--> The NES system is not a biofeedback type of system, which, depending on the type of system, detects changes in the electrical characteristics of the skin or brain. The interaction that takes place during a NES scan between the computer and your body-field is a quantum process, perhaps similar to Marcer's theory of phase-conjugate-adaptive-resonance, and it happens almost instantly. Although each person has a somewhat unique biochemistry, our body-fields are all structurally the same. |  Biofeedback emerged as a new laboratory-based technology of self-regulation that promised ways of undoing systematically what modern life had wrought.
In the 1980s, a new and terrifying disease emerged on the scene: AIDS. Its appearance coincided closely with the rise of new research that seemed to suggest that the nervous system had ways of communicating with the immune system and that therefore the immune system (not just the heart) might be affected by stress. Did stress, then, make AIDS worse? If so, could its impact be reduced? |  Meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback, and relaxation therapies, which have been advocated for treatment of inflammation, may calm you by stimulating vagus nerve activity as well.
Major Ager
Toxins
Keep Sludge from Seeping into Your My
Unpleasant as it is, we all can remember the times we've spent with our knees on the bathroom floor and our heads so far down in the bowl that we could see the city's sewer system. Perhaps the episode of vomiting was induced by bad fish, or too much booze, or a flu that ripped through your guts like a viral tornado. |  Finding a professional to supervise biofeedback training and maintaining practice in the biofeedback technique might be a challenge for families.
We have heard from a number of people who have used hot, spicy soup to stop a migraine quickly when they feel one coming on. There's not much research on this approach but no harm in trying it, either.
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Q. / have enjoyed reading about spicy gumbo and hot and sour soup for migraine and cluster headaches. No one can imagine how terrible cluster headaches can be. Anything that could help stop the cycle of pain would be a blessing.
A. |  In 1995, a panel of the National Institutes of Health announced that their review of the clinical data showed that meditation and other relaxation techniques (such as biofeedback and hypnosis) can be effective treatments for insomnia and chronic pain. The panel was made up of experts in behavior, pain and sleep medicine, nursing,
The Fight-or-Flight Response
Pioneering stress researcher Hans Selye, MD, a Canadian physiologist, noted a consistent pattern of response to stress and termed these the general adaptation syndrome, commonly referred to as the fight-or-flight response. | | Hauri emphasizes that this type of biofeedback works best for people who have insomnia due to tense muscles.18
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy has therapeutic applications for both psychological and physical disorders. A skilled hypnotherapist can facilitate profound changes in respiration and relaxation to create positive shifts in behavior and an enhanced sense of well-being. A physiological shift can be observed in a hypnotic state, as can greater control of autonomic nervous system functions normally considered beyond one's ability to control. | | Meditation, biofeedback, hypnotherapy, and other mind-body techniques can help reduce stress. Environmental imbalances can be regulated with magnet therapy and feng shui. If hormonal imbalance is a factor, addressing that imbalance can be a key strategy. Skeletal problems can be addressed through a variety of modalities, including bodywork, exercise, and yoga. | | Electrodes are placed on the person's skin (a simple, painless process), and the person is instructed to use various techniques such as meditation, relaxation, and visualization to effect the desired response (muscle relaxation, lowered heart rate, or lowered temperature). The biofeedback device reports the person's progress by a change in the speed of the beeps or flashes. By learning to alter the rate of the flashes or beeps, the person would be subtly programmed to control their heart rate. | | Relaxation therapies, such as biofeedback, hypnotherapy, guided imagery, cranial electrical stimulation, flower remedies, and aromatherapy, among others, can help reduce your stress levels and relieve your sleep problems.
