Do your worries about money or work or relationships get in the way of living your life sometimes?

Are you like the rest of us and find yourself worried about your marriage sometimes? Your kids? Perhaps you are worried about your aging parents, about their health or about their finances…or about your own finances. Do things pile up in ways that you find it difficult to breathe at times? Perhaps you’re like me, and you’re getting to be of a certain age, 😳 , and you are starting to worry about your eyesight going or whatever else might be going… Modern living is an extreme sport, and at the very moment we need our mental resilience to be strong and reliable, it can seem to be…well…not so reliable.

Most people, and even most experts, despite mountains of research, see these kinds of experiences very narrowly…as something that exists in a person’s mind, rather than as a normal reaction to real problems they are facing in their lives. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for the last 23 years, I have seen how developing a broader perspective on these challenges…a perspective that removes the blame…whether of self or other…can be key in moving toward freedom from this kind of endless cycle. But what if the feelings are so overwhelming at times that working on developing perspective to resolve these very real problems is just beyond our reach? Using NeurOptimal® neurofeedback training can give you the leg up when it comes to mental resilience when many of today’s common ways of thinking and coping fail.

What is Mental Resilience?

Mental Resilience is quite simply the ability to think through a potentially nerve racking, or stressful situation, or relationship as objectivly and broadly as possible. Mental resilience is the ability to keep going towards one’s goals or to keep living according to one’s values even when the going gets tough. I think of Tom Hank’s character in the movie Cast Away…or most of his movies actually! 😊  Or Mia Wasikowska’s character (Alice) in Alice in Wonderland. In both of these stories, the protaganists stayed emotionally aware and connected while at the same time connected to their goals, desires, and hopes.

Mental resilience is a concept that refers to the idea of Differentiation of Self in Bowen Family Systems theory. It relates to the ability of a person to face challenging relationship situations with relative calm, clarity, and open communication. As you may or may not be aware, Dr. Bowen made a life long study of how normal, human anxiety impacts a family and how a family impacts anxiety. His work has made a profound contribution to understanding the human being and all his or her challenges in a more objective and non-pathologizing way. Dr. Bowen’s work is based in the Evolutionary and Biological sciences. The ability of a person to define or differentiate a self or to develop their mental resilience under stress can be beautifully enhanced using NeurOptimal® neurofeedback. In fact, NeurOptimal® is the preferred neurofeedback of the Bowen Center faculty in Washington D.C.  

How Does Neurofeedback Help?

NeurOptimal® promotes relaxation, which as part of a healthy lifestyle, may help living with anxiety. A Harvard Medical School Special Health Report* identifies relaxation as an important part of this. In addition, NeurOptimal® promotes better sleep habits which, according to the Mayo Clinic** may also contribute significantly to living well with anxiety. While NeurOptimal® is not a treatment or a cure for anxiety, our clients see:

• Enhanced abilty to remain calm in situations when they’d normally feel stressed and reactive
• Significant improvement in their ability to solve life’s challenges and problems
• This improvement in their ability to problem solve adds to increased confidence and self-esteem
• Better able to meditate
• Better able to develop habits that help such as exercise, diet, and social activity 
• More nights of deep and restful sleep than not
• Waking feeling refreshed and ready for the day
• Greater ability to breath more fully and slowly
• Greater stability in how they are feeling from one moment or situation to the next

Dynamical neurofeedback®, using Neuroptimal® systems, works with the Central Nervous System, giving it feedback that triggers the brain’s own optimization processes. And with our advanced technology, it can now be done in the comfort of your own home! Through literally millions of hours of brain training over the last 20+ years, NeurOptimal® neurofeedback has proven to be a powerful tool that people use when working towards mental resilience.

Dynamical neurofeedback® can help with mental resilience by helping individuals develop the calm, confidence, and clarity needed to begin to reshape the networks of their very real life and real relationship stressors in which the fears and worries have developed. When the Central Nervous System gets the support it needs, the usual methods to help a person grow and improve become more useful and effective. 

Tips for Individuals and Families

• During your brain training, TRACK YOUR SHIFTS. I know. All caps. But tracking your shifts is the most rewarding and interesting part of neurofeedback training. I can’t recommend it enough! We offer simple forms or coaching to help with this.
• Consider inviting other family members to train. 
• Don’t be too worried if you are the only one though. Positive or meaningful shifts in one family member can lead to the same in others over time.
• Don’t think so much about how many sessions you need to do. Brain training is best understood as brain fitness. You can’t go to the gym 20 times, then never go again, and expect to maintain the same level of fitness. Brain training is ongoing. The results will last, just like working out. But you’ll need to step back into the gym every once in a while to maintain and to move forward. How often is totally an individual thing and depends on your level of stress, your contact with family, and more.
• Check out our book review on Johann Hari’s Lost Connections.
• Also, have a look at our page on Emotional Resilience.
• Consider adding our coaching services to your neurofeedback sessions. It can enhance the experience tremendously. Just reach out to us to inquire.

*https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/anxiety-and-stress-disorders

**https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350967

Maybe you’re about ready to start your brain training experience but still have a few questions.