Anger Management
Anger management is one of the most common conditions treated utilizing Neurofeedback . Neurofeedback allows the individual to be in control of their anger instead of their anger being in control of them. The goal of treatment is to regulate the anger and not eliminate it. The capacity for anger still remains. What has changed is the measure of control one has over it. Following neurofeedback the outside world just doesn’t seem to anger us quite as much.
When someone is sad, melancholy, has depression or is full of anxiety we feel badly and try to comfort this individual. When someone has a short fuse and has fits of rage, or uncontrollable anger we tend to fight back, become annoyed and have outbursts of our own. It’s much easier to handle someone when they are sad rather when they are irate, angry or annoyed. Both sadness and anger however are emotions and are controlled by the brain. Anger is a normal emotion, but when left uncontrolled can cause people to lose their jobs, relationships, children and even their lives. It hurts and touches everyone in proximity to it.
The overall objective of neurofeedback is to advance the brain’s neurological flexibility. As the brain is trained, anger simply disappears. Your brain is involved in everything you do and is ultimately involved in why you feel certain emotions or feel sleepy, awake, hungry, focused, distracted, and any other feelings you have! Sometimes the brain can become dysregulated, which can cause our emotions, ability to concentrate, or to make good decisions to be compromised. Neurofeedback addresses several mental, emotional, and physical problems of brain dysregulation. Neurofeedback can help regain stability in your brain’s performance so that you can function at your best.
It might feel to you that your emotions get the best of you at times and that your emotions are indeed the true you, but your brain has a lot to do with emotions. Current research has proven that neurofeedback is a viable option for treating depression and anxiety. We have not seen anything as effective for decreasing anger and rage, as neurofeedback.
Neurofeedback works on the brain itself, opening up neuropathways so the brain can perform as it should. In the same way that doctors listen to your heart with a stethoscope, sensors are applied to the scalp to listen in on brainwave activity. This signal is processed by a computer allowing us to extract information about certain brainwave frequencies. Some frequencies are diminished while others are in a state of overstimulation. This information is presented to the person in the form of either a video game or by listening to a series of sounds. We show the ebb and flow of this activity back to the person, who attempts to change the abnormal activity level. The person is able to make adjustments after hearing or seeing this feedback and the brainwave activity is able to be “shaped” toward the more desirable, more regulated performance. The placement of the sensors are specific to the conditions that we are trying to address and specific to the individual.
Neurofeedback treatment can help just about anyone to improve brain function. The brain is supposed to shift easily between states, from sleep, to relaxation, to composed alert, or even to high alert when needed. There are many situations in which neurofeedback can help you get more out of life. Once your brain is “trained”, it can then change on its own. It is a valuable tool in anger management, reducing anxiety and coping with stress.
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