Meditation
Meditation is a safe and simple way to balance physical, emotional, and mental states. It is easy to learn and can have many benefits beyond treating stress and sleep disorders. In the broadest sense, meditation is any activity that keeps the attention focused in the present. | | Fortunately, mind-body medicine offers many methods for reducing stress or enhancing your ability to cope with it, ranging from meditation to biofeedback to counseling to aromatherapy. Among the many options you're sure to find something that's a good fit for your lifestyle and personality. And take heart, just as stress and sleep problems can create a terrible negative feedback loop, the opposite is also true: Many mind-body techniques for stress reduction have also been proven to improve sleep. |  Although I'm not a member of Scientology, I've used the E-meter machine as well as many other biofeedback devices (I own quite a collection of them). In my experience, the E-meter is a completely safe, yet intriguingly effective tool for self-discovery and the exploration of "hot spots" in your own emotions and beliefs. The machine merely reacts to your observable physiology, just like a polygraph machine. If the FDA has something against biofeedback devices, why doesn't it use armed agents to raid all the police stations around the country where polygraph machines are used? |  The belief that only physical factors matter is demonstrated in an arena of medicine known as biofeedback, which maintains that we can change a mental health problem such as anxiety by temporarily redirecting brainwaves, for example, by having a patient imagine relaxation and then directing her brainwaves to the alpha range, which some therapists equate with a calm state. But is this sufficient criteria toward determining whether a treatment has been successful? | | Imagine that you are hooked up to an EEG machine and that you try through visualization, such as that in biofeedback, to change your brain waves to so-called normal. It is pure mysticism to believe that this will overturn the effects of a lifetime with an alcoholic mother and a violent father. Such a therapeutic process is dependent on imagining a normal state, which means thinking your way to health. What one achieves is an illusory state; in short, something that isn't real or lasting. | | We must not consider the standard for wellness as cortical normalization without regard to other sectors of the brain, as do some of those who conduct brain biofeedback sessions. Conversely, we must not depend on psychology to determine normality. That is, we must not be satisfied with patient reports nor how they do on psychology tests. Our bodies speak a language, and we can understand that language if we know where to look and how to listen. We must continue to probe ever more deeply. | | This includes all insight therapies, cognitive therapy, rational emotive therapy, hypnotherapy, psychoanalysis, biofeedback, eye movement desensitization and reprocesssing (EMDR), and guided imagery/directive daydreaming. All of these can help, but none can make a profound change in personality or provide profound, lasting relief.
I would have disagreed with this proposition when I originally practiced psychoanalytic, insight therapy many decades ago. My patients agreed that they felt differently after treatment, and believed that they had made major changes in their lives. |  Although you can take a vacation without help and you can give yourself biofeedback without help, you may nonetheless want a professional to help you manage your stress load. Good for you. You've recognized that stress really is a contributor to your pain or fatigue (or both) and you've also realized you may have a tough time overcoming it yourself. I would recommend professional psychological help, however, in one of two conditions. One is if you have problems doing these self-help methods on your own. Don't feel bad; you're not alone. |  If you know you need to be less sedentary, and avoid the effects of stress, try meditation, biofeedback, deep breathing, aromatherapy, massage, yoga, or regular exercise, whatever appeals to you. I cannot overstate the importance of having multiple tools to defuse stress, and of working your muscles and cardiovascular system regularly—whether you need medications or not.
• Take herbal supplements and high-powered antioxidants. Some supplements appear to be effective at lowering blood pressure. |  The most popular are meditation, prayer, progressive relaxation, self-hypnosis, and biofeedback. All of these techniques have the same physiologic effect: a state of deep relaxation.
One of the most popular techniques for producing the relaxation response is diaphragmatic breathing. To produce the desired long-term health benefits, set aside at least five to ten minutes each day to perform this relaxation exercise:
1. Find a comfortable and quiet place to lie down or sit.
2. Place your feet slightly apart. Place one hand on your abdomen near your navel. Place the other hand on your chest. |  Potential choices include meditation, progressive muscular relaxation, autogenic training, biofeedback, yoga, or T'ai chi.
Herbal remedies can address the spasms occurring in the muscles, as well as hyperactivity in the nerves. Also refer to Muscle Cramps (p. 663) and Anxiety (p. 828) for more information on herbs that are also useful for treating tics and twitches.
Muscle relaxant herbs: Cramp bark is excellent at relieving cramping, twitchy muscles. Khella is used to relieve muscle spasms. | | Other therapies: Progressive muscle relaxation involves the systematic contraction and relaxation of major muscle groups, and can also be helpful for relaxation and stress reduction. biofeedback involves the machine-based detection of tension responses, and can help a person learn to sense the physical signs of stress and modify them. Hypnosis uses verbal suggestions to relax the mind and body. A newer technique, known as Heart Math, uses heartbeat responses to emotions as a guide to reduce stress. | | Stress-reduction techniques: Mind-body breathing exercises, physical exercise, yoga, T'ai chi, self-hypnosis, massage, meditation, and biofeedback are just some of the stress reduction techniques used to treat anxiety due to nicotine withdrawal. Try different
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TIP: REWARD YOURSELF
Come up with a list of small gifts that you can give yourself every day. Small daily rewards will boost your spirits and fortify your resolve to quit smoking. | | Caffeine is sometimes added to these preparations to enhance the body's ability to absorb the drugs. biofeedback training (where patients are trained to improve their health by using signals from their own bodies) is another type of therapy that has had good results in treating headaches. Trigger point injections may also provide temporary relief and acupuncture may be beneficial.
