – so if she wants to watch Batman Returns, her brain has to continually shift further and further into a more and more balanced, non-anxious state. As Helen makes this shift time and again, she is learning how to return her mind to a calm position.
With more practice, her skills improve, and she is soon able to make this shift on her own, without our help. As we track her progress, we notice a corresponding shift on her brain map. She reports that she is better able to choose her emotional reactions, and is no longer being overrun by them. Her sleep and concentration are now better as a result.
Her symptoms have subsided, her brain is now in a more comfortable position, and her brain map confirms it. Job done.
Helen is only one example. We work with everyone from corporate CEOs and professional artists to those with severe autism and brain injury. Whatever the cause or symptom, neurofeedback can be helpful in retraining the brain into a healthier pattern.
