Stress Management Book for Black People

 Is there a need for a stress management book for black people?

There are plenty of books on stress management.  They should be good enough for everyone no matter what color right?  Stress is stress and how to reduce the negative effects should be the same for everyone, you would think.

There are a lot of differences in our backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and environments.  Some of these have nothing to do with the color of our skin and some do.

Some of the sources of stress for black people are the same as they are for other races.  Some of them are very different.  For people who are not black it is often hard to understand those stresses that seem to be unique to the race.  Some of the stressors are relatively small like other people being obviously uncomfortable getting on an elevator with you.  Others are much bigger like being racially profiled and being stopped for driving while black, being arrested, or shot unjustly.   Black people also are stressed due to discrimination related to education, employment, banking, and housing.

Not only are the sources of stress often different, the negative effects may also be more dangerous for black people.  The average book about stress doesn’t address these issues.

An example of a subtle educational source of stress is that most of the history taught about black people starts with slavery.  What a downer!  Black people are taught that they were stolen from Africa and placed into slavery.  Finally due to the kindness of some nice white people including Abraham Lincoln they were freed.  This does nothing good for self-esteem.  People from other cultures are often taught much more positive things about the history of their people.  They are usually taught about what their ancestors did in the countries they came from and why they came to America.  For black people there seems to be no history before slavery except that our ancestors came from Africa.  Even the way Africa is portrayed is negative.  We were fed images of jungles and savages with no organization or civilization.  Africa is talked about as though it is a single country when it is a continent made up of more than 50 countries today.  There is so much more for black students to learn about Africa, the specific countries, the history, people, inventors, scholars civilizations, etc. that would improve the self-confidence and self-worth of black people.  Not having that information is a source of stress.  Looking at other people and learning positive things about their history and cultures but not your own can make you feel less than other people.  There is no surprise that many people believe that this is all by design.  Books like The Mis-education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson discuss this.

It is important for black people to address and manage their stress because we are more susceptible to some of the illnesses that are thought to be stress related like hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.  A book directly dealing with the unique sources and results of stress and ways to address them in a way that is culturally sensitive and effective way by black people and for black people is needed.  There may be some already and I think there is room for another one.  I have work to do.

Harry L. Campbell

914-762-4646 – Harry@biofeedbackinternational.com

Author of What Stress Can Do, Available on Amazon.com

Biofeedback Resources International Corp.

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How Biofeedback Training Reduces Stress

The Problem of Stress

Biofeedback training is an effective method for reducing the negative effects of stress.  There are many sources of stress including politics, natural disasters, terrorist acts, work, family, and financial problems, and traffic.  In this world of 24 hour TV and radio news plus news on our computers, we are constantly bombarded with stressful, negative information.  If that wasn’t enough we have smart phones, tablets, and smart watches with us at all times to make sure that we don’t miss anything.  Wherever we are we can stay up on what is happening.  Besides the information we get from news sources, we also get blogs and podcasts.  In addition to these stress sources, the people who we interact with who cause us stress are able to call, text, or email us 24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Biofeedback Training Method of Reducing Stress

People need methods of reducing the negative effects of stress.  Many of the solutions that are offered are medications.  Even when they are effective they often come with unwanted side-effects.  Thankfully there are some non-drug methods of reducing stress.  Biofeedback training is one such method.  Biofeedback instruments measure muscle tension, skin temperature, skin conductance (sweat), breathing, heart rate, and brainwave activity.  With biofeedback training people learn to control the way their body reacts to stress by viewing a biofeedback device while they practice relaxation exercises.

Where can you get biofeedback training?

Biofeedback training is available through some healthcare professionals like psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health counselors, social workers, physical therapists, and nurses.

