New site exploring neural reconditioning for MCS, CFS, FMS and related illnesses

Gosh it's been 3 months since I've posted!

I've drastically lessened my time on the computer and it feels wonderfully freeing.
I hadn't realised just how much time I spent on here and it's so nice to be doing things I love that engage me more than the computer does.

I'm here today just very briefly to encourage you to check out an exciting new website called Limbic Retraining.

From their About page: "This blog is meant to be a clearinghouse for those interested in exploring the potential of brain exercises based on the concept of neural plasticity to heal chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, fibromyalgia, chemical and electrical sensitivity, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and related conditions. We will post articles, web resources, and other information to help keep you on top of the latest developments in this exciting field. Sign up for email notifications to be the first to know about new posts on our site."

Visit http://limbicretraining.com/about/ to read more!

Site Sections:
Home About FAQs Reading List Brain Nourishment Support Research

Got Brain? Fun & Free Games to Improve Cognitive Function!

Do you ever avoid doing something that you know would be good for you because it's not enjoyable?

 

I know I do!  ☺

I'd like to share 2 sites that have fun games to improve brain function/health.

Both of these sites have many games that can be played for free.

Best of all, they are FUN!

At Fit Brains, there are more than 20 scientifically designed brain games designed to target all five major cognitive areas of brain function and keep your brain "healthy and sharp".  Almost all of them can be played for no cost. ☺  Although Fit Brains always asks if you'd like to sign up for a free account, it's entirely optional and when the little window pops up, you can select the 'Play Without Tracking' button to play the games without signing up. A free account allows you to track your progress, have brain games adapt to you and challenge your friends.

At Lumosity, although they also have more than 20 games, only the 'featured games' shown at the top can be played without signing up for a free account.  A window may pop up asking you to sign up for an account but if you hit the X in the upper right corner of the pop up window, you can then play the game without signing up.  Once again there are games you can play without signing up or paying.  A free account allows you to save your scores and compare scores with others.

Lumosity games are organised by what brain function they help hone.

For those interested in reading more about how our awesome brains can change and heal, there is literature on those 2 sites above and there is an excellent blog called Brain Leaders and Learners.

Have fun!

p.s. in my opinion, having fun is an absolutely necessary ingredient for healing!

☺

Do you know of any other free resources for building or improving brain function?

If so, please share them in the comments section!

I'd also love to hear if you have a favourite brain game from either of those sites.

Thanks!

Retreat - Listening To My Body's Wisdom

Retreat.
My body, spirit and intuition are telling me it is long past time for one. And the playful part of me jumped on the thought as soon as I had it and blurted out, "It even has the word TREAT in it!!"

I am a naturally very introverted person and often get drained, overwhelmed or overstimulated by interaction with other people - even when it's positive! I also get exhausted just being in a place where other people are talking, bustling, being etc.

My life may look like a retreat already but it doesn't feel that way. Even emails feel draining and overwhelming. Phone calls or in person visits are much worse.

I've felt many times that getting MCS was my body's wise way of getting me to retreat from a world that was simply unhealthy for me. Not in the sense of toxins but in the sense of draining or overwhelming me energetically.
I've been so focused on the ways in which I am isolated due to MCS that I haven't taken note of the ways in which I'm not isolated such as emails, support groups, reading blogs, phone calls etc.
Aside from when I get migraines and the few camping trips I've been on, I've never take a break from the computer for more than a day in years!

Furthermore, I've been fighting against my own inner wisdom each time I focus on the goal of 'healing' as defined by 'being able to be out in the human world again'!
My body doesn't want to be 'out in the world' again!!!
It's worked very hard to get me to retreat, take a break, honour my introvertedness!
I trust that there is some wisdom in this. Some positive reason.

So I've decided to honour my body's wisdom by trying a real retreat for a week. I'm not going to answer the phone, read or write emails, blog entries or comments(or possibly even go on the computer at all).
I'm going to do some EFT around guilt about this. Our society seems to view introversion as a defect - the very word 'antisocial' has a negative connotation. I've internalised those negative judgements in some ways and want to clear them!

I'm going to stop fighting my isolation for a week and see it as a gift - something to enjoy. (some people pay big bucks to go on retreats!) I'm going to relish it and spend the time doing whatever the heck I want.
Who knows what sort of healing my body will do if I give it the retreat it's been trying to get ever since MCS began all those years ago!

I won't be replying to emails or comments, but please know I'm fine - just on a retreat :-)

I am reminded of the dreams of turtles I had on a few different nights a couple of weeks ago. They felt powerful and important but I didn't know what the message was.
Now I think of turtle wisdom, for me, as including being at peace with where I am, not feeling the need to rush away from it, being comfortable with the pace at which I am moving and, of course, having the option of retreating within when it feels right.

Inviting Neuroplasticity Part 1

I used to be able to write and speak easily and eloquently.
It was effortless and actually really enjoyable. So was thinking.
No longer. Now those are challenging and frustrating - writing the most (ironic that I recently I chose to begin a blog).
At times, I feel that that ease of cognitive function is one of the things I miss the most from my life before MCS.

