I Believe PTSD Is Curable - An Anonymous Source

[philostam]

TRY THIS!

Cover your left eye with your fingers (push it down a little bit), and just stare (don't look, watch, just stare) with your right. Patiently. You might stare at a World Cup match too, but try to ease your eye, just let in the perception as a whole. Try not to blink too much. Just let yourself stare as long as possible. Some phosphorescence turns up in your left-eye area, recognize it, but don't let it bother.

Something might happen to your perception, like an optical switch or I don't know, but definitely a brain-issue. And a surprising calmness. I think I've found NORMAL BRAIN FUNCTIONING. But go see for yourself.

 

[anni]

So, anything with which one is deeply capable of with one hand, attempt with the other?

'Watching World Cup'- I'm sorry to be obtuse, but does that mean watch something which requires processing in the way one processes a series of events or can it be anything?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these! :)

 

[philostam]

Yes. The more frustrating the better. You have to be a child (your brain has to be a learning, harmonically functioning one) to do that. But now I'm totally overwhelmed about the effects of the eye-experience, so I'd recommend everybody to try that.

Your view can be anything, but if your basic anxiety level is too high, it might be hard to calm down without something that distracts you a little. World Cup is good because it distracts you a bit away from yourself, but it isn't too distracting; and it hasn't got much cuts, your focus doesn't change much. The best would be a TV-channel without cuts.

 

[curiouser]

This thread is interesting and maybe explains why I am basically symptom free at this point from my PTSD. I have been doing EFT for a few months now (I try to be regular about it) and have felt a lot better. I came across some info that Gary Grosebeck wrote on EFT and brain waves. Gary Grosebeck, is a BCIA Certified Biofeedback/stress management practitioner who has taught stress management at Columbia College. He did some initial field studies in biofeedback and neurofeedback research on EFT, by taking EEG brain wave measurements on people while they did EFT.

They found that doing EFT increases brain symmetry, over the course of even just one session, people have increased hemispheric integration or balance. Also a rapid change in brave waves was noticed during the therapy, explained below.

"we observed a general decrease of energy in the highest frequencies, sometimes called beta one and two. This band of energy is often associated with emotional intensity, anxiety, stress, negative ruminating and possible history of addictions. This energy band shows a decrease as emotional issues of the moment are released during tapping. As another layer of the story unfolds, beta can flare again as the new issue emerges, followed by more tapping, until it again is reduced to a new healthy level. This makes it possible to determine whether or not the person has another layer of issues to access for further tapping.

As people tune into their issues we also see an increase of energy flares in the slower frequencies called alpha and theta. These frequencies show an internal focus and the emergence of memories often associated with the symptoms at hand. Without an alpha bridge emotional memories in the theta range are often lost, or remain unconscious. So it is important that we can see an increase of this alpha bridging occurring with the EFT. This allows people to more readily connect with the issues that need to be resolved. We can visibly see the theta brain wave spikes, even when the person may not be conscious of the emotional connection to what they are saying.

Finally as core issues begin to be resolved we are able to see, in some people, the development of what we call the high performance mind, also called the “Awakened Mind” pattern. This pattern occurs in moments of emotional, personal, creative, and spiritual insight. It is the pattern we see in long time meditators. It is the pattern of a brain that is humming along at optimal performance, like a well tuned engine. It would appear that as EFT quickly aids in resolving long term emotional issues it also can tune the brain to its highest levels of performance. Other measurements of the stress response, such as heart rate coherence, show reductions of stress, and an increase of healthy functioning on all levels." ~Gary Grosebeck

Joaquin Andrade M.D. and David Feinstein, PH.D., have done some similar research on this involving digital brain scans with EEG on a patient diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The patient received 12 sessions over 4 weeks that involved stimulation of acupoints (EFT) while anxiety provoking imagery was activated. Results showed a decrease in intensity and frequency of GAD symptoms that reflected the brain's shifts towards normal brain wave frequency ratios in the cortex that was happening over time with the therapy. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and medication were also shown to be similarly effective with shifts, however it took longer to achieve similar results and on the one year follow up, it showed that people treated with CBT and medication were more likely to return to their pretreatment states, than those who were treated with energy treatments (like EFT).

I have heard of several others, who have either basically "cured" their PTSD or have been able to manage it very well doing EFT therapy. So maybe there is something to the whole brain hemisphere symmetry/integration thing.

As far as PTSD being curable, I'd have to say based on my personal experience, yes, I do believe it's possible, however I am in a mindset where I believe that saying and believing something is "incurable" is limiting, and would not help you reach complete healing. How could it, if you didn't believe it was possible?

 

[philostam]

It is necessary that PTSD is curable, no matter what anybody says who doesn't understand it.

Necessarily curable.

