Filed under: Training | Tags: ADHD, ADD, Training, EEG, Biofeedback, neurofeedback, pain, health, brainwave, treatment, therapy
Training method – neurofeedback treatment
Neurofeedback training can be used to help people from all walks of life, not just elite athletes, to enhance their personal growth and improve their health and physical condition, simply by learning how to correct their brainwave patterns. Many are finding that this is an effective way to do exactly that on a consistent basis.
It was recently reported in a major sports magazine that members of the Italian football team implemented this advanced brain training technique to help them stay sharp and focused during high-pressure situations they encountered in their recent FIFA World Cup competition. While many methods of biofeedback neurofeedback instruction have been in use since the 1960’s, this recent news in the sports world has helped to bring current attention to this approach of improving athletic prowess and performance. Neurofeedback therapy is a form of biofeedback and is a method through which a person comes to understand their brainwave patterns and learns how to modify them.
The treatment that is known as EEG biofeedback is actually one specific type of the more general treatment modality known as “biofeedback.” Biofeedback therapies, in general, have been around for about 40 years and have primarily been used to assist in relaxation and for conditions related to stress and to muscle impairments.
Neurofeedback training is administered by skilled and practiced biofeedback therapists and begins with having the person play a video game by only using their brainwaves. If you happen to eavesdrop on conversations that are swirling in sports bars or being whispered in locker rooms, then you just might overhear some discussion about neurofeedback training. Increasingly, this form of biofeedback therapy is being used by elite athletes who are constantly striving to improve their performance and to gain the edge in competition. Through this process, the information that is provided by the brainwaves is monitored via electrodes attached to the person’s head and then interpreted by the biofeedback machine.
The interesting thing is that with this training approach, the participant is not using any kind of physical input device, such as a joystick or gaming console. Instead, the biofeedback program is utilizing the output from the person’s brain activity to play the game. Many people are at first startled by this concept, but are quickly excited to learn about the degree of control that they are able to apply simply through “thought power.”
Before being involved in a biofeedback program, most people have no understanding of how their thoughts can either limit their self-development or can significantly enhance it.
One of the most compelling reasons why people begin this type of “feedback” training is because it is virtually the opposite of therapies or treatments that rely on the use of medication, either by prescription or those available over-the-counter. This goes hand-in-hand with the recent surge in interest that is being seen in the area of learning about alternative medicines and alternative therapies to improve health and overcome illnesses, without drugs and without surgery.
Neurofeedback training is not only beneficial for athletes, as it has developed a strong reputation for being able to help improve a variety of health conditions. Some of the many benefits of biofeedback therapy that have been reported are: reducing blood pressure, improving circulation, speeding recovery after injury or surgery, and alleviating chronic headaches, including migraines. It should be mentioned that biofeedback therapists often clarify that biofeedback treatment in and of itself should not be considered to be a cure for anything. However, the control a person can gain through this type of therapy is what allows them to make improvements in many areas of their health.
Smart biofeedback therapists wanted! Demand is high!
There have been hundreds of thousands of people over the last forty plus years who have received significant benefits from the use of EEG biofeedback treatments. This is a holistic, non-invasive approach to treating various conditions, such as ADD/ADHD, chronic pain and many other illnesses. For those who have struggled for years to find effective treatment to chronic conditions, biofeedback therapy is often called a godsend because it provided relief when other types of treatment failed.
EEG biofeedback therapy is understood to support the improved formation of the essential communication pathways in the brain. Neurofeedback therapy has also repeatedly demonstrated that it can help patients to more effectively live with a variety of emotional problems and conditions, as well as addressing many physical ailments. Best of all, it is able to provide this relief to people without pain, without invasive procedures, and without the need to take costly and possibly harmful pharmaceuticals.
All of the forms of biofeedback provide “feed back” information to the subject, in terms of the small, internal changes in their biological processes. EEG biofeedback is currently being practiced on a daily basis in a wide array of psychological and medical practices around the world. The demand for biofeedback treatment is undergoing rapid growth, and there is also an increasingly greater scope of issues it is being used to address. While there still are many skeptics of neurotherapy, the fact is that the demand is increasing. It is highly unlikely the demand would be so high if there were no real and measurable benefits.
EEG biofeedback is an effective way to train the brain to be more efficient in its patterns and control of physiological functions. Neurofeedback therapy has also shown people the power of the mind-body connection and helps them to gain a greater sense of mastery of their bodies through the initial awareness and through the practice that comes with the ongoing neurofeedback training sessions.
EEG biofeedback is considered to be a very promising and complementary intervention that can improve the results of more mainstream types of treatment, and in many cases, can even help people to eliminate the need to take medications. A good biofeedback program can also be used to teach those who are affected by ADD/ADHD to control their brainwaves and bring them into a balanced “normal range,” which helps them overcome the challenges of ADD and ADHD.
The EEG biofeedback mechanism that is able to help children with ADD/ADHD is based on the principle of separating certain brainwave patterns. Many biofeedback therapists are convinced that these cutting-edge neurotherapies are simply the most advanced way of retraining the brain, and they are also very excited about the hope that it offers to sufferers of chronic pain.
