What People Experience with Neurofeedback

Often people ask me what others have experienced after having several sessions of neurofeedback. Here are only a few of many reports.

"I'm feeling really good. I haven't had any mood swings at all since we started. Things do feel a bit more manageable. I don't feel like I'm having anxiety as much. I feel more mellow. I'm able to deal with stress a little easier." Woman in her 30s after 5 sessions.

"Neurofeedback is definitely helping. My sleep has gotten better. Even when things are scary, Ive been able to move forward anyway. Im a lot calmer. I am happier, have less social anxiety, am more talkative, have fewer headaches, and have more self-awareness." Woman in her 40s after 8 sessions.

"My stress level has gone way down. I used to be a doormat and take on a lot of responsibility, but now I'm not doing that. I'm taking better care of myself by saying no more frequently and not stressing about it afterwards. I'm worrying less about what people think about me. My husband is noticing the change, and says it's about time." Woman in her 60s after 13 sessions.

"Im able to remain a lot calmer. When my wife talks about her work stress, I dont get caught up in it like before. Neurofeedback has had a positive effect on the way I home school my children. Im more relaxed and less reactive to my kids when its not going the way I think it should be going. Instead of looking at it as their problem, I can look at it as Im the trainer in this equation and what Im doing is just not working. Then I look back at how authoritarian I was raised and how much thats still in me. Those emotions come up at times and I want to act on them, but I dont. Its changing everything. Its changing my ability to think before I act, to witness whats going on, to think about it differently, and to look at what actions will cause different outcomes. Plus, Im way less attached to results than ever." Man in his 40s after 15 sessions.

"I can't stress this enough. I was on disability for a reason. I couldn't write a schedule without indecision, checking and rechecking, so much that I would give up on it. I could not organize my day. Choices were difficult. All of that is gone. People used to see me as a doormat. Now, I just speak up and they think it's confrontational. I am writing six hours a day on my thesis. Before neurofeedback, I wrote zero hours per day. I had spent 11 years trying to write my thesis and could only complete one chapter. I was unable to even write my outline as I obsessed on details. Recently, I just sat down and did it without any anxiety. It was easy and took 15 minutes. I have no depression or anxiety anymore." Man in his 40s after 12 sessions.

"What I notice is that I have a general sense of happiness and well-being. I used to let little things bother me a lot. It was one of my main problems. When I had things that were bothering me I would just try not think about them. Of course, they kept on popping up over and over. Now, I take a logical approach to it. I figure out what's bothering me and figure out a way to fix it. I come up with a solution rather than shoving it under the rug and avoiding it. That's been a big change and its removed a lot of stress for me. I really had a problem with that. I'm sleeping really well. At work, Im able to remember things easily and multitask really well. I'm getting rave reviews from my boss. Another big change is that I'm not worrying about what other people think of me anymore. I realize life is too short to worry about things like that. Who cares what other people think about you anyway? What matters is what you think about yourself and what loved ones think of you. That's what really matters." Man in his 30s after 12 sessions.

"Neurofeedback absolutely help me with the bar exam. When I first came in I was in rough shape. My mind was full of fears. I had failed the bar exam the first time and I was so worried Id never pass. After the first neurofeedback session it felt like a ton of bricks fell off of me. I realized no matter what, I could do this. It shifted me so much that I thought if I don't pass at this time, I'll pass it next time. After a few more sessions, I noticed it makes the negative thoughts less powerful so that you can see them and examine them more objectively. It was like the thoughts were further away so I could take them apart more reasonably. After 7 neurofeedback sessions, I took the bar exam again. What was different this time was I could hold on to the reasoning and facts that first appeared to me in the question. In other words, I did not get lost in the meanings of the wrong answers. I stayed highly focused. I passed. I really believe it was the neurofeedback training that made the difference." Man in his 30s after 14 sessions.

"When conflict comes up I really seem to have the best ability ever in my life to be able to stay centered and calm. It's allowed me to be highly effective. As an example, my divorce has been lingering for 3 years, mostly due to my inactivity. I spontaneously called a new lawyer, liked the lawyer, spent an hour on the phone, made good progress, came up with a plan, and that's enormous. Getting closure on my divorce has been the biggest hurdle in my life right now. Basically, I think the gizmo works. I don't understand it completely but it seems to be helping me to not take things personally. I don't feel I have some lacking to defend. If somebody were to say something to me in a way I would have taken offense that would bother me for a day or two in the past, I now look at it as maybe that's kind of sad or maybe that person was having a bad day. It could be a coincidence, but to me, I see an effect. I think its doing what it's supposed to do." Man in his 50s after 8 sessions.

"I was having a difficult time with my divorce. It had gotten me down and I was spending all my time alone. Neurofeedback helped me pull out of that funk. I noticed a change after the 3rd session. Like, when talking to my mother, I usually get irritated at her. This time I didnt care as much how she reacted. Ive always been a shy person and that began to change too. At work, even though I didnt have much to say I didnt feel as reluctant to say something. When I did say something I was more relaxed. Im putting myself out there more, like saying hi to random people more. I reached out to old friends and feel reconnected to them. I finally feel comfortable talking about myself and whats going on. I care less what people will think if I tell them of my divorce. My insomnia has gone away and Im sleeping much better. Im more positive about the future. I feel happy and more confident about things." Woman 30s after 8 sessions.

"It feels like this is helping me definitely. The fog has cleared. Im able to make decisions in such a better way. I feel like I have clarity that I haven't had for years really. My husband and I have been talking about our long-term goals like five-year goals and ten-year goals. I've never wanted to talk about it because I was so buried in my fog. I feel I can take on those challenges now. I dont have that constant mild depression anymore. Before, I was always under stress and didn't recognize it. Now I do. At home I'm able to control my emotions better and deal with what's happening. When the kids are pushing my buttons I step away from it, or just breathe through it and ask myself how do I want to handle it. I'm thinking more before I act. I had a little crisis situation come up recently. Neurofeedback has helped to keep me thinking rationally, logically, and clearheaded. All my life, Ive had a monkey mind that made me worry what was going to happen here or there, what do I need to be doing, lots of thoughts that needed to be processed. I had a feeling of anxiety about everything. But now, I feel confident that I can handle everything and things can be processed. I'm just going with it and accepting every day for what it is. So I haven't been feeling anxious. I just feel more centered, which is nice. If I wasn't doing this I'm sure I'd be a complete mess with the stress Im under. I can always tell when Im overstressed and anxious. My skin feels like its crawling off my body. Neurofeedback keeps me from having my skin crawl off my body." Woman in her 40s after 10 sessions

Does everyone have these powerful, life changing responses? No, not really. Like all neurofeedback, there are high responders, medium responders, and non responders. What you have read above is representative of about 50% of all clients who come to see me. About 25% gain more modest benefits, but are satisfied with the outcome. About 25% will show no gain.