Many people who
undergo a traumatic event believe they can handle the problem themselves. Not
to be the bearer of bad tidings, but if this works, it's less often because of
what the person did than how our brains normally work. Conversely, if it fails,
it's important to realize WHY it didn't work. And the simple fact is, it has
nothing to do with how strong your will is or how competent you are. What we'd
like you to understand is that trauma physically rewires your brain! Your brain
actually changes in that certain parts get bigger, certain parts shrink and new
neural pathways are established. This effects your thoughs. Think of your
thoughts as a river. Now imagine that area has a massive earthquake. The shift
in the terrain reroutes the river! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WITH PTSD!!! This
happens to pretty much everyone who undergoes traumas in their lives. Now,
normally and over time the river will return to some semblance of its original
course. This return can happen with or without therapy. It is a natural part of
our healing process. While the river's course will never be the same, it does
return to something close to where it originally ran. PTSD, however, creates a
slightly different problem. The analogy we like to use will make sense if
you've ever spent any time in the desert. gullies and washes are commonly found
in this environment. All that water has no place to go, but rushing down
that gully. That is what your thoughts are like under the effects of PTSD. It
doesn't matter how strong you think you should be, like the water, your
thoughts get ripped down this pathway. And like someone caught in a flash
flood, you are pulled along helpless to control the effect. Your brain and
neural pathways have become those arroyos. The reason we use this analogy is to
point out that the time to deal with PTSD is not during the middle of a flash
flood. it's when it isn't raining. It is to seek outside assistance to help you
fill in those gullies and change where the water goes during those times that
it isn't raining up the wash or the flash flood is raging. The problem with
having your brain rewired is that you can't run a self-diagnosis very well. And
that is why you need to seek experienced professional help. PTSD is a well
known problem, you aren't alone, nor do you have to handle it yourself. Because
believe us, you don't want your PTSD rewired brain running the rest of your
life.
Got Trauma?
|
|
Trauma robs
our CNS of any rest. It must be continuously on guard. It does not matter
whether the event took place days ago or years ago - our brain has been
rewired to cope with the event. That was a needful thing at the time. Now
that the event is no longer a threat, we can acknowledge "it's just
history" with our concious mind. But we still react before we can catch
ourselves, because deep in our subconcious brain we are on constant guard.
The well-learned response happens before we know it. Our thoughts, our
emotions, our bodies have reacted again, often to the surprise of ourselves
as well as others. What is PTSD? Terrified and stuck in a loop. Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may occur in persons who have been subjected
to traumatic events which are outside the range of usual human experience.
Trauma can include abuse (physical, emotional, or sexual), accidents,
witnessing something horrific, receiving shocking news. Trauma also results from
ongoing neglect or stress or even growing up in a house with constant
shouting. The individual will often live in a state of extreme vigilance with
much anxiety, disturbing nightmares, and/or social withdrawal. “Flashbacks”
may occur. The flashbacks are vivid, very realistic re-experiences of the
event. Often some fragmented image from the traumatic experience is triggered
by some current situation which is similar in some way to the traumatic
situation. Insomnia, phobias, depression, alacoholism, addictions, unstable
moods, nightmares and dillusional thinking may also be experienced by a
person after the event is over. A blow to the head will show structural
damage on an MRI. While an emotional trauma will not show up on the MRI the
way the physical blow to the head did, functionally, the effect is the same.
Parts of the brain can shut down or spin into hyper-drive, or both. At the
same time, complete memories of the experience may be unavailable to the
person during everyday consciousness. Theories as to why this suppression of
the memories would occur vary. One popular view holds that the memory is
actively suppressed by the unconscious mind as a means of protecting the
individual from overwhelming levels of anxiety that would occur if full
recall were permitted. Another theory holds that the traumatic event itself
induces a deeply altered state of consciousness which is so far from the
normal state that it is inaccessible to the individual when awake.
|
Why Neurofeedback is Preferred by Many
|
|
Neurofeedback
addresses the source of the trouble - problematic brain wave activity that
got stuck in a disrupted pattern due to trauma. Neurofeedback does not rely
on drugs and other chemicals to mask or modify the symptoms. Neurofeedback
does not need the client to "re-live" the trauma in order to move
past it. Neurofeedback addresses each brain individually. Neurofeedback can
accomplish in months what would normally take years - personal, conscious
control of one's alpha-meditative state. (This is the area that is crucial in
resolving PTSD symptoms.) Watch the PTSD video Neurofeedback for PTSD How
Neurofeedback (NF) Training Works A computer records EEG activity (brain wave
patterns) using electrodes pasted on the scalp surface.This non-invasive
"listening" device is painless and comfortable. In conventional NF,
an assessment of the EEG activity is done. This allows the neurotherapist to
determine the pattern of training that will be most beneficial for the
individual. The computer is then adjusted so that it creates a musical tone
as the person begins to generate more of the desirable brain rhythms. This
“neuro-feed-back” literally guides the person to a more and more calm state.
Clients begin to feel a tremendous sense of empowerment as they take back
what they were deprived of by the trauma — a good night’s sleep, feelings of
calm and confidence, and a general sense of well-being. The results of
controlled studies, as well as clinical experience with this therapy have
been tremendously encouraging. People who have been suffering from PTSD for
ten and twenty years are often completely relieved of their symptoms.
Follow-up testing has shown that the person becomes markedly less anxious,
depression is reduced or eliminated, and the person is generally more
comfortable and relaxed. The power of the traumatic incident is removed,
reducing an all-consuming experience to a simpler factual memory. Release
from trauma means regaining one's life.
Contact us for
information or bookings in Cape Town, Pretoria, JHB or DBN on 076 4343 252 or
email: brainharmonics@gmail.com
web page www.brainharmonics.co.za
follow us on
twitter - @brainharmonics
find us on facebook - www.facebook.com/BrainHarmonics |
No comments:
Post a Comment