It's necessary that it's curable, because the brain damage didn't have a physical cause: WE are doing something wrong, compulsively, constantly, and when experiencing EFT, EMDR, other-hand-banjo, one-eye-staring, then our brain switches back to its normal functioning, and we are able to finally do the right thing.

The cause: a conflict.

Here's my assumptions on PTSD: when we experience the whole world falling on our heads, our hypothalamus orders us to immediately do something to stay alive. Just after that very primitive command comes the brain into the picture: we see just after the command that it is UNFULFILLABLE. Thus, a deep conflict occurs in us: we MUST survive, but we CAN'T. If you don't take that MUST-CAN'T conflict biochemically seriously, then you can't understand PTSD.

You have to know the fact, that memories are commands in themselves, chemical compounds which silently or loudly drive our neural pathways (command transmitters). That's why we have the trauma in very strange memory-fragments: because these commands can't be fulfilled, can't be interpreted, the defensive system simply can't do anything about them. Hypothalamus did it all wrong, it was a wrong, simply false judgement that "I must do something or I die", because there's nothing to do, I can do anything, but can't avoid the whole world falling over my head in that situation. The possibility of total annihilation is real.

The symptoms of that conflict are: PTSD.

But don't blame the hypothalamus, simply during our evolution we couldn't adapt to unadaptable situations, simply because it's impossible. Instead try to approach that must-can't conflict with your left, smart brain, which already can see the truth, and it can stop the wrong-doing of the hypothalamus. - So let's see, what's the situation in our brain since the trauma?

Our right brain (the more instinctive strategies with which we need to react immediately) fires, fires, fires, but in vain. We don't even know what is happening with us, it is just firing all the time, causing hemispheric dominance problems, problems of control; I've discussed it above.

That conflict can be resolved.

And why helps those brain-focused therapies, even the most simplest home-made exercise? Because finally they involve the LEFT brain, which was totally out of the picture, the commands didn't even reach it (didn't really reach the right either). With that, normal, evolved brain functioning is restored, and you finally can see without compulsive avoidance (or: the symptoms of PTSD) that you really couldn't do anything, you have been raped, nearly died, abused, etc., and it's a totally normal thing. Because total annihilation exists. - You accept it. You free yourself from your own prison.

Thus, PTSD is curable.

 

[WhiteFlag]

You guys blow me away... great insight. Thank-you.

 

[philostam]

(methods)

PLAYING WITH OTHER HAND

Left brain - foveal view (direct view); right brain - peripheral view. Foveal view is active when we're doing distinct, little, complex movements (left brain). LRS activated the foveal view with concentrating seriously on his fingers on the banjo-neck, calculating the little spatial differences etc. Thus he activated the left brain. Right brain stopped firing. Calmness. Clear perception.

ONE EYE PERCEPTION

Staring with right eye (or can be the left, doesn't matter): without 3D perception the brain has to CALCULATE the spatial distances, differences between shapes etc., in one word: it has to process the 2D perception to a 3D one. Left brain. Right brain stops. Calmness. Clear perception. Unexplainable experience. Try this, immediately, whatever antipathetic I may be to you!

 

[anni]

Yes, believe it or not, I see, please excuse the pun. I'm a silly person to ask too finite a question, having zero background in the sciences beyond what the powers-who-be deemed necessary for a liberal arts education. It's taxing my powers of discersion, to be sure, following all this but I don't think I'm seeing that the pathways do remain 'plugged in'? And are 'they' the 'healing' of the original damage, or a re-routing of something neurological, such as it's known the brain can do when there is damage of some sort?

I'm actually asking a question, not arguing a point. :) Some of this is tough to follow and I may have missed an awful lot in 'translation'.

 

[Jline]

I painted for a couple hours again with my left hand but this time I also covered my left eye. Feel very calm today again. No doubt in my mind this exercise is the reason! I have not felt this CALM feeling I am experiencing in forever. Thanks Philostam for letting us know we can cover either eye.

 

[lrs]

I appreciate the interest.
It has been 6 years, and 3 months, since that day I told my wife I no longer had PTSD.
She did not believe it at the time, but I knew over time it would prove to be true.
I have not had ptsd symptoms since that time, and I am a completely different person, than what I was before.

There is a relevant thread to what occurred with me.
I bumped it last night, and I hope those of you who have shown an interest in this will take some time and go through it.
It was started by Dr Roerich, and discusses the relationship of right and left brain.
I believe it to be very informative, and it is my favorite thread on this forum.

Thanks LRS

 

[Jline]

I just can't believe how calm I feel. I guess our brains need the right kind of exercise. I have improved about 100%, amazing... I do my exercises every night, haha. Thank you so much :) I will check out that thread for sure!

 

[philostam]

Same improvement here.

People! I understand that you might not try the exhausting switching-into-another-hand, but I beg you, just cover your left eye and stare with your right. You can watch tv our read this forum with that, it's easier even than meditation. Just try it for a week, an hour a day.