Colorado Springs is the largest city by land area in the state, located about 60 miles from Denver. As of 2019, nearly 500,000 people were living in the home rule municipality.
Although you may associate Colorado with the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, Colorado Springs has above average sunshine compared to most cities in the United States, which makes it a perfect destination for tourists. There are several attractions and activities to do in the city. And a once-in-a-lifetime outdoor adventure is always within reach.
However, not all visitors go to the city to unwind. Some people also receive neurofeedback treatment in Colorado Springs.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness stated that 1 in 5 adults encounter a mental health episode every year. Meanwhile, 1 in 25 people suffer from a mental illness yearly. Half of the time, the symptoms of these mental illnesses start by the age of 14. Finally, the leading cause of death for people from ages 10 to 34 is suicide.
Unfortunately, a lot of the patients or their loved ones do not seek help. There is still a lot of stigma concerning mental health. As a result, patients tend to hide their true feelings out of shame.
What is it and How it Can Help You
Neurofeedback treatment uses a device to try to introduce changes to the electrical activity in your brain. The process utilizes the principle of biofeedback to try to change not just a person’s behavior but also physiological reactions, as well.
For instance, if you watch a scene that scares you, your body will subconsciously manifest some symptoms like excessive sweating, tensed muscles, racing heartbeat, and so on. In biofeedback, you will be hooked to a device to monitor your brain activity and pinpoint what exactly is bothering you.
The same approach happens in neurofeedback treatment.
The best thing about getting neurofeedback treatment in Colorado Springs is the flexibility. It can address a wide range of issues. For instance, the procedure has been used to treat depression, ADHD, trauma, post-traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety, autism, temporary amnesia, learning disabilities, and even substance abuse.
What is the Controversy Surrounding Neurofeedback Treatment?
Some quarters are not too comfortable about the procedure. They think that neurofeedback treatment will manipulate brain activity to change a patient’s personality. They have this unreasonable fear that their loved one will end up like an automaton, devoid of emotion, somebody they no longer recognize.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Short of lobotomy or a severe brain injury, nothing out there can change a person’s personality drastically. For one, it is a non-invasive procedure.
A simple example would be exposing the patient to a stimulus, such as playing their favorite game, for instance. They will be hooked to an EEG monitor to track the brainwaves. If your brain activity is operating within the preferred range, you will continue to play. However, when your brainwaves are not optimal, the patient will get negative feedback. What is this? Well, based on the above example, their game will pause.
The therapist will then help the patient figure out what happened to try to continue receiving positive feedback. This process will help change the structure of their brains, which now learn how to function within the optimal range. Neurofeedback can help those who have ADHD and ADD, panic attacks, depressions, migraines, Asperger’s and sleep issues as well.