Durban - When feeling low, anxious, too wired to sleep, too stressed to function or concentrate, many people tend to swallow pills.
In South Africa we used to be a nation that liked quick-fixes and took medication readily. Luckily this is changing.
More people are now conscious of the negative effects of medication and the side effects they can cause.
Medication has its place but can also create more symptoms than many people are aware of.
It is always advisable to read the leaflet and inform yourself about what you are taking.
I see more and more clients who have severe side effects from medication or who do not want to take medication and would like to heal their mind, brain and body with the help of more natural therapies.
Fortunately, science has progressed incredibly and there are different options available that have been proven to work successfully.
When thinking of psychological symptoms, very successful treatment options include neurofeedback, counselling and hypnotherapy. People can change drastically and are often surprised at how great they feel after the treatment sessions.
In cases of children not being able to concentrate, many studies have found that neurofeedback can have a significantly positive effect on changing the brain, helping it to function optimally and in a way that is comparable to children who do not have concentration problems.
Training
As Nina, 15, states: “I can feel a big difference from the time I came for neurofeedback training to now.
“Before the sessions I felt anxious and couldn’t sleep well. I used to drift off in school and daydream a lot.
“When I had to write exams I wasn’t motivated to study, left everything for the last minute, couldn’t cram everything into my brain and felt very stressed when having to write my exams.
“I felt so despondent and thought I was a failure and stupid. I was put on Ritalin but the medication gave me headaches, stomach cramps, made my sleep even worse and I felt jittery.
“I didn’t want to take medication any more because the side effects were not great at all. The neurofeedback sessions helped me to gain confidence and feel uplifted. I also started to concentrate better and was motivated to study. My marks improved by up to 25 percent. It is such a great feeling to cope better in school.”
As S Othmer, PhD, states: “Neurofeedback can change the brain for clients with ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety, sleep and memory problems.”
Neurofeedback has been around since 1960 and has proven to be extremely beneficial over the decades as more about the brain is discovered and more individuals access this therapy to improve their mental and cognitive functioning.
Many centres around the world specialise in this type of brain training. In those centres, practitioners see clients coming in to train their brains, much as we see people going to fitness centres to train their bodies.
Brain training is becoming the preferred training for anyone who wants to function well.
Lee-Ann, 43, says: “It was strange in the beginning because the practitioner puts sensors on your head and measures the brainwaves on all the different EEG points of the brain. I didn’t feel anything, it was like taking a photo of my brain.
“After the assessment, I found it very interesting to hear what the readings meant and I could see how stressed my brain really was.
“No wonder I couldn’t sleep and remember names well. During the day I often felt as if my brain was fogged up. In the sessions, the sensors were placed on those points to change the fast brainwaves so that the brain could function in a calmer, more optimal way.
“Apart from the sensors stimulating the brain to change, I had to watch different programs on a computer screen for optimal feedback for the brain. I had to manage to keep the screen running smoothly for perfect brain functioning. It was like playing a computer game using my brain.
“Over time, I noticed that I was much calmer, could switch my brain off at night, sleep better and remember other people’s names and things I read and heard. Even my family noticed that my memory improved and I didn’t have to constantly apologise because of my bad memory. I feel that I changed a lot. I am more content, happier and in a calmer space.”
Doug Berry and Jenna Dias, neurofeedback practitioners at EQ-Advantedge, state that they see clients with different symptoms and that the training is a holistic mode, where clients repeatedly report experiencing relief and change in areas they didn’t know was possible or in areas they didn’t expect to see change.
For example, Sally, 37, initially sought help after having tried many different medications for her anxiety and not receiving any relief – and with some of the medication experiencing more side effects than benefits.
Headaches
After about 15 sessions, Sally started reporting that her anxiety had left, she was not feeling stressed or irritable any more and that her tension headaches had subsided.
Gail, the mother of a eight-year-old girl, Tracy, who initially sought help for ADD/ADHD and language difficulties, reported back after a few sessions that there was not only a marked improvement in her daughter’s concentration, but she had never expected the improvements in her daughter’s handwriting and emotions.
She said her daughter, since starting therapy, had come out of her shell and was a lot more confident.
Dealing with people of all ages, it’s encouraging to see good results at a critical juncture for clients.
Just a week ago, a parent of a local teen who has been seeing Doug for a brief time, commented on the notable changes that were already clearly apparent. “Keep doing whatever you’re doing” was the message received, loud and clear.
In another recent case, the client noticed a marked change in his panic symptoms associated with travel, while others have been seen for more physically impacting problems, like those caused by severe brain injury.
The changes made for Damien, a young survivor of a devastating car wreck, have been nothing short of amazing. He went from barely able to walk properly, exhibiting flat affect (no emotional range) and slurred speech, to a confident young man who would be unrecognisable as someone with a brain injury, over the course of treatment. Even his neurologist was amazed and noted that neurofeedback made a world of difference for Damien.
Symptoms
Dr D Rabiner (of Duke University) mentions that it is encouraging how neurofeedback can help people to relieve symptoms without negative side effects.
Often the positive changes are permanent and clients do not have to come back for further training as the brain learns to adapt and create new pathways.
When choosing a treatment for yourself, be sure that you make an informed decision on what you want to do.
You might find that only medication or only one kind of treatment is not sufficient for you. Your body and mind have the ability to find a stable balance when treated correctly and by a professional therapist who uses the right treatment methods.
Daily News