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
Herbs: The herbs listed below are available from Chinese pharmacies or online. For each formula, place the herbs in a ceramic or glass pot. | | Modify your lifestyle: Eliminating wheat and dairy products from your diet may be beneficial. biofeedback, a treatment that trains your body to listen to its own signals, can also be helpful, as are stress reduction techniques such as breathing and meditation.
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TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
Herbs: Shan Zha (hawthorn) is a popular fruit in northern China and is widely used for helping digestion. Various formulas that incorporate this herb are detailed below. Hawthorn, as well as the other herbs listed, are available from Chinese herbalists or online. | | Interestingly, biofeedback, a treatment technique in which people are trained to improve their health by using signals from their own bodies, has been shown to be more effective than medication, as it works faster. Acupressure bracelets are also effective.
Prevention: Identify situations that bring on the nausea, and avoid them if possible. If they cannot be avoided, take medication prior to long journeys, before symptoms start.
Medication: Scopolamine is delivered through the skin via a transdermal patch. It should be used about four hours before commencing your journey. | | CCT involves using biofeedback to control the moment-to-moment changes in heart rate.
Exercise to calm your heart: Take slow, deep breaths, and center your attention on your heart. Imagine that you are breathing in and out through your heart.. .imagine how each inhalation brings in oxygen to nourish your body and each exhalation dispels waste.
Visualize your heart floating in a lukewarm bath. Be aware of a warm feeling in your chest. Focus on it and encourage it by taking slow and deep breaths. | | Try some pain-relief therapies, such as acupuncture and biofeedback. Nondrug
Alan Rapoport, MD, neurologist, and founder and director, The New England Center for Headache, Stamford, CT, and clinical professor of neurology, Columbia University, New York City. approaches often allow patients to take lower doses of painkillers or even discontinue them.
Helpful: Get treatment at a multidisciplinary center. Specialists at these centers are familiar with a wide variety of therapies. For information, contact the American Pain Foundation at 888-615-7246 or online at www.painfoundation.org. |  Exercise: tai chi, yoga, walking, and all forms of exercise Using your mantra: posting and saying your SuperFoods mantra of "honor your body" and establishing a very personal mantra about your health and your goals
Complementary health care: massage, acupuncture, biofeedback, counseling
While day-to-day behaviors and practices should be part of your SuperFoodsRx weight-loss program and lifestyle overall, sometimes you just need a quick fix to defuse a momentary or acute stress. | | To combat this imbalance, I suggested you consider buying Freeze-Framer, the biofeedback software I described in chapter 9. That computer program shows just how well your parasympathetic nerves to the heart are working and allows you to practice improving your parasympathetic tone. Kundalini yoga probably does much the same thing because of its attention to breathing.
Abnormalities in autonomic balance in favor of the sympathetic branch may explain why some CFS patients have a heart rate problem. Remember that when the sympathetic nerves fire, your heart rate goes up. | | In fact, biofeedback experts can now use a computer program supplied with a heart rate sensor called Freeze-Framer to track breathing indirectly, based on the relation between breathing and heart rate variability—the tighter the link, the lower the stress level. There will be further discussions on this link in chapter 11. But it's useful to know that advances in computer technology have brought the cost of the Freeze-Framer down from thousands of dollars to $275 on the Internet—still a lot, but a big improvement. |  Varying levels of success have been found with other interventions, including nutraceuticals (such as Saint-John's-wort, L-tryptophan, Ginkgo biloba), light therapy, exercise, stress-management techniques (covered in this chapter), prayer/spiritual guidance, and various mind-body therapies (for example, guided visualization, self-hypnosis, biofeedback). Please see the Suggested Reading List for resources that explore these other strategies for treating depression. | |
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