Neurofeedback benefits kids with ADD

Children who have ADHD often have difficulty regulating brain activity. A new study, conducted by German and Swiss researchers, demonstrates that neurofeedback training may help. Neurofeedback is a method of training the brain, or shaping brain wave activity which for some children results in improved behavior and reduction of hyperactivity and impulsivity. The technique doesn't work for everyone and is not a replacement for drug treatment, but may be used as a companion, as MSNBC reports.

Children in the study worked on a game like computer program that had them activate or deactivate portions of the brain and they were rewarded with points. After two weeks of the computer program they used red and blue cards to practice the brain activation and deactivation. The other group of children took part in group therapy sessions. Results indicated that parents and teachers, although to a lesser extent, reported great improvement in the children who took part in neurofeedback. It was also noted that kids did better when parents encouraged, rewarded, and reminded them to practice with the red and blue cards. In all eight children learned to successfully regulate brain activity while nine did not.


Charles P Fox

EEG Biofeedback Forms New Connections

“Treating Barbara’s family made it clear to me that mind, brain, and relationships are not separate elements of life—

they are irreducible aspects of one interconnected triangle of well

 Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation (Bantum, 2010)

Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. Author of

   What about someone whose brain is so impaired it becomes an obstacle to beginning a mindfulness practice? Some trauma‐related or organic neurologic dysfunction will significantly reduce the likelihood that one will develop an effective meditation/mindfulness practice. The woman referred to in the above quote, Barbara, suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a car crash. Her brain injury subsequently affected each individual in her family unit and their well‐being.

Dr. Dan Siegel eloquently writes about how our mind, brain and relationships co

 ‐injury, when spontaneous remediation is no longer expected. The symptoms which accompany a head injury which neurofeedback may help are: loss of energy, headaches, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, obsessive thoughts, depression, rage, seizures, insomnia and even personality changes. Sometimes people are not even aware‐or‐flight reaction. It improves the ability of a person to quiet their mind, therefore, better prepare them for a daily practice of what Dr. Dan Siegal calls “Mindsight”. In other words, neurofeedback increases the brain’s capacity and prepares a person for a daily mindfulness practice, which in turn facilitates change to manifest in their life.

EEG biofeedback, also known as neurofeedback, activates the brain’s natural ability to form new connections in response to experience. This proven form of brain training has restored brain function in many individuals who have suffered from a traumatic brain injury. The training appears to be effective even years post.

 Or, perhaps they have no memory of the event as is the case of a forceps birth or did not make the connection that their issues developed after general anesthesia. In these instances neurofeedback may be helpful in addressing what we call the hardware or anatomical functioning of the brain to increase the readiness of an individual to add a mindfulness practice to their daily life.

Populations of people who have experienced trauma or have severe anxiety, addiction, fears and phobias have what we consider a software issue – their brain too easily goes into an acute survival response.

Neurofeedback appears to work by training the cortex to remain engaged and not be bypassed. In the process of awakening the mind, people need to let go of control. Most people have beliefs about what letting go of control would look and feel like, but BrainPaint gives a person an experience of it through realtime feedback. For example, when a person is increasing his or her present awareness it will trigger sound and visual cues and when there is an increase in gamma bursts, a brainwave frequency associated with an increase in new neural connections which happens when the brain is learning a new behavior, there is a corresponding increase in the brightness of the fractals on the screen. Think of neurofeedback as learning mindfulness with training wheels.

Military Sexual Trauma Related to PTSD

 By Robert Weiss LCSW, CSAT-S


Many military veterans suffer from PTSD related to experiences of sexual trauma. An even greater concern is the alarming amount of stigma surrounding the discussion and treatment of PTSD and addiction within the military community.

In recent decades, these addictions and coping mechanisms have become more sexualized, manifesting in many cases as porn addiction. By addressing this dynamic, we can help veterans who are dealing with addiction by demystifying the stigma surrounding their methods of coping, i.e. addiction.
While it has been reported that a number of men and women have sued the Department of Defense for “allowing a military culture that fails to prevent rape,” a Pentagon spokesman said that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was working to ensure that the military was “doing all it can to prevent and respond to it,” reported The New York Times. But the problems persist and more and more vets and their loved ones are seeking solutions.
It is important to note that trauma and addiction affect men and women; and it is equally difficult for both to speak out against it. One female vet recounted this story: “You fear for life a lot of times. I constantly reevaluated everything as to whether I should suck it up or take the risk of saying something. I sucked it up for a while; I just thought, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes.’” The result of bottling up trauma leads many to deal with their psychological pain with addictive behaviors.

More Clinical Help Is Needed
Vets that speak out about the widespread issue have remarked that “more clinical help is needed,” especially for female vets whose “programs [too often] attempt to mirror men’s programs” that are typically “geared toward drug and alcohol abuse and addiction.”
The statistics on military sexual trauma (MST) among women are staggering, with 42% reportedly experiencing it. Additionally, studies have found that MST was more likely to lead to PTSD than other military or civilian traumatic events, which would include witnessing engagement related deaths.

Porn Addiction in Veterans

Given the proactive nature of military life, some veterans have started blogs sharing stories about their struggles with porn addiction, shedding light on the broader military addiction epidemic. Sites like Feed The Right Wolf have seen upwards of 200,000 visitors. Feed’s owner contended while he’s “not an expert…it is important to share the message about the dangers of porn addiction,” mainly because “there aren’t many other sites talking about [it].”
Experts have also weighed in on the gravity of this problem. In the article, Addicted to Online Porn: X-rated Internet Explosion Wreaks Havoc with Troops’ Careers & Lives, author Jon R. Anderson stated that “the seamy side of Porn 2.0 is picking off military marriages and killing promising careers like a shadow army of well-placed snipers.”
Reflecting on these issues, Capt. Diana Colon, a therapist who heads an Army mental health clinic in Schweinfurt, Germany, said recent engagements like Afghanistan and Iraq “have created a new generation of dysfunctional pornography abusers.” The tragic reality of porn abuse has been that many retired veterans and their spouses divorce as a result of the addiction. According to a 2002 survey of 1,600 top divorce lawyers, more than half of all divorces involved a spouse hooked on porn sites.

*BrainPaint an EEG Biofeedback system for PTSD has proven to be an easy solution for treatment.