My cognitive symptoms/challenges (I don't like the words 'dysfunction' or 'limitations' even if they are true) are by far the worst during or after an exposure but there is a certain level of difficulty I experience all of the time. I have not had a neurological assessment, SPECT scan or MRI and I have no idea if I have 'brain damage'. I don't really care to know. I know my brain works differently than it used to as far as cognition is concerned. Maybe certain neural 'pathways' or areas are damaged or blocked.

I used to think, write, speak and communicate at a certain 'level' and now I do all of those things at a far lower level... yet still high enough that I am painfully aware of all that I have lost. I don't feel I'm expressing this well. It is a deep grief and a daily frustration - especially when I have all sorts of ideas and viewpoints that I would love to be sharing in this blog.

For inspiration and hope, I look to stroke patients and patients with various types of brain injury. Among them are people who have relearned far beyond what anyone predicted they could.
Our brains are miraculous, amazing things.
Neuroplasticity - the ability of the brain to 'rewire' itself after damage (or more scientifically: the process by which neurons create new connections among themselves) - is itself a wonderful, exciting thing. It is now known that activity in the brain that is associated with a specific action or function can actually move to a different area in the brain!
I imagine a horde of happy little neurons coming to the place that they normally 'cross the river' only to find the bridge is missing. Instead of giving up, they decide to actually build a new bridge! A bit cheesy but inspiring.

The mind-body connection is not well understood yet but many health care professionals accept that it does exist and can greatly effect the outcome of injuries, illness and disease.

With this in mind, I have decided to try regularly talking to my brain(when I remember). Yes, this may sound 'crazy' but I figure I have nothing to lose (unless I talk to it in public :)!

I am going to invite my brain to heal, let it know that I love it, that I honour and cherish it and marvel at how amazing it is! I'll tell it that I'm so glad it exists, and that I trust it to find new ways to communicate. I'll let it know what I want - to communicate easily and well - and tell it that I will be open to whatever ways it can provide.

My old, 'normal' ways of thinking, writing and speaking simply aren't working well for me anymore. When I try to use them, I get totally jumbled up, confused and frustrated. It is doing me no good to keep holding onto those old ways. So I will try to let them go to make space for new ones.

To Do List: Send love and encouragement to my brain

Photo Credit: Casey Hodge

Why EFT (and what is it anyhow?)

From time to time, I will be posting links related to EFT on this blog.
I may also post EFT 'scripts' that I feel may be beneficial.

I have found EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to be a helpful item in my 'toolbox'.
Before I get to the "Why?", you may be wondering...

What is EFT anyhow?

EFT is a method for lessening the intensity of uncomfortable emotions, thoughts or physical sensations. It is done by tapping on various points of the body (said to correspond to certain points on the acupuncture energy 'meridians') while saying certain phrases either out loud or in one's mind. Once one knows that tapping 'points' on the body, one can create their own words or use free scripts like these.

EFT can look pretty weird and is easy to be skeptical of.
I heard of it many years ago but didn't actually try it until about 3 years ago. I was stubborn, and pretty closed-minded about something 'weird' that I didn't understand. I hope you won't let the same thing stop you from trying it that I did!

The way I see it now (and the viewpoint that finally allowed me to try it) is that there is nothing to lose by trying it aside from a tiny bit of time and effort.
There are many sites on the internet that give directions on how to do it for free. There's no need to feel silly trying something 'weird' in front of anyone because one can do it alone, in the comfort of one's home , once again for free. There are even EFT videos online (of varying quality) where one can 'tap along' with a practitioner... for what price tag?? You guessed it: FREE.

Feel free to download a free manual and/or sign up for a free newsletter at eftuniverse.com.
There's also a wealth of information and tap-along audios at tappingqanda.com and a huge number of excellent free 'tap long' videos by Brad Yates on Youtube here: EFTWizard videos
Thank you to reader Katie for mentioning that one can use the Touch And Breathe (TAB for short) method if tapping hurts. Here's a link to directions for it: Touch And Breathe Method

Okay, so back to the "Why?"

Why EFT?

Although there are many attractive qualities to EFT, a few stuck out for me as someone with MCS:

• I can do it myself (no need to involve a scented practitioner or their toxic office)
• I can do it for free (very important when unemployed!)
• It's non-toxic - providing a way to lessen emotional or physical suffering without synthetic drugs (eg. chemicals)
• If I decide I want to work with a practitioner, many of them offer EFT over the phone or internet chat (still avoiding exposures inherent in an office visit). Some work by email.
  

For hardcore skeptics, I say this: I don't fully understand why EFT actually works, I simply know that for myself and many others, it has worked for many things. That is enough for me. I have decided that as long as a method doesn't harm me and appears to work, then I don't really care how. I put my energy to other things :-)

EFT can have a learning curve for some people. Not everyone has success/results right away but some people do have immediate relief - especially for emotional pain. If it does not work at first, it can be due to incorrect tapping points, wording that doesn't work well for you or, possibly, due to being underhydrated. Drinking water is very important.

