Rather than look for instant short lived distractions, neurofeedback therapy helps clear the underlying emotional issues that drives the need to self-medicate.
People often ‘self-medicate’ with alcohol, drugs, food, work, or even shopping to alter their internal emotional state. With neurofeedback the person finds more mental stability, greater insight and the power to overcome the underlying impulses.
CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY
Addictive drugs can radically alter brain activity, as if “hijacking” the central nervous system.
The brain adapts to the drugs, soon mistaking the medicated state for the natural, resting state. Sobriety is experienced as form of stress as the brain mistakes the absence of the drug as a threat to its maladjusted balance. As the brain comes back into a natural position during neurofeedback sessions, the substance or behaviour may no longer have the desired effect.
While neurofeedback therapy can help with serious drug use, the physical addiction will still need to be overcome, and a multi-faceted approach is crucial. Neurofeedback shouldn’t be thought of as a stand-alone therapy, but as a supporting one. It’s not a miracle cure and doesn’t do the work for you. It does however give you more control and a clear emotional footing to do the work successfully.