Dan Neufller on Getting Well Again

[Cort]

Part of his interview with Dr. Courtney Craig on Spoonie radio are below

• http://www.drcourtneycraig.com/blog/2015/7/2/spoonie-radio-ep-12-dan-neuffer

So I recognized that I was actually doing a stress response in my body whenever I was doing anything​

That is certainly true for me....

The first thing I did is I did treat my physical dysfunctions. The way I try to explain it is let's say it's like a reflex, it is like a conditioned reflex that the brain has. So blood sugar goes low, boom, it overreacts. Blood sugar goes low, boom, it overreacts and it does it over and over and over again. So it becomes a conditioned response like Pavlov's dogs, Pavlov, the Russian researcher, he rang a bell, gets the dog food, the dog salivated. Rang a bell, gets the dog food, salivated and then he just rang the bell and the dog salivated without the food. That is kind of what is happening in our nervous system to a whole bunch of these triggers.

Then he retrained his nervous system

Now Harvard University has done research to show that the physical brain changes, that we can see that literally changes in the brain after 6 to 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation. So literally do a scan and go, “Wow, there is more gray matter here." So I knew that meditation was clinically proven to be able to affect the brain. So I started to do mindfulness meditation as my base. I did find this frustrating because it was not my type of thing. Some people are drawn to this. For me it was just like taking medicine. I would sit down every day and in the beginning I couldn't do it. It was like my brain could not do it. I tried even mindfulness lessons. I tred to get out and move a bit, get out and get some fresh air and I couldn't really walk more than a couple hundred meters often and you know but I would go and I would try and count my steps.

Remember I told you about the brushing of the teeth? So I recognized that I was actually doing a stress response in my body whenever I was doing anything and I hadn't been aware of this before because I was so sick and everything I didn't realize this. So what I said that to do was retrain my nervous system so that whenever I go to doing anything--whether it would be sitting down whether it be reading, whether it would be brushing my kids teeth, or bringing in the shopping from the car--that instead of being like not breathing and pinching my body and… I would go hang on, I can relax. I learned relaxation with my meditation. So I go, “hang on" I can let go of the tension of my muscles, I need to keep breathing. So here was another way I would re-train my nervous system.

And a range of other things. I mean there is a whole multitude of things that I am doing but that gives you some idea of what the type of approaches that I took.

 

[Abrin]

I had no idea that Spoonie Radio existed.

All the episodes in the podcast look really good.

 

[Cort]

I agree. I don't know why it's not getting more attention...

I had no idea that Spoonie Radio existed.

All the episodes in the podcast look really good.

 

[Abrin]

As a side note, I can understand how he feels about mindfullness training. I loathe it.

Hearing about his success with it though it inspiring me to give it another try again.

 

[Cort]

As a side note, I can understand how he feels about mindfullness training. I loathe it.

Hearing about his success with it though it inspiring me to give it another try again.

I think the best policy is to incorporate it with other treatments. It's not easy but there's no dehying it can help at least a bit....Every little bit counts.

 

[Abrin]

Does anyone know what Dan Neufller's website is called? I wouldn't mind checking it out.

 

[Shannon]

Found no website for him, but here's his youtube channel with a G+ account he doesn't use either. He needs to get more socially active (with social media, that is) if he wants his YT channel to get better known.
https://www.youtube.com/user/CFSUnravelled/about

I love mindful meditation. I have a mantra you may like to use.

I am free from inner and outer harm,
I am peaceful and happy,
I am healthy and strong,
I take care of myself joyfully.

You can then wish it for others and then the world if you like
May you be free from inner and outer harm... etc.

I say it many times a day, whenever I'm sitting quietly and have a few minutes to do it.

 

[Cort]

If I could just get that first part

I am free from inner and outer harm

My life would be totally different.

If I could get that second part

I am peaceful and happy,

My quality of life would soar...

Since negative conversations are running me much of the time - ultimately I should be able to replace them with positive ones...Thanks for the reminder

 

[Shannon]

This is how I see each section:

I am free from inner and outer harm
To me, this means no negative thinking (inner harm), don't use words like can't, won't, etc. Change them to I CAN, I WILL! And stop dwelling in the past

Outer harm is somewhat self-evident, right? Well to me outer harm could be not reacting to people when they see my obese self with a cane. Let the haters hate. They don't know (or care) about my daily struggles, nor my chronic pain and so on. Worrying about what other people think is only going to waste your precious energy. It's just not worth it. Let the outer negativity in your life just wash over your back into nothingness.

I am peaceful and happy
Fake it til ya make it baby! If you smile at someone, they are very likely to smile back. Even if you are not happy, smile! It will change how you feel. The peaceful part would mean (for me), to remember to be calm, anxiety free, mellow. Because we all know that intense emotion (good or bad) physically affects our bodies. An argument with my hubby (for example) can push me into a flare.


I am healthy and strong
Whether it is true or not doesn't matter. Think of this like something repeated to you can become true for you. If you were told, as a child, that you are stupid, you may find that as an adult you still think that. Again, whether that is true or not. When saying/thinking this phrase, "I AM healthy and strong", think of it as an affirmation.

I take care of myself joyfully

For me this means trying to remember to take care of myself better. Without the financial means for therapies that would vastly improve my quality of life, all I have is myself. The hubby and I still struggle for ways to eat better within our meager income.

Sorry if this is hijacking the original post! Feel free to move it to it's own thread.