Chronic stress is a continuing or overwhelming type of stress which often evolves from an unwanted situation or predicament. Triggers are environmentally driven, and can be financial, social, health, workplace, or familial in nature eg. Fear and isolation from COVID, divorce, challenging financial situation. In modern society, the desire to succeed or meet expectations, and growing pressures and demands of our everchanging environment, can cause a build-up of stress.

Compounding stressors of varying nature and origin play havoc with our health and over time, compromises our Neurobiology and brain patterns. Micro-stressors can be very frequent, especially in high stress environments, and they essentially accumulate and cause the neural mechanism to be hyper-sensitive. Over time, lesser amounts of stress are enough to set the mind and body into an unhealthy anxious state. For those not opting for Psychological or Pharmacological interventions, medication-free Neurofeedback is a perfect solution.

How QEEG and Neurofeedback can help

When a patient presents with Chronic Stress and a matching profile is observed in the QEEG, a personalized Neurofeedback (NF) program can be prepared to target the disorder.  Through repetition and reward, the swLORETA training software discourages the deviant stress response, which is essentially elevated fast wave activity and over-active circuitry in the limbic area. In addition to slowing down the speed of the brain by reducing “Beta” fast wave, the treatment will increase brain flexibility by helping it to shift gears (or transition) more naturally into the calmer “Alpha” state. Neuroplasticity (rewiring within the brain) usually occurs after a number of sessions and enables the preferred calm pattern to gradually overpower the Stress pattern.

The high adrenaline stress response, which once drained the brain and body of energy resources, is now replaced by a balanced state, where energy is freed up to be used elsewhere. When this happens and Neurochemicals in the brain return to more normal levels, exhaustion and Fatigue usually experienced by Chronic Stress sufferers, tends to dissipate. Because the fight or flight response Is now less frequently engaged, and the Autonomic nervous system is now regulated, improvements in overall health can be widespread. Besides a reduction in anxiety levels and the return of a relaxed state, long standing gut related issues for example, can also be resolved.