In the past, biofeedback was associated with strange alternative medicine, including electrodes, and traces of tracks and sound signals were slowed down. Nowadays, doctors, psychologists and hypnotherapists depend on this for patients who have no alternative ways to reduce stress and various diseases and symptoms that do not go away with pills or traditional methods. I myself was limited in my use because there are absolutely no biofeedback providers in my rural countryside, however there are many home biofeedback programs that can be purchased for use on a personal computer or through a small biofeedback unit.
I remember the first time I used a biofeedback machine. It was in the days of the MS-DOS operating systems before the Internet was ever invented. There I sat in front of the main PC, looking at the road of a chessboard with a lock in the distance. Several electrodes were placed on my hands and a chest. The screen image was minimal. This chess road moved rather quickly, but the castle did not move. No sound, no electrocardiogram to trace my heart. There was nothing else in simplicity except this computer picture. The road was moving as if I was running towards the castle, but it seemed to me that it was not approaching me. The picture was soothing (as better as 2D graphics could get).
The purpose, simply stated on the screen, was to get to the castle. No other explanation.
So I sat there. I watched the castle and the road, trying to figure out exactly what I had to do to get close to the castle. Then it happened. The castle began to approach. The faster he got closer, the slower the virtual road turned in front of me. I did not know what I was doing, but it was obvious that I was doing something to make the castle move towards me when the road began to go slower.
In the end, the technician showed me my results. My heart rate went from 100 to 60. Blood pressure decreased by 10 points for both systolic and diastolic. My breathing slowed from 18 to 8 breaths per minute. And when I really thought about it, I was stress free and I felt calm and accomplished, because the princess at the castle was mine. This process was not like biofeedback, which I saw in futuristic films such as Woody Allen's Bananas.
In fact, I did not know what I had done, but with the help of a visual image I was able to change my physiology to physical without stress. The feedback I received from the computer monitor was based on changes in my body that showed less stress and strain. Thus, by linking our moods and emotions and physical reactions with a computer, it can give us feedback that allows us to control these physiological changes, such as blood pressure, pulse and heart rate variability, which we could never have before.
It has been scientifically proven that biofeedback helps to cope with stress, emotions and relaxation, and the most important thing for many emotional eaters is to find a suitable substitute for stress relief and relaxation. For many people, the reason they cannot lose weight is eating food and eating for relaxation, and without a proper replacement for this stress relief, heavy food and sabotage continue, and bad eating habits persist. The subconscious mind simply will not allow normal or weight loss if they are related to the physiology of a person’s stress. If you do not have other means to slow the heart rate, lower blood pressure and pulse, or just relax, then you return to eating large quantities, no matter what plan you are in.
With Biofeedback you have another method in your arsenal to reduce stress. You sit with a personal voltage measuring device or use your computer to measure, and you relax and unwind when feedback tells you how you do it. Stress is usually not felt, so having a way to tell you in sound or vision how much stress you reduce in your body is very important for reducing your dependence on emotional eating. Without controlling or eliminating stress, a person trying to lose weight is done before they start. They usually go for food if something stressful arises.
The main recognized benefits of using biofeedback are stress reduction, increased energy and elasticity, greater mental clarity for decision making and creativity, improved emotional balance and improved ability to listen, better, more restful sleep. Now, of course, results vary from person to person, but those who do win have more than just weight loss.
Now, patients have another chance to add to the many options to choose from or combine them to reduce their stress, which leads to emotional nutrition: a technique of emotional freedom, hypnosis, and finally, biofeedback. If you use all three, it can play the role of a triple strike to reduce stress. Doing all three makes it more important that you continue good eating habits after losing weight with the Five-Bite diet and letting you do 5 bites twice a day without stress sabotage.
If you had to choose and choose what to do because of the extra cost of doing all three, I highly recommend first hypnosis, then the technique of emotional freedom. But for LONG-TERM stress relief, home biofeedback is the way to, no matter what kind of stress you experience, such as neck pain, chest pain, fast heartbeat, headache, insomnia, depression or anxiety. Biofeedback can help reduce these symptoms, as well as reduce emotional overeating.
If you find that you are an emotional cannibal, eating on peaks and valleys of emotions, I strongly recommend that you consider the possibility of feedback from biofeedback with other relaxation methods.
