Helping Veterans Who Have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

In a previous post we talked about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) and the positive impact Neurofeedback can have in treating this debilitating condition. 

Here at IntraLife Performance Center, we've had great success in treating Veterans with PTSD! Here is a testimonial from the wife of one of our PTSD clients:

"Shortly after my husband returned from his 7 month deployment to Afghanistan, I noticed changes in his mood and his sleeping.  He was easily irritated and often fell into moods of depression with little provocation.  It was frustrating for both of us because he didn't know what was causing them and I didn't know how to help him out these moods.  A few nights a week, I would wake to him thrashing and trying to yell out in his sleep.  I felt helpless until he started Neurofeedback at IntraLife Performance Center.  Within a few weeks of treatment, his nightmares stopped almost all together and within a couple months, they stopped completely.  I noticed his whole personality shift back to what it was pre-deployment.  He was less irritable and happier.  I know Neurofeedback was the right answer for him and I'm so grateful we got the help he needed."

If you or someone you know is suffering from PTSD, especially service men and women, please let them know that they are not alone and that there is help!

For more information about Neurofeedback and how it can help PTSD, please visit Homecoming For Veterans, a non-profit organization that IntraLife Performance is a part of. It is just a small way we can give back to those who have given and continue to give to our country.

P.S. Here is another great article HERE that talks more about Neurofeedback as a lifeline for military members suffering from PTSD. Check it out!

How Neurofeedback Helps Attention Issues

Child with Attention Issues

Overview

The inability to pay attention is gaining rapid interest in the medical and psychology field because of the increase in people who suffer from this problem.  Research has shown in the past two decades there has been a significant increase of children who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention-deficit disorder (ADD).  Children who are affected by this disorder tend to struggle with paying attention in school, doing homework and chores, and other tasks that require a certain amount of focus and concentration in a given amount of time.  Their relationships may also be affected because people do not understand why they have such a difficult time completing tasks.

Symptoms that may indicate attention issues

Sometime as a parent it may be difficult to know if your child is struggling because children in general are active, curious, and excited about life. The key to knowing if your child may have attention issues is if he or she cannot focus and calm down when they know they need to get a certain task done.  Here are a list of specific symptoms that may also indicate a problem.

-Difficult paying attention to details and often producing messy work.

-Easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli that others typically ignore.

-Inability to sustain attention on tasks.

-Difficulty following through and finishing tasks.

-Frequent shifts from one uncompleted task to another.

-Procrastination

-Forgetfulness in daily activities such as turning in assignments.

-Disorganization

-Impulsive decision-making.

The cause of attention issues

The inability to pay attention is not a result of laziness or low intelligence, the problem actually stems from the way a person’s brain is wired. Researchers have shown through brain image studies that people who have ADHD or ADD have decreased activity in their frontal lobes compared to people who can focus and complete tasks with little difficulty. The frontal lobes are the part of the brain that controls executive functioning skills such as organizing, focusing, problem solving, short-term memory, impulse control, and attention. Because the brain is under stimulated in that area it has a difficult executing these skills.

How neurofeedback can help attention issues

Neuroeedback is a non-medication approach that works directly with the brain to retrain the frontal lobes. To do this, the brain is observed from moment to moment through an EEG and receives feedback from a computerized game or scene when it responds in the desired manner that promotes positive behavior. Continual reinforcement will eventually lead the brain to self regulation of executive functioning skills.

Sources:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/174722-adhd-the-frontal-lobe/

http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-symptoms

http://www.myadhd.com/causesofadhd.html

http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/understanding-attention-problems/

All accessed July 23, 2011

What is an EEG?

Picture of EEG used while doing neurofeedback

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Everybody has heard the term EEG before but few actually knows what it means and what it is used for. EEG stands for electroencephalography.  In simple terms it reads and records the electrical activity of your brain.

During neurofeedback (biofeedback) the practitioner will apply electrodes on specific parts of the scalp to target brain activity that controls certain behaviors or functions. Many EEGs used for testing potential problems require the use of dozens of electrodes to cover the scalp. However, while doing neurofeedback or biofeedback only a three to five electrodes are used. The electrodes will send the information it collects from your brain to the computer. Next, the computer receives the information and processes it onto the screen in the form of wavy lines. Some people get nervous prior to getting an EEG because of all the wires and equipment. This is not necessary; it's a simple, pain free process.  

An EEG may also be used to:

Diagnose epilepsy and various types of seizures.
Check for problems with dementia and confusion.
Find out if a person is dead or in a coma.
Study sleep disorders.

Check out www.intralifeperformance.com to watch a video of somebody being connected to an EEG.


Information used from webmd.com and wikipedia.org. Picture provided by EEGinfo.com. Thank you!