Any success with brain retraining?

Brain retraining seems to be gaining more and more popularity as the number of people with MCS that have used one of these programs and report positive results continues to grow.
I decided to write an information page on the subject which you guys may find useful. It can be found here.
It would be great to hear from more people who have tried these programs and what the results were...positive or negative!
I agree with you that most of our illnesses have at their root - dysfunction (specifically excessive sensitivity/activity) of the unconscious mind i.e. the ancient instinctive part of the brain, the limbic system. Exactly what the Gupta Programme and similar therapies are designed to work on.
Thank you so much for continuing to report on your positive progress. It's understandable that when people feel better they no longer have the desire to visit support sites like ours. It's great that you are motivated to share your journey of recovery with us - I am sure it will give many people hope
I would say neurologically my brain is a lot more quiet. Things that caused me distress in the pass are now in the pass and don't "churn" in my head any more. I feel normal. I still wake a few times at night but go back to sleep easily. Any chemical exposures are causing only minor reactions. I do breathing exercises and mediation morning and night. A couple of times a week I rewatch a session of the Gupta DVDs. Still 100% positive that the unconscious part of the brain is responsible for causing my MCS symptoms to continually get worse.
Have been reducing the Pall supplements and seeing no changes. Just getting on with life. No hassles and living as stress-free as possible. Enjoying the free time I have to do some new hobbies. The garden is getting lots of attention. All's good.
So what do we know so far:
- It works (almost miraculously is the feeling you get) for some.
- It doesn't work at all for others.
- It has some effect for some (Julie Genser's 'finishing touch')
- There's no reliable evidence either way (Maff if you know better let us know)
- It's hard work, a lot of effort has to be put in.
- There's very little information on the content of the (very long) course as to what exactly goes on
throughout the course.
- It's expensive, but there's a cash-back offer if you see not progress after 6 months.
- Sometimes it takes more than 6 months to work.
I've requested a copy from my local library - will see what happens. (It's Christmas! maybe they're feeling generous!) I really hope they come up with the goods - if they do then not only can I do a write-up for everyone demystifying the whole thing but that copy will be circulated across the country and lent out for a teeny hire fee to anyone who wants to give it a go. Fingers crossed!
Unfortunately it seems the Mayo study was discredited..
1. They do not state what criteria were used to diagnosis the patients.
2. They put patients with "chronic fatigue" together with patients with "chronic fatigue syndrome" which are two entirely different medical conditions.
3. The sample size is far too small for it to be valid.
Apparently Mayo admitted this after it was carried out.
Makes me wonder who put them up to it and how much they were paid. Shame, I always had quite a lot of faith in Mayo 'til now.
At 1st the stop stop stop sent my heart racing and created panic. The Gupta support site was very helpful in getting this under control. Further into the DVD sessions there was a lot of info and support from Ashok Gupta on how to deal with the issue. It takes a lot of learning to learn the exercises, they really mess with your brain too and when you get it right they do what they are suppose to do. It's all very weird but fantastic. (Sometimes I can read a newspaper and other days my body reacts in a very negative way. I haven't been able to go into my husband's workshop without wearing a mask but now I can go in there, close the door and stay for as long as I like . . . no delayed reactions at all. Perhaps next week of will not be able to.) My unconscious part of my brain is indeed involved in my reactions and I suspect all my other health conditions. Which are real physiological symtoms in the body.
At this stage I see brain training as a "Get out of jail free card". When I have a reaction (end up in jail), I can get rid of the reaction in about 30 minutes (freed).
The Gupta programme only cost NZ$245, I haven't had to pay for anything else. I may sign on to a webinar. There is a fee for that. It costs me NZ$185/month for the Pall supplements (I am reducing these with no side affects) and every time I go to the doctor it costs at least $50 and that is without tests. I still think the Gupta programme is a bargin.
Yes, I have been very guarded too - the 1st few weeks I felt very vunerable. There is a lot of information involved and a lot of learning Jodie. You have to be really "gutsie" to commit to doing one of these courses. Negative, critical remarks, etc., only discourage. You need a self-belief that you can do it, you can rewire your brain. I 100% know now that my unconscious mind is seriously involved in making me very very ill. I will continue interrupting and stopping my brain whenever I become aware that it is not functioning the way it should and I will do this for as long as it takes for me to get better.
Well I found the link to the No!No!No! stuff, turned out to be Stop!Stop!Stop! D I got it slightly wrong .. there was a discussion on PlanetThrive as people were saying it was too aggressive and were trying to come up with alternatives...
planetthrive.com/2012/05/brain-retrainers-stop-with-the-stop-stop-stop/… do think it's way overpriced. I have a friend who produces similar training DVDs (for Tai Chi/Judo) - it costs about £400 to produce 8 of them and books are not expensive to produce these days. Double that to pay for their time & add a cheap production run might be £1500..they'd only have to sell 10 packages before they start making a good profit I reckon, not to mention all the seminars and group get togethers they run.
