My Thoughts on the Gupta Programme

[kristianshaw]

Hi guys

I just wanted to share my opinions on the programme

I began on the 1st January (what a resolution that was), so now im on my 4th month.

My inital skepticism went when i watched the first few sessions and did the meditations and such with Ashok on the DVD and i could feel that this would definetly do me some good.

I began noticing results after the first week, my brain fog began to clear up and all my heart problems and adrenalin rushes disappeared or began to gradually become less frequent.

The problems i find with this treatment is that it does require alot of attention, quite often 24hours a day for the first couple of weeks ITs also pretty difficult, as sometimes i seem to find myself back-and-forthing with my mind. Also, its very easy once you start feeling better to slack off a bit with the techniques, which makes you dip again.

Ive had 3 major dips so far, and now im getting my head back into it, and rewatching all the sessions again so i can make more of an effort. I see the first 4months as a prelimineary test.

However, Ashok does deliver the course in extremely good detail, and he teaches you calmly and professionally. He genuinely seems like a nice guy...although he does seem to have HUGE feet (did any one else notice that? )

Anyways, compared to the bad points of it being quite an effort - i cant knock it any further, as doing this has given me glimpses of the best health ive had in 7 years! it is powerful stuff, and i recommend trying it, it may not fully cure you, but if it gets you past the 50% mark can you complain? I cant

Ill update again in the future when ive gotten better. I trust that it will come.

Thanks Ashok

[Sylvia]

What a sweet first post.

Yes consistency is really the difficulty I have found. If you've been really sick and low down, for some reason just getting "up the ladder" 10% can find you slacking.

And the only way I can get back with it is to watch a dvd every single day to try to get me back to it.

Like my heel is sore, is it sore from the new shoes I got, or from the new treadmill? And then I'm thinking these thought but should I STOP and there is some conversation about the sore heel and it not needing a STOP. It is simple avoidance of doing the technique because the time it took to internally yak about it I could have done the technique, as I should have with a body thought.

Resisitence and inconsisitency are a funny and tricky thing.

Yet, we have the tools, just gotta get back to enthusiastically using them!

Sylvia

[niaholt]

After 21 yrs of this illness, I find it has defined who I am and it is difficult for me to find the "real" new me as I still constantly remind myself I better do such and such now because I am "sick" so I must be careful not to fall in a hole. There lies my problem. I have a major problem anticipating something is going to go wrong. I believe EXPOSURE is what I need. Throwing myself out in the world to face stuff, have hordes of people through the house to challenge my core underlying beliefs that may lie in the subconscious that I cant cope. I may crash but eventually the amygdala will not get scared off by the stangeness of things.


While I live quietly at home I seem to be OK and not many negative thoughts. As soon as I have to "act" or "perform " for someone be it a visit to a friends of guests coming my body goes crazy with excitement. So much trouble controlling the adrenaline.

I find I cant laugh and joke and use my real personality as the adrenaline takes off and thinks there is a crisis. I have to stay placid and docile which is not my nature as I am a naturally happy and comedic person. Tested myself at a reunion last weekend for 2 hrs on 3 consecutive days but the adrenaline took control. I had no negative thoughts about this event. I was happy and positive but got too excited and SPLAT! If I repeated this event each weekend I know I would be OK. There in lies my answer I believe.

I had to host my husbands childhood friend and wife from O'seas for dinner last night . I got myself in such a dreadful panic that I would not cope as I had not entertained for 11 yrs at night. The adrenaline starts running and BP accelerates and I think I am going to die. Nearly called it off yesterday.

Then I thought I have to stare down this monster. I did AR heaps and I meditated for about 3hrs thru the day and finally by 5pm I had calmed down and we had a very successful evening and amazing no ill effects today. I am soo grateful to Ashok for the meditation adn AR as it saves my life on many an occasion.

I think I have been like this for soo long before CFS that it is going to take me longer to undo this reaction and I feel such gratitude to Ashok for teaching me about this stuff as I now understand how to get control of it.......I am prepared to keep this up for years if I have to as there is no alternative out there anyway and I have been reading mind books that back up his theory. Thanks Ashok for getting me through a very difficult night that meant soo much to my husband who has not had much of a life caring for me.