*A word of caution*
If you are trying EFT for the first time, please go gently. Don't pick one of your more painful issues to start out with. Save those for when you have a lot of EFT work under your belt (or work on them with an EFT practitioner).
EFT can bring up some strong emotions if we tap on deep stuff so, until one is more practiced, I'd suggest starting very small.
If, at any time, I feel intense emotions, I keep tapping and breathing - even if I'm crying and can't speak. The emotions usually pass while I am doing that.

Celebrating MCS Improvements Part 1

How do I know I am healing?

I noticed tiny things at first...

• a few extra moments before a reaction set in
• a reaction less severe than I was used to
• a faster recovery after exposure

Then my body seemed to reach a point where the healing took on a life of it's own. A momentum had picked up and I seemed to move forward steadily.

• I could use the blender, vacuum, toaster without wearing a mask - as long as I did it quickly and left the room afterward.
• I was able to read select books again if they were not too old, new or scented.
• terpenes from grass didn't bother me much anymore (in small doses)
• I could touch paper whitened with chlorine without an instant skin reaction.
• I could walk in a pine forest without getting instantly 'stoned' from the terpenes
  
• I could eat small amounts of foods that had 'flavour' as an ingredient (many chemicals in flavour are similar to ones in fragrance due to how our sense of taste is connected to sense of smell)
• I could be around leaf mold, coffee, potted plants and more with much less reaction
  

All of the above are things that only a few years ago caused such severe reactions that I went to great lengths to avoid them.

Now I can read most books - even new, old or somewhat scented. I can even read books from the library (notorious for having picked up fragrances/smoke from people's houses).

I vacuum, use the blender, toaster and more without even thinking about it. I don't have to hold my breath, leave the room or worry about how long I vacuum for!

I go to a few restaurants, garden with no mask, have a few potted plants in my house, cut my own lawn (electric mower)... I can even have certain cut flowers from my garden inside my house. It used to be only totally scentless flowers I could tolerate but now I can even have higher VOC flowers inside.

Small exposures to dryer exhaust, wood smoke and cigarette smoke from neighbours while I am in my yard cause little or no reaction. This is such an awesome thing because I can actually use my nose as a warning system and still have time to go inside before an actual reaction happens. Before, even a few seconds was too much/too late.

When did all of this happen? I don't exactly know.
The dramatic changes happened sometime in the last year I think - the lesser ones in the year before that. Most of my healing happened so gradually and softly that I only notice things in hindsight.

I know how good it makes me feel now to notice so I've been trying to do it often.
If I had noticed more as I went along, I think I might have healed even faster due to the mind-body connection.

As I move forward, my 'normal' keeps shifting. I keep having a new normal.
It's exciting to think of how far I have come and know that one day, the way I am now will be far in the past and will seem incredibly limited!

Thoughts On Healing from MCS - 'Insurmountable Odds'

I have been thinking about people who defy the outcomes that health care professionals predict for them. People who surmount supposedly 'insurmountable' odds. These are very inspiring people and they exist in all walks of physical and mental health conditions, illnesses, disabilities etc.
I feel so much could be learned from these people!


Dr. Bernie Siegel has written a lot about how attitude, expectations, outlook and approach can dramatically alter the outcome of patients with terminal illnesses.

In one brief article here, he says, "Physicians call the most dramatic healings "spontaneous remissions." Once we have labeled them, we learn nothing from the people in whom those remissions take place. We cannot afford to ignore these remarkable successes. We are all at risk for a great many diseases, and as the world gets smaller the list of things we are exposed to grows larger. We need to learn from people who recover and people who stay healthy."

You can read the full article here:
http://www.shareguide.com/Siegel.html


Although MCS is generally not a terminal diagnosis, it is often thought to be a 'life sentence' and I feel we can learn a lot from people who defy 'death sentences'.


Many people I have spoken with know of someone who had a 'terminal' diagnosis and went on to live many years beyond the date they were 'supposed' to die.


In hindsight, I notice that my more dramatic improvements from MCS began happening shortly after I decided that I could be one of the people who recovered with MCS, who defied the 'life sentence'.
I believe that wanting to be one of those people wasn't enough for me. I had been wanting that for years. At some point, somehow, that wanting transformed into almost a knowing - a confidence that I would be able to recover. I do not have a knowing about how long this recovery will take. Perhaps that will come in time.


Since I came to have this 'knowing' about my healing, my symptoms have improved faster than I had dreamed might be possible. That confidence alone seems to have really sped up my healing which, I suppose, makes sense if I consider how stress itself is proven to negatively effect the body.
Feeling hopeless, trapped and doomed causes a massive amount of stress. It's almost like a vicious circle: One is sick and feels no hope of getting better which stresses the body so much that it truly makes it less able to get better and so it can become almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.


To an outsider, my life still looks (and is) extremely limited by MCS. But I am aware, almost every day, of how I am doing things that used to be non-options... or that I am having mild or no reactions to things that used to put me out of commission for days.


I find that the more I notice the ways in which I am much better than I used to be, the better I feel - the more hopeful, positive and confident of my body's amazing powers of healing.

I believe this state of mind actually effects my body in a positive way.
At the very least, it lessens stress. Which frees up energy for the body to put towards healing.
Stress is a big energy drain.