You can find a good biofeedback provider by searching the directories of your local regional biofeedback society or association.  Go to www.aapb.org  which is the website for the Association for Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback.  They have a list of biofeedback providers there as well as a list of regional biofeedback societies or chapters.  You can also check to see if they are certified by the BCIA (Biofeedback Certification International Alliance) on the www.bcia.org website.  Although this certification does not guarantee excellence it does indicate that the provider has met a minimum requirement of education, biofeedback training, experience, mentoring, and that they have passed an exam.  I recommend that if a person is interested in doing biofeedback training that they first visit a trained healthcare provider who offers biofeedback training.  The professional can perform a proper psychophysiological stress profile assessment to find out which biofeedback modality will be most appropriate for the person.  They then can give them professionally supervised biofeedback training in their office.  Once they learn the basics and make some progress in learning biofeedback the professional can recommend a home device that the person can use to continue their biofeedback training at home.

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Theoretical Implications of Neurofeedback Integrating Bowen Theory

 

Theoretical Implications of Neurofeedback Integrating Bowen Theory

Andrea Maloney-Schara, LCSWA

11/4/97

Simple statements often conceal a great deal of complexity. The notion that the brain learns from experience is one such statement. The brain develops the internal connections by fitting with the external world. Learning then can be defined as the struggle to make sense of human interactions. The efforts to integrate feeling and thinking, or values and impulses, are what gives each person their own unique self. Reflecting on much of life’s experience, furthers one’s goal and thereby enables humans to escape a deterministic world.

PET scans, MRI and EEG look at evidence that the brain does reflect the nature of relationship sensitivity, physical and emotional challenges and eons of evolution. For the EEG one arena, sleep states; have been very well documented. Eventually waking states of conscious will be as well investigated.

As in many areas of medicine much has been learned from symptoms. Diseases have taught us about the functioning of the different parts of the brain. Neither of the brain’s two information systems, chemical nor electrical has a one to one correspondence with functional states in the human. Rather the state of the body reflects the overall adaptation that any individual has made. Certain areas bind anxiety, and no one area can reflect a life history. An EEG may give us more insight into the overall way that feelings and thinking have been integrated and how we pay attention.

In 1929, Hans Berger measured the brain’s electrical activity. The activity was recorded in the form of line waves and now these same waves can be fed back to the brain as information. EEG Neurofeedback is a relatively new discipline that enables us to understand how the brain functions and also promotes the brain’s ability to learn from observing itself.

Neurofeedback has been documented to be useful for serious symptoms. People have been able to function after sever head trauma. Epileptics have been taught to reduce the severity and numbers of seizures. Headaches, and other types of physical pain, have been reduced. In addition to physical symptoms, emotional and physical symptoms, such as ADD, have been reported to decrease by Lubar, Tansy and others. There are a wide number of manufactures of equipment and most have reported positive results in working with various symptom groups.

Bowen Theory can go beyond symptoms to look at the relationship’s system and promote a larger systems view of EEG and the role of learning in an emotional system. Symptom reduction may simply be the evidence needed to show that EEG has merit. In the future EEG may in fact be a window to open the door to a broader systems perspective on the way in which relationship energy impacts of functioning.

Bowen Theory points to the fact that an individual function as a part of an emotional system. The fact that anxiety can be spread from one individual to another testifies to the increasing interest in self-regulation and self help. Individuals realize that anxiety is part of being alive in a relationship’s system and that altering the tendency to absorb others anxiety for the pleasure of being in positive relationships with another is often not worth the price that will be paid

The thesis would be that relationship’s systems organize the interplay of physical and emotional energy so that individuals within that system can live and work in some degree of harmony. The EEG is a tool, which can momentarily promote an increase in functioning in one individual. The relationship system will adjust. The individual must be strong enough to manage the resistance to change within the system. If this can be accomplished over time then other people who are emotionally linked will also be able to do better. The family as an emotional system maintains certain patter of relationships, which then reinforce broad patterns of brain wave activity.

At the most basic level EEG neurofeedback teaches motor skills and mental flexibility. Individuals can learn a variety of focused states plus enhance the ability to reflect on the consequences of particular thinking patterns. The training teaches the individual to enhance or inhibit certain brain wave patterns. Learning occurs through feedback which rewards increased self-control. The brain waves are seen as waves or as bars or graphs on a computer. Sensory feedback teaches the brain faster than the conscious mind can learn. Just watching and noticing how what one thinks or does effects the feedback this type of leaning appears to remain after one session. Leaning in this case may mean that the individual has less pain or more energy.

