My Neurologist has suggested biofeedback and off I went to the Psychologist. As I don’t visualize anything consistently, well okay once! And high pitched sounds bother my head, I didn’t know what to expect. But Dr. Gary Indenbaum rocks! I wanted to share one of his tricks that I am learning.
Use a physical signal to teach your body that you have come to your “happy place”.
In the past, I did my deep breathing, had a little skit that ran through my brain (visualized) and knew when I opened the door in my skit, I was relaxed. Over the years I could just about skip the whole scenario to the door opening.
Now, I am learning to use a physical cue. For relearning, I’ve opted to practice breathing multiple and numerous times a day. Instead of the door, which I can no longer “see”, or different colors to denote positive and negative energy or emotions, I use the words “in with the good, out with the bad”. I still start at my feet and work my way up as I was taught. It is a little more difficult to do but not terribly so. And when my body says “All’s Good!” I give a physical cue - a slight tap. I had to find a cue that was not stress related or thinking related, like drumming my fingers. Just a small little cue that no one will notice, I tap the side of my knee, eventually I will also tap the back of a hand, just to be covered in any social setting. Since sometimes my hands aren’t down by my knees.
Does anyone else have suggestions on relaxing without visualizing?