The brain changes slowly and for neurofeedback to be safe — even for babies — the change must be gradual. So at the end of your first month’s training you may wonder what has shifted. The changes may be subtle at first; however, the more neurofeedback you have, the more significant your changes will be.
Unlike linear neurofeedback, NeurOptimal neurofeedback will not just be working on a single issue — such as anxiety and/or depression. NeurOptimal will be optimising your ENTIRE brain function. Therefore you may notice gradual changes in many areas of your life.
To help you determine what is changing, ask yourself:
- Do I feel calmer after having a session and/or experience less pain?
- Do I have any more energy to go about my daily tasks?
- Am I feeling less overwhelmed by tasks that need doing?
- Am I noticing my mental and behavioural patterns more?
Neurofeedback (like years of mindfulness meditation practice) trains your brain to rest in the present moment so you will become better able to notice your reactions as they are happening. Your awareness about your self-sabotaging behaviours will grow and you will see more clearly what you are doing to promote disharmony in your relationships while you are doing it. This process precipitates transformation because we cannot change anything until we become aware of our contribution to our suffering as it is occurring.
- Am I able to let go of my anger a little more quickly and come back to equilibrium?
- Are my relationships improving as I become more able to talk about what is happening internally for me?
- Do I have less ruminating thoughts (thoughts that won’t leave my mind) such as ‘what I did wrong’ or ‘what another person did wrong to me’?
- Can I be a little kinder to myself?
- Do I have less need for addictive substances (such as alcohol and cigarettes) to calm me down?
- Is my sleep improving?
- Is my balance improving? (Hint: try standing on one leg!)
- Do I wake up with a little more optimism?
- Do I have less fear and dread?
- Can I engage in creative, social or career-related tasks without as much fear that I won’t be able to do them well eg. public speaking, writing.
- Has my concentration, focus and word-finding skills improved?
- Is my motivation to finish tasks improving, and my procrastination decreasing?
- Is my brain becoming more RESILIENT? Building resilience means that you don’t feel as overwhelmed by the thought of completing tasks. It also means that when you are triggered and experience the ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response, you are able to come back into balance more quickly. The intensity, duration and frequency of your triggers should slowly start to decrease with brain-training. And life in general (or tasks that you previously found difficult) may begin to feel a little easier.
NeurOptimal neurofeedback provides information to your brain: showing it where it is not doing a good job. Then the brain takes over and starts to self-correct and an inner voice becomes louder — what do I need to do to get to where I want to be? People transform their lives on NeurOptimal. The changes are gradual but with continued training, I have yet to witness a ceiling on the potential of neurofeedback to support my clients to change their lives for the better.
May your transformation be joyful and boundless.