Release the past

We can’t always control what life delivers to us, and sometimes it can be more than unfair. We can, however, choose how we respond to and manage what has happened to us, by processing with therapists and healers, so that we can integrate traumas and other events, and understand ourselves and others, better.

However, sometimes past events can leave a long-lasting mark on our nervous systems and brains, in a way that words can’t reach. Leading trauma researcher, Bessel Van der Kolk, M.D. talks about how the fear center in the brain keeps firing and firing, and won’t shut off. (see https:/www.youtube.com/ watch?v=WrOAQYeVyS0)

This not only keeps us in a state of fear but keeps us from utilizing other, more rational brain centers. Van der Kolk supports Neurofeedback’s ability to locate which areas of the brain are over-active in each individual, and also its success in calming the brain and nervous system.

Some people may erroneously tell a traumatized or fearful person to “just relax.” But the problem is that when their physiology is such that they are trapped in a constant fear state, they simply can’t “relax.” In the Neurofeedback field, we have seen over and over how

Neurofeedback can gently re-train the brain and nervous system to be in a more regulated, less fear-based state. For some, it is a quick process, and for others, it can take some time, as the body may need more time to be comfortable with relaxing.

When the brain and nervous system relax, and the rational part of the brain becomes more available, we often see more progress in talk therapy, as a person is better able to tolerate the processing of emotional material. Clients have also reported that if they have been receiving bodywork – massage, chiropractic, etc. – that sometimes their clinicians are able to move and adjust “stuck” points, that previously were resistant to change, due to their tense, fearful body.

With Neurofeedback, over time, the body can return to a more normal and regulated state, where even triggers that used to create setbacks seem to have minimal to no effect. Energy that was co-opted into managing symptoms can be freed up and be directed towards living a more lovely and fulfilling life!

Gretchen Morse, DMA, is Board Certified in Neurofeedback and serves on the Board of the Midwest Society for Behavioral Medicine and Biofeedback. For information, call her at 517/290-4965, visit her website at www.mmneuro.com , or “Like” Mid-Michigan Neurofeedback on Facebook.