Fear is fun. The experience of fright in a safe environment - a Halloween haunted house or movie theater – elicits excitement followed by a critical release of primal emotion. But what if catharsis never materializes? What if one were permanently locked in a state of adrenal fight or flight? For PTSD sufferers, this constant state of alert is their life. Like a mousetrap, terror enters the brain but cannot find an exit. Life with...
Rita only wanted a better tennis game, but she had trouble with low blood pressure and needed a little pep. “Honey,” she said to her chemist husband, “help?” The result? Rita-line. Ritalin. Adderall is amphetamine salts—like Ritalin, a stimulant. Doctors originally prescribed it for obesity, but quickly recognized its off-label calming effect, its focusing effect, on people diagnosed with ADHD. (more…)
It used to be called shell shock, a form of it anyway. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Back in the day, some people took it seriously. But sometimes they wrote you off, said, “it’s all in your mind,” gave you a stiff drink, recommended long rambles in the country. Well, PTSD is in your mind, but you can’t just get over it by wandering. We know better now how PTSD affects you, how it re-tunes the brain....
The United States spends $1.7 billion on primary and secondary school testing per year. That’s more than the annual GDP of entire countries like Samoa and Antigua. How did that happen? “No Child Left Behind”, the Bush II administration’s valentine to American education, recently made annual standardized testing for reading and math mandatory from second through twelfth grade. And the stakes are enormous. Schools must make public the annual report cards of their students’ testing results....
Dear NeurOptimal: How do I love thee? Let me count the neurons. But counting to a 100 billion wouldn't be very "optimal", now would it? So let's cut to the chase. It's true; I am not a cardiovascular organ. I merely automate one in my spare time. But if I "had" a heart, it would belong to you, NeurOptimal Neurofeedback. (more…)
The following article originally appeared in TheWhig.com and featured NeurOptimal® trainer Janet McCulloch. "While he may never be cured of PTSD, [one veteran] said neurofeedback has been the best treatment he has tried." (more…)
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