Started the Amygdala Program - June 2009

[spring]

[quote]fox (There is hardly any thought floating around, so the triple-stop technique is not relevant at the moment.) [/quote]

I wonder fox if maybe you do have lots of thoughts floating around but because they all string into each other and feel like one it feels like you have none. I have had patches where I have felt like this also. Thanks to someone on this forum I started to do the stops at regular times whether or not I thought I was having a negative thought and this seem to calm my thoughts down so that I could then start to identify the individual thoughts again. Also I found that seemed to be a way to stop negative feelings which on bad days can go all day with no particular beginning or end.

I'm just concerned that the triple-stop technique is what its all about so if you don't do that you may miss out on the benefits (while acknowledging that you can only do what you are able to ). My CFS was about the same level as yours when I started the Gupta Programme in April 2009 (5% on bad days, 15 % on a few good days mostly about 10%).

Each time you do some or all of the stop technique you will stop a squirt of adrenaline. Each time you stop the adrenaline you have a little less in your system and therefore the symptoms will be relieved. Little by little your body will get stronger and less reactive.

These threads from a while back have some ideas about getting started when you are severely affected
gupta-programme-f11/topic884.html
gupta-programme-f11/topic773.html

In the early days it is difficult to stop all the thoughts because there are so many but if you do those you can without worrying about those you can't every little decrease in adrenaline will help and eventually add up.

Also as Damask-rose says the idea is [i]not to try to resist the thoughts[/i] or try [i]not to think them[/i] but to replace them. Resistance to the thoughts and feelings is a big part of the problem. The soften and flow also works on removing resistance to the thoughts and feelings, but in a different way, which can release you from their grip when they become too strong.

Don't beat yourself up about having the thoughts and don't try to stop having them with willpower but instead when a thought arrives do the stops and replace your body's response to them with a feeling of 'good health' or positive feeling (i.e. the retraining technique).

While being very positive about the programme I found that my anxiety levels were high in the early weeks. I think that is because we are making the amygdala face up to doing things that in the past would have had consequences for us. If we accept that we may have higher anxiety levels it takes some of the fear away. I found my anxiety would be relieved after using the soften and flow and/or meditation and would use both during the day as well as morning and night.

I still find now, (I am now about 30% on the CFS scale), when I have increased my overall activity to a new level my anxiety levels build up. Now that I have worked out what is happening I accept that my levels are high and for a few days try to use the techniques more and back off from activities which increase my anxiety until I have reached an equilibrium again.

All the best Fox, there is a way out of the nightmare you are living.

[fox]

Hello all, thanks for your answers so far.

I really don't get the part, where I also shouldn't focus on "scanning the body" or "attention on the body".

I mean, how can you prevent that from happening. Isn't this happening automatically?

As one Indian guru once said:
"...your consciousness shifts from sensation to sensation, from perception to perception, from idea to idea, in endless succession..."

[fox]

Hi All!

So far, I have focused solely on correcting my breath, as I was curious whether this alone might bring a breakthrough.
Well, I didn't, HOWEVER, I discovered a fantastic biofeedback device which REALLY brings results, although so far only SHORT-TERM.

Meaning, after using it for only 5 to 10 minutes, I definitively begin to feel more relaxed! The longer I use it, the better and more relaxed I feel. Well, at least most of the time.

I think it is better than the alternative nostril breathing.

Check it out here:
http://stresseraser.com/

I will keep updating on my resultst with it, and of course with the stop-technique which I have started full-blown a few days ago.

fox
www.cfs-healing.info

[niaholt]

Correct breathing is the key to getting us better.....I have had some great success with exercises but stilll have way to go. Training the para sympathetic to take over to relax us and start the detox is important. I hav ebeen looking at the Emwave...more money.

[annie]

so good to have this topic up at the top again. i had not read any of it, nor the others referred to, they are inspirational, i'm afraid i need to be inspired on a very regular basis!
tried to order the biofeedback machine, but the on-line order form only works for the u.s and i am in the u.k so i have e-mailed the manufacturer asking advice. would be nice to have new gadget!

[JR]

Annie, you can purchase the Stress Eraser on Amazon for $99 plus $10 shipping, in case ordering through Amazon is easier for you: http://www.amazon.com/StressEraser-SE-1 ... 511&sr=8-1.

JR

[annie]

thanks j.r. i tried to order it from amazon, but they won't ship it to the u.k either, amazon u.k does not carry it, frustrating!! they don't give any reasons either.

[fox]

Regarding the stress eraser: I remember that amazon didn't ship it to Switzerland either. So I ordered over the company website itself.

[annie]

It's very expensive from the company website isn't it? i'm tempted but wanted to check that you were still finding it worthwhile. do you use it a lot during the day?
best wishes.

[niaholt]

I have ordered from Amazon but it is going to a friends in Detroit who is sending it on to me in OZ as of 2 days ago....we will see....keep you posted. I am beginning to think I need to spend my whole life meditating....it just brings me DOWN. I think my adrenaline loop speeds more than most peoples. The hint of feeling better and I want to take off doing stuff, planning scheming ventures like in the past. ( they all fail to materialise) I was always very ambitious and adventurous and it is still so hard to stop this idea NS JUST BE.

[fox]

I use the Stress Eraser everyday, sometimes for more than an hour! It is definitively the beste biofeedback device I have ever tried!

Of course, I can't know for sure whether it will work for you, but I am pretty sure. It just relaxes me so deeply, and I am a person who is VERY nervous, and feel ALOT of tension in my body. That was probably the cause of my ME/CFS after all..

Give it a try, if you don't like it, you can still sell it on ebay, or to somebody here on this forum!

[annie]

I am ordering one via a friend in the U.S. thank you for the help. wonder if you have tried it before and after any of the gupta programmes, could be a way to see if they are working for us. I'm aware that my breathing is fine when i am doing lying down things, but once i get on my feet or talk it goes to pot.
good luck with it all

[niaholt]

Can anyone tell me how to get my PM messages when my folder is full. I dont know how to empty it. How do I find the moderator? I have clicked the ....release all messages...but nothing is happening

[JR]

I just ordered a used Stress Eraser on Amazon for $85. I think it's worth a try, as I tend to be a fairly high-tension person (though only those closest to me know it!). I'm not sure if this happens to others (?), but I find that I've gotten bored with the Soften and Flow and the Meditation and find it hard to focus anymore. The same thing happens with other meditation or self hypnosis CDs I've used over the years. So, I think it's time to try something new to shake it up a bit. I'll let you know how it goes!