The individual who has a positive mental/physical experience may be learning to pay attention at multiple levels of awareness. For example, the thalamus may have received new messages and the basic rhythm of the system may be altered. New peptides may be produced. New information will be circulating. No one has the necessary evidence, the blood work, gene testing, pet scans, etc. to say for sure just what systems are changed by the EEG experience. Over time the individual has a greater ability to change automatic reactions to stimulus in the relationship system. For many people just this experience is enough to make a significant functional change possibly.

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BiofeedbackTraining New York

Where is biofeedback training available in New York?  That depends on what part of New York you are talking about and what kind of biofeedback training you are talking about.

New York is more than one place.  New York City is very different than Buffalo or Rochester.  Some parts of the state look more like the south than the city.

The other thing is, are you looking for training as a client or patient or as a student so that you can learn how to provide services?

If you are looking to be trained as a client because you have symptoms like headaches, anxiety, insomnia, or other symptoms that biofeedback is helpful for then you would be looking for a biofeedback provider.  The type of training is usually available from a psychologist, social worker, physical therapist, pain management specialist, or chiropractor.  You might be able to find them through a Google search.  You can also find a biofeedback provider in New York through the Northeast Regional Biofeedback Society.  This is an organization made up of biofeedback providers in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania areas.  There is a listing of these providers on their website www.nrbs.orgWhen you get to the site, click on the Find a Practitioner button.  You can also do searches on the Association of Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback www.aapb.org or Biofeedback Certification International Alliancewww.bcia.org

If you are looking for biofeedback training so that you can learn to provide biofeedback to clients then it is best to find an organization that is accredited to provide biofeedback training that meets the requirements of the Biofeedback Certification Alliance.  It is possible to find a university offering biofeedback training, but it is more likely that you will find more non-university programs available.  A listing of programs that are accredited is available on the www.bcia.org website.  These programs cover all of the didactic information required for you to learn.  Some of them also include lab sessions where you are able to learn how to use the equipment by practicing with it.  Some programs are offered in-person in New York.  Others are offered online for those who cannot or prefer not to travel away from home to attend.

I hope that these suggestions will help you find the type of biofeedback training you are looking for.

Harry L. Campbell

914-762-4646 – Harry@biofeedbackinternational.com

Author of What Stress Can Do, Available on Amazon.com

Biofeedback Resources International Corp.

More Info :  BiofeedbackTraining New York

What is a Biofeedback Instrument?

 

A biofeedback instrument is a device that uses sensors to measure a signal from the body related to your nervous system that then shows you the information as it is being measured.  It is different than getting your blood pressure checked or taking your pulse and getting one reading for one moment in time.  The measurement and feedback of information are continuous.

This information can be used for monitoring and might not even be shown to the person that it is being measured from.  This is sometimes done in research.  Let’s say a researcher wants to find out how a person’s body reacts to watching a scary movie or counting backward by 7’s. They could attach sensors to a subject and monitor signals like heart rate or sweat activity to acquire a measurement related to the physiological reaction of the stimulus.  When used in this way it would be more accurate to refer to the process as physiological monitoring instead of biofeedback.

Biofeedback instruments are also used in certain types of therapy for things like pain and stress management or to improve attention or performance.  When they are used for these applications the person from who the sensors are measuring needs to be able to get visual or auditory feedback indicating the changes that are happening.  If the signal goes higher or lower the person gets a visual signal on the instrument or a computer that it may be connected to and or a sound that indicates the change.  With this information and some coaching from a therapist, the person can learn to change the signal.  They can learn to increase or decrease it using their mind.

What kind of signals can be measured from the body?

Surface EMG (Electromyography) – Action potentials produced when muscles contract.

Skin Temperature – Temperature increases when blood vessels dilate with relaxation and decreases when blood vessels constrict in response to stress.

Skin Conductance – Increases when sweat increases on the hands in response to emotional reaction.

Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability – Changes with changes in the autonomic nervous system.  It is related to vagal tone and can be affected by emotional state and breathing as well as physical activity

Respiration – Measures depth and rate of breathing.

Capnometer – Measures the amount of CO2 in the air that is exhaled through the nostrils into two tubes connected to an instrument.

