Neurofeedback

[lisindel]

I am really interested in neurofeedback. It seems a very promising for analysing your brain. But it also seems expensive. Has onyone expercience neurofeedback? Is it for example possible to buy a neurofeedback device and use it on yourself, the same way we can use a heart rate monitor on ourself. Or does it take lots and lots of experience and knowledge to work with these things?

Thank you for reading,

[Nick Ox]

well… I’m also looking for a “DIY neurofeedback device”…

Expensive? In nominal terms maybe. Relative value? Read on.

Personally, it might be the best 5k CAD I’ve spent. And half of it was test-and-try.

 

If we can agree that a “big part of what matters in life” is how we feel on a “moment-to-moment” basis: Neurofeedback is more an actual investment really, and for me it DID upgrade my moment-to-moment baseline --- in ~2.5 weeks, surprisingly.

 

*not all neurofeedback services are created equal*

In my case, it was “a 19-electrodes qEEG device, and they claimed: numbers of parameters trained simultaneously = up to 200”.

 

For those of you who wants to SKIP the story: go to </STORY>

 

<STORY>

In the cold province of eastern Canadia, 2018,

I invited myself into a private neurofeedback clinic…

(well... I had an appointment for the “evaluation”, and it was peak summer 25C+)

 

THE EVAL ($500)

So… they did an initial scan of my lobes… and divided them into 5 brain waves strata, to then graph the general activity of my brain into: alpha, beta1, beta2, theta, & delta.

They then compared my brain activity to a general-average (my age group), computed from a database of say “10,000 normal brains” --- let’s call it “Charlie Commons” --- think of those averaged-face-matrixes which are all beautiful somehow. The neuropsy said it represents the “optimal functioning brain”.

From there, its very straightforward, they use *std-dev delta scores* to triangulate the regions of my brain which were either OVER-active or UNDER-active VS Charlie Commons, for each of the 5 wave strata…

Then the Neuropsychologist identifies the salient zones of improvements (threshold >= +or- 1.5 stddev); then venn-diagramed with my goals… and then I was proposed a 3-neuropathway-protocoles as a treatment sequence… which in my case was: (1) anxiety, (2) focus, and (3) memory.

 

“Shall we proceed with the anxiety protocol Mr Customer?” she said… with a plastered “?” money-smile on her face.

 

(That’s when you can decide whether to $dollar or $not-to-dollar, the eval is only a primer)

 

THE PROTOCOLS ($1.5k each)

The deal was one protocol = 10 sessions = ~1.5k/each … so I hopped-in for the anxiety protocol…

1ST round --- the result was that it DID reduce my baseline anxiety, progressively within 2.5 weeks (they recommend at least two nights in between sessions) --- The change was noticeable, NOT drastic, but my anxiety baseline was permanently lowered --> hence it was enough proof of work for me to throw another 1.5k for a 2nd round.

 

2ND round --- protocol was FOCUS --> results was: subjectively not much effect, even if their metrics did show progress. Doubt was starting to creep in, so I asked a few questions ? …

And THEN …

Then, she, the money-smile lady, proposed to me the “DMN protocol” (default more network), which was NOT on the initial eval, hence not previously discussed… and which at the time, I must confess --- I had no idea what the DMN was --- other than the marketable & enticing description provided by this apparently rich lady trying to sell it to me…

She somehow sold it to me on the SPOT ? …

 

(although my Ego would disagree and reflexively retort: “well I rolled the dice based on my initial anxiety protocol results, combined w/ sheer curiosity, and the odds stacked up” --- sshhh, need to be gentle w/ Ego ?)

 

So… 10 sessions, 2.5 weeks, and another 1.5k later…

 

3RD round --- the DMN results were DRASTIC --- I was elevated and serene --- I was floating ?

It was the best soft spoken good feeling I ever experienced, let me try to be specific…

(1) My semi-dormant roaming childhood background fear == instantly dispelled, permanently.

(2) Nightmares == also gone.

(3) More groundedness, more consciousness, more cognitive alertness.

Like I said: floating.

Just imagine having a vague luck-warm fear always roaming in the back of your mind, projecting itself into your whole of reality w/o your own awareness… and suddenly it’s GONE --- zero sides effects --- just gone ?

 

(ohhh and Ego is now very grateful toward the money-smile lady; in fact he has a new nickname for her: "Francine")

 

</STORY>

 

So… expensive? ? Depends by what you mean by "expensive".

IMO a more serene moment-to-moment baseline facilitates everything else, including “making the world a more conscious place”.

How many dollars do you currently spend monthly on upgrading your moment-to-moment baseline feeling? How many *hours* did you spent just last month?

--> Nootropics, psychedelics, drugs, alternative medicine sessions, meditation retreats, natural foods, etc. --- and that’s excluding all the material stuff.

All in all, if you have all your basic needs covered for say, the next 2 years, and if you can tolerate the usual bullshit of an “high-margin clinic” model --> then neurofeedback could translate to be a “happy emojis all the way down” experience ?

...

Therefore, I’m shopping for a DIY solution myself (!).

There is complex enough science behind these protocols; hence as a first timer, I would go for the initial $500 evaluation, and try the first protocol to get the gist and feel before going DIY.

My clinic seemed to be using protocols which were designed to get you back towards equilibrium (stddev = 0), preventing any “too much” scenarios. In a DIY situation, I would be curious to know HOW it would be possible to “go too far” using a given protocol (?).

 

Hope this was a useful perspective ?