Narcissism The problem with narcissism is, “what exactly IS it?”  A quick run through Google indicates it is “An excessive preoccupation with one’s own personal importance, or with achieving one’s own chosen goals rather than bonding with others, or with associating only with others whom one chooses.”  So, what is excessive here?  An excessive lack of preoccupation with one’s own personal importance or preoccupation with bonding with others at the expense of self is lack of boundaries or perhaps co-dependency. The […]

Obsessions and Compulsions The OCD patterns in your clients are tertiary–they’re defenses against emotional drive issues. In neurofeedback we would focus on resolving the emotional drive, then the OCD may melt away or be easier to train away. Obsessive thought and compulsive behaviors are often used as a way of covering over either anxiety or depression, so you need to be sure to deal with what is underneath the defense before you just go in and blast it away–if the […]

Night sweats Sweating is an autonomic response–sympathetic rebound. When you are very tired, then it’s easier to go through theta and into delta at the beginning of sleep. The very fast EEG, however, probably results in waking up when your brain tries to enter REM. The beta that characterizes REM can be too much and too fast and result in waking you up. A sympathetic rebound is what happens when the brain suddenly realizes it has been “too relaxed” and […]

Oligophrenia/Low IQ If the IQ score is below about 85, it is very unlikely that neurofeedback will help a person. Joel Lubar told me this many years ago, and I was too smart to believe him until I had tried with three clients. Then I believed him. The US Army has done comprehensive work in comparing intelligence levels (IQ scores) and capacities, to help them be able to accept as many volunteers as possible and place them into jobs where […]

Oppositional Behavior Wolf packs are remarkably stable in their roles, with the alpha male and female maintaining tight control. It is interesting to note that experiments looking at brain activation found that the alpha males produced dramatically higher alpha levels than the other wolves in the pack and, in fact, there appeared to be a direct correlation between alpha levels and pack rank. When the alpha male was temporarily disabled (tying one leg or putting it in a cast or […]

Pain/Fibromyalgia See also Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Often chronic fatigue, chronic pain and fibromyalgia are very wound-up Tone issues. There is a major sub-cortical drive related to long periods of unremitting stress, but the brain responds to it by wrapping itself in cotton (alpha) to anesthetize. The client doesn’t “feel” the emotional material, but it often becomes somaticized, and physical symptoms become major issues. This kind of alpha also is often low in frequency and blocks poorly with eyes open. […]

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy RSD is generally a Tone problem–excessive activation of the autonomic nervous system. There can be a number of different cortical patterns related to the underlying stress response. I would suggest that you do an assessment and see what you find. Base your training on that. Oftentimes pain issues relate to problems with alpha, but it will be important to address not just the symptoms in this case but also the […]

Parkinson’s Disease/Tremors Parkinson’s is related to death of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra.  That’s not the same as the apparent issues in essential tremors; those appear to involve the basal ganglia and cerebellum (and GABA, not dopamine). I have used Fz/A1/g/Cz/A2 with linked ears, training a standard SMR protocol with some success in symptom reduction in six or seven cases of individuals with Parkinson’s.  It appears the problem with Parkinsonians is deterioration of the dopamine producing system.  Dopamine is […]

Physical Relaxation Try Cz/A1 IN 2-38 and REW 12-16 (SMR training) for the physical relation states. One of the things that most trainers have to run head-on into a few times before they recognize it is that clients report their subjective experience, and that is generally measured against their standard state experience.  It is amazing the first time you have someone with massive beta who wants to be able to relax and work more efficiently–and they successfully change states and […]

Reading Speed Unfortunately, as with most such questions, my answer has to be that if there were something as simple as a protocol for speed reading, everyone would do it. There are lots of types of reading. Reading for pleasure can be done with speed-reading, because you aren’t expecting to remember much about what you read–but if the writer is any good, speed-reading through a piece is like putting a really good meal through a blender and pouring it down. […]