EEG (Electroencephalograph) – Measures action potentials produced when neurons in the brain fire as part of their communication and function.

These are the most common signals that are measured with biofeedback instruments.  There are various manufacturers and models.  Some are self-contained, some interface with personal computers, and some work with smartphones and tablets.  Some are intended for professional use in a licensed health care office and others are designed to be used at home by non-professionals.

I hope that you now have a basic understanding of what a biofeedback instrument is and what it is used for.  Feel free to comment or ask questions.

Harry L. Campbell

914-762-4646 – Harry@biofeedbackinternational.com

Author of What Stress Can Do, Available on Amazon.com

Biofeedback Resources International Corp.

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Can Increasing the Daily Amount of Neurofeedback Training Improve the Clinical Outcome and Other Case Histories?

 R. Adam Crane BCIA, ACN, NRNP

The following case histories may have useful implications for neurofeedback because they imply possible clinical effectiveness with immune disorders, anorexia, and obsessive, compulsive disorders. In addition the neurofeedback timing strategies used suggest that the length, frequency and total number of sessions may be as important in achieving best neurotherapy results as titration is in the administration of medications.

 

A Dangerous Obsession

He had reached an advanced stage of anorexia. As a 54 year old construction worker, he was normally 6′ and a well muscled 155 lbs. At the beginning of therapy he was 118 lbs., eyes sunken, somewhat manic, claiming his diet of mostly lettuce was making him high and filling him with energy. He was almost completely isolated as his behavior had destroyed his marriage and alienated him from his friends. He had not worked for five years at his trade as he was on disability. He was almost broke even though he earned between sixty and one hundred thousand per year when he was working. He was obsessed with a well known cult which had counseled him to distance himself from his family, and against seeking therapeutic help. He had invested over $200,000.00, virtually his life savings, in the cults system of “therapy and enlightenment.”

He discussed the possibility of suicide on several occasions in the beginning and was experiencing many stress related disorders including sleeplessness, irritability, hyperactivity, intense loneliness, and much obsessive/compulsive symptomology including going over and over often unimportant details. He fluctuated between overtly aggressive, hyper behavior as he tried to convert people to his ideas, and passively aggressive behavior when individuals attempted to establish relationship with him. A strong concern at the beginning of therapy was that irreversible organ damage might have already occurred because of his complexion, gaunt, haunted appearance and the obviously massive loss of muscle tissue, even though he continued to exercise vigorously (as is the case with many anorexics). Biofeedback therapy was for him a desperate last resort.

Within three weeks of beginning neurofeedback training (adjunctive to counseling) his demeanor had changed remarkably, he had begun to gain weight and he entered enthusiastically into the life rebuilding process. He began sleeping better, felt much calmer and more optimistic, less lonely and isolated. He began to form new relationships and he was opening up and talking to people in ways that were impossible before. He wanted to report on his “Love Stories”. An interesting example follows: He would go to playgrounds and sit and watch children play. This made him feel so happy at times that he would weep. This appears to be healthy abreactive phenomena happening hours or days after actual neurofeedback training. People he met or had known before seemed to be easier to be with. He saw that he had changed and was giving others the chance to be affectionate and not blocking them with his rigidity, restlessness and passive aggression. He began to eat a more balanced diet and gained weight reaching 150 lbs. within the first year.

Although he had studied “meditation” extensively, he almost never did it because he felt it was boring and a waste of time. It was suggested that he forget about meditation as he knew it and just do the EEG work. After the first week he had learned enough to do his version of the “EEG work” without hooking up. He said that now instead of forcing himself to meditate he looks for opportunities to sit and simply make his alpha. He reports surprising benefits like those he had hoped to receive from meditation are flowing from these alpha sessions. He realizes now that what he had thought was meditation was not, because he was merely sitting still and straining to concentrate, which is why it was boring, unpleasant and flat.

He has since obtained his own EEG home trainer and continues a remarkable transformation of life style. Interestingly, at first he didn’t realize how important the EEG work was. Like many clients he discounted the neurotherapy and looked for other things to attribute his improvement to. This is common and frustrating for NFB practitioners. During the neurofeedback training he constantly wanted to talk. Instead, he was encouraged to train first and discuss later. The results spoke for themselves.

