Neurofeedback therapy is a type of therapy that seeks to help patients change their negative thoughts and behaviors through monitoring brain waves and providing visual and auditory responses to the types of brain waves it senses. In simpler terms, electrodes are placed on the head and send the information about the brain waves to a computer for the therapist to see. This information controls the brightness of a screen or the volume of a show or movie that the patient is watching and the brightness or volume will give the patient information about whether they are thinking in positive or negative ways.
You can think of neurofeedback as a treadmill for your brain, the goal is to train your brain to recognize when thoughts and feelings are generally more positive or negative. By training the brain to recognize these thoughts and feelings we can expect to see over time that the brain can self-regulate better leading to better mental health. Consider the five reasons why neurofeedback may be the right kind of therapy for you.
1. Neurofeedback can help with ADHD
Neurofeedback can monitor different kinds of brain waves which helps us to know generally what kinds of feelings your brain has. The different classifications of brain waves can range from Gamma (very fast) to Delta (very slow). We all have all of the different waves but sometimes we can get imbalances and experience too much of certain wavelengths.
People with ADHD tend to have more slow waves which causes problems with focusing, brain fog, and day-dreaming. Neurofeedback can help reinforce the faster waves allowing for people with ADHD to focus more.
2. Neurofeedback can decrease feelings of anxiety
Much like with ADHD a lot of people with anxiety tend to have brain waves that are too fast. This can make them hyper-focus on their problems or leave them feeling panicky. Neurofeedback is able to help people with anxiety slow down their brain activity which can lead to a more calm and relaxed state.
3. You may be less resistant to changing thought patterns with neurofeedback than with typical therapy
A problem that some people run into with typical therapy is that they may feel resistant to making the kinds of changes that their therapists recommend for them. Neurofeedback attempts to reorganize the brain’s connections in order to change behavior. That may sound scary but it is something our brain is doing all the time. It is known as neuroplasticity and it happens in response to injury or learning. Neurofeedback is simply an attempt to speed up the learning for positive results. Since the learning happening in neurofeedback is not entirely conscious, the changes you need to make to experience more positive thinking and better mental health can be more easily accepted.
4. You can learn how to regulate your emotions better
One of the biggest benefits to neurofeedback therapy is that your brain is being trained to regulate emotions. Often when our mental health is poor and we feel like we cannot control our emotions our brain waves are either too active or too inactive. As neurofeedback trains our brains to stay near the center more often it also teaches our brains how to come back to a healthy medium. The training over time will teach us subconsciously to be more emotionally regulated.
5. Neurofeedback can help with sleep
A lot of people who struggle to sleep well experience brain waves that are too fast. If you are trying neurofeedback for better sleep results then the neurofeedback will focus on slowing down your brain activity. The slowest brain waves (Delta waves) are the ones associated with sleeping. Targeting these waves in neurofeedback can make your sleep much better.
Neurofeedback therapy may not be right for everyone. Studies have shown that neurofeedback is not always effective at treating patients, but many psychiatrists, therapists, and patients have seen it help with a variety of conditions. So while it is important to remember that neurofeedback may not always fix all of the mental health challenges you are experiencing, it can and has made a difference for many people.
There are a lot of benefits to trying neurofeedback. If you struggle with mental health issues then consider trying neurofeedback to see if it can help you to feel more balanced and regulated. At Xenia counseling we have three neurofeedback stations so we can get you in quickly. If normal therapy does not interest you then consider scheduling an appointment today to try neurofeedback today in Orem, Utah.
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