Nia

[efly]

Hi All,
Thankyou for the above posts.It encourages me to look at what Im doing....or Not doing to be precise. Im in my first big dip ![feeling cockie...stopped doing the AR...thought Id get away with it...!] Which was a bit of a shock. DIDN'T Ego didnt like that !
I could feel myself trying to escape it,hide from it,rather than attack the monster...as Nia states'' stare it in the face''
.Pulled myself right back.[stayed in house ?]..Fear I guess..Now we Face IT again..get back on the horse.Do It ,,Keep going ....Its such a mind game.
Keep going to ALL of us ... This IS a BATTLE..constant.... vigilant..[.Hope I listen to my own words]!
Where all doing great work.
Thankyou all for posting thoughts. It helps.
Efly

[Sylvia]

niaholt,

If you don't own Claire Weekes, get it get it get it! Serious.

Exposure I think is key. Within reason obviously. But not to shrink is so important as that helps to retrain I believe.

Sylvia

[niaholt]

Yes Sylvia,
I have been reading Claire Weekes and she is great. Some of her strategy I applied on the weekend dinner guest drama. Yesterday I had to face yet again another family drama and I had told myself I was going to rest and nurture myself all that day due to the residue of panic . However I had to suddenly throw myself out of the comfort zone and "perform" . I kept myself under control doing ARs in my head, listening to my breathing,quietly speaking and spent 5 hrs trying to negotiate sounder life pathway for my daughter whose life is in chaos. Today I feel great where normally I would be sooooooo tired. Dealing with "exposure" is a key tenet for me in a more unemotional rational appropriate way using the Ashoks techniques.

Thank you for pointing me in Claire Weekes direction some weeks ago. I now have something really tangible to work on.

[Ashok Gupta]

Great stories here, great that everyone is realising that the first step is to retrain the amygdala with respect to symptom patterns, the next step is to retrain it with respect to non-symptom patterns, i.e. external events.

The amygdala can become trigger happy to people, situations, events, because it is not being controlled by the cortex, specifically the pre-frontal cortex. So amygdala retraining is helping you regain control. Even when you feel like nothing is happening, you are always doing something positive. There is often a lag between retraining, and when the results come, often because retraining is often done when the amygdala is really firing off and is on high alert, so the results may or may not be instant.

Nia has spoken of how the brain seems to hyper-react. Yes, this is common, and after so many years of research, I haven't found any other way of retraining these responses apart from the ones I use. Step by step, the amygdala has to be taught that situations that may increase symptoms are not dangerous in and of themselves. (these situations, events, are called conditioned stimuli)

So once again, keep going! Every time you retrain, there are things happening, it is always worth it...and take up some of the follow-up coaching if you can to keep you focused. Does AR take commitment? - of course, it is the bravest thing anyone can do I believe, and it will really help you grow as a person.

With respect to complacency, this is natural. You get better, and then think that you no longer need to do AR. Basically for 6 months to a year after recovery, the amygdala can still be sensitive - this is why exercise has to be gentle step by step increase to not scare the body, and you have to monitor those stress patterns - the amygdala does not differentiate between physical stressors and emotional ones! After a period of time of continually retraining after recovery (this includes at least one breathing and meditation session a day), most people find that the amygdala is less sensitive and there is much less chance of dips.

I've been busy recently updating my hypothesis, a draft of which I posted on another thread. Also, I will be sending a personal update to all retrainers soon,

Keep well!
Ashok

p.s. yes, I do have big feet - I'm a size 11!

[Emergo]

Hi all,

Yes, very recognisable stories. Maybe a little trick of mine might help extend the succes.

As Ashok mentions in the programme, FEAR is the key. I have translated that for myself as a fear of NOT BEING SAFE. I made a turnaround kind of mantra out of this. So every time I break the patterns with the stop technique, I add something with 'I am safe' in it afterwards. I also try to look back, for example at the end of the day, in bed, thinking about the day, and confirm to myself; 'hey, I WAS safe in this or that situation that I previously regarded as unsafe'.

Helps for me.

[niaholt]

I think that is a good idea. I start doing all these added things then i forget them when things are going well thats my problem. Fear is behind this whole problem for me and I am unaware much of the time.

[alicewoolf]

its amazing to read all these posts and to think, yes, thats EXACTLY how I feel as regards adrenaline, not feeling safe, major feelings of FEAR etc. such a relief to know that other people are experiencing similar things. the Gupta programme is the only treatment I've heard of that really makes SENSE to me as regards CFS and its causes. am going to try the program for myself. will let you know how i get on.