About nineteen months after he began neurofeedback therapy, he looked quite fit for his 56 years, his complexion was good and his personality, even his voice seemed remarkably changed. He was working full time and furthering his education pursuant to changing his profession. A follow up revealed that at age 60 he was continuing to work (maybe too hard) and he reports that he has solved his economic problems; and the combination of his working and investing will generate a considerable net worth within a relatively short time. He is engaged and intends to marry this year. He continues in the construction business and is unusually fit for his age. He believes neurofeedback and the counseling that accompanied it is responsible for saving and assisting him in transforming the quality of his life.

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Adding The Intelligence of the Heart in Performance Enhancement Training

R. Adam Crane BCIA Senior Fellow, BCIAEEG, NRNP Diplomate

Science of The Heart: The Role of the Heart in Human Performance

Introduction

For centuries the heart has been considered the source of emotion, courage and wisdom. Neurocardiology is the relatively new science of exploring the physiological mechanisms by which the heart communicates with the brain; thereby influencing information processing, perceptions, emotions and health. Neurocardiology asks questions such as: Why do people experience the feeling or sensation of love and other positive emotional states in the area of the heart, and what are the physiological ramifications of these emotions? How do stress and different emotional states affect the autonomic nervous system, the hormonal and immune systems, the heart and brain? Over the years scientists have experimented with different psychological and physiological measures, but consistently heart rate variability, or heart rhythms, stands out as one of the most dynamic and reflective measures of inner emotional states and stress.

It is clear that negative emotions lead to increased disorder in the heart’s rhythms and in the autonomic nervous system, thereby adversely affecting the rest of the body. In contrast, positive emotions create increased harmony and coherence in heart rhythms, and improve balance in the nervous system. The health implications are easy to understand. Disharmony in the nervous system leads to inefficiency and increased stress on the heart and other organs, while harmonious rhythms are more efficient and less stressful to the body’s systems.

More intriguing are the dramatic positive changes that occur when techniques are applied that increase coherence in rhythmic patterns of heart rate variability. These include shifts in perception and the ability to reduce stress, and deal more effectively with difficult situations. Apparently, the heart is acting as though it has a mind of its own, and is profoundly influencing the way we perceive and respond to the world. In essence, the heart is affecting intelligence and awareness.

There is now a scientific basis to explain how and why the heart affects mental clarity, creativity, emotional balance and personal effectiveness. Research indicates that the heart is far more than a simple pump. The heart is, in fact, a highly complex, self-organized information processing center with its own functional “brain” that communicates with and influences the cranial brain via the nervous system, hormonal system and other pathways. These influences profoundly affect brain function and most of the body’s major organs, and ultimately determine the quality of life.

Biofeedback researchers and practitioners are enthusiastic about the emergence of this new Biofeedback tool. Like Neurofeedback, Heart Rate Variability’s (HRV) simple technical name belies its power and importance in the rapidly evolving field of life, performance enhancement and longevity. However, its effectiveness is amplified even more when combined with Neurofeedback training Miami. Heart rate variability is a measure of the naturally occurring beat-to-beat changes in heart rate, a powerful, noninvasive measure of autonomic nervous system function and an indicator of neurocardiac fitness. The heart and brain maintain a continuous two-way dialogue, with each influencing the other’s functioning. It is now known that the signals the heart sends the brain can influence perception, emotional processing, and higher cognitive functions. Let’s start with a simplified discussion before we dig deeper into the hard science and technical jargon.

Throughout history philosophers have asserted that “when the heart enters the brain wisdom emerges”. Now, neurocardiology has demonstrated that there are physiological correlation’s for this ancient concept. Furthermore, these discoveries have been translated into a fascinating and enjoyable form of Biofeedback with enormous potential. Part of the reason for this potential is that people are attracted to the simple, common sense notion that there is something that can be done to assure that their thinking will be positively influenced by their hearts. Of course, heart represents one’s humanity, compassion, wisdom etc., but most people are keenly aware that feelings in the heart profoundly affects health.

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