But my main problem was with the lack of information on what is in these courses - everyone I asked seemed to get very precious about it ...it seemed way too carefully guarded to me. However if that info link is accurate & totally explanatory then that's what needs to get passed on to anyone who asks.
Glad its working for you, girl!
Yesterday, I had the misfortune when out at a gardening job to walk into the smell of a wood sealant that builders were using. Normally an accident like that would have a painful affect for a long long time. What I did was quickly stick my nose filters in my nose (luckily I had some in my pocket). I thought ok, that was only one wift, I should be ok. But alas 10 mins later a reaction did start. It took 30 minutes to stop this reaction, which I did 100%. A reaction is usually extremely painful for me and the symptoms would last for at least three days. It is now 18 hours later and I have had do further side effects.
Yes, my body has become damaged also, but it WAS continually getting worse and worse over the years. Now I'm in reverse. When I first arrived on this site I asked "where do I start". Maff suggested the Pall supplements . . . wonderful advice Maff. Thank you. (I have already started reducing these.)
I am committed to the Gupta programme for the time they recommend (6 months) and now for longer because, I am getting better and I am fully convinced I will leave MCS completely behind in the near future.
Sounds to me like this is a sort of deep relaxation program, touching on hypnotherapy & psychological tweaking. I've had hypnotherapy for insomnia before and it worked very well, tho don't know if it would have if I'd been watching a DVD rather than have an actual person to interract with. Re exercises, I've noticed an hour's yoga will get rid of the exhaustion and groggy headaches & even stomach pains, tho I don't have those very often. Personally I don't feel like a 'victim', I think I've somehow become damaged so my body can't deal with some natural (and a lot of artificial) substances. It's life - stuff happens. What's much more frustrating is the scientific community can't seem to get to the bottom of what's going on. I don't need others to 'build me up' either, just be a little considerate with the chems they use. So I think whether this is helpful of not might depend on how you feel about the situation you're in. Stop searching for cures? doesn't this put itself out to be a cure? that's certainly what its fans believe.
I'm still not clear exactly what happens - could you describe a couple of sessions for us? someone once told me you have to jump up and down shouting NO!NO!NO! and do similar bizarre things so its best to have an empty house at the time. b
For me personally the Gupta programme is a bargain. You get a A4 sized accompanying book (147 pages) which contains the script of the DVDs, exercise sheets and further guidance; 8 DVDS, supporting emails; separately supplied MCS video and exercises; a discussion site and contact details if you wish to have a personal councillor, etc, he even runs webinars frequently and seminars throughout the World.
Ashok Gupta is very supportive and encouraging. One step at a time and stress free. He educates you about your brain functioning, and explains how you can consciously take control of your unconscious brain and then works/teaches you how to do the exercises that will eventually rewire your brain. You are encouraged to NOT continually hunt out cures but to stop and give 100% for 6 months to the course and getting better. The retraining is very personal and would effect everyone very differently.
As you will see from my post below I haven't been doing the programme for very long (six weeks). The benefits so far are just "mind blowing" excuse the pun. There has been lots of trauma in my past and then add to that the fear I (we) face just leaving the house was causing no end of stress.
Yes, you can find exercises for free on the web that will deal with the above issues, but having a personal supportive coach (because that is what it feels like listening to the DVDs) is worth every dollar I have spent on it.
To date these are the gains: For me I've become very happy in my "own skin" - I've stopped needing others to build me up and support me. I don't feel a victim anymore. My digestive system is now working normally; by headaches have gone etc etc. I feel 100% healthy and that is weird because I haven't felt that way for a long time. Reactions are not so severe and I can get rid of the majority of the reaction with exercises (I use to be rolling around in pain and suffer for up to three days); I'm not frightened any more . . . and the biggy is I know the rest of my life is going to be free of MCS.
The only negative for me is that I wish Ashok would make the DVDs for MCS only, there again he cannot say CFS, ME, FM, MCS every time. Some of the DVS he says CFS and others he says ME. In this instance, I am happy to be the "tack-on".
As you will see from my other posting I now have a process in which to deal with reactions. I can stick my nose into a benzene containing product, get a full reaction, pain and all occurring and dissolve away all the pain and disorientation I had previously. I feel as though I am back in control.
Three days ago I was in the city and had extensive work done on my teeth over a two-day period (two 1-hour appointments). No reactions at the dentist, which seemed really weird as I usually end up coughing etc. A few hours later I had a few threatening headaches which I managed to dispurse with Gupta exercises (at the same time as driving myself home, I didn't even need to stop).
My view is, the purchase of the Gupta Programme was an absolute bargain. I haven't even finished watching all the DVDs yet and I still have lots to learn, but it is certainly working for me.
Note, I am still wearing either my mask or nose filters when in an enclosed space with lots of people around, afterall it is still very early days.