Ageing problems are due to disease. Disease is due to persistent stress. Stress is due to lack of energy. Lack of energy is due to an ignorant life style.

Biochemistry and physiology of the body has shown that stress by itself causes a release of CORTISOL in the body which is needed for the body to survive in an emergency.

However constant presence of excessive CORTISOL due to persistent stress whether physically, mentally and/or emotionally in the body has many side effects, for example

1. Accelerated aging (Kerr et al., 1991; Namiki, 1994)
2. Brain cell death (Kerr et al., 1991; Sapolsky, 1992)
3. Impaired memory and learning (Kerr et al., 1991; Sapolsky, 1992)
4. Decreased bone density; increased osteoporosis (Manolagas, 1979)
5. Reduced muscle mass (Beme, 1993)
6. Reduced skin growth and regeneration (Beme, 1993)
7. Impaired immune function (Hiemke, 1994)
8. Increased blood sugar (DeFeo, 1989)
9. Increased fat accumulation around waist / hips (Marin, 1992)

These are the most common health problems we face, however, all other diseases are extensions and persistence of the above conditions. Just to name a few of the common diseases ,

1. Obesity (Marin 1992)
2. Diabetes (Nestler 1992)
3. Hypertension (Shafagoj 1992)
4. Heart Disease (Barrett-Connor 1986)
5. Cancer (Bhatavdekar 1994)
6. Alzheimer’s (Nasman 1995)
7. HIV-related disease (Wisniewski 1993)

When CORTISOL is high in the blood then the production of DHEA reduces as the precursor or raw material for the production of both these hormones is the same.

If there is more CORTISOL in the body, due to stress, then the raw material is used up for the production of cortisol. This leads to the reduced production of DHEA due to lack of the raw material.

DHEA is present in adequate quantities when we are happy and healthy.

After understanding that physical, emotional, mental and environmental stresses are the real cause for our unhealthy state. The next question was to research on the causes of stress.

Twenty five years of work and practical realities and experiences in clients I found LACK OF ENERGY in a system is the reason for stress, pain, discomfort, symptoms of diseases. Then when I started applying techniques of sourcing energy I found that my clients started feeling a relief and over a period of time didn’t need any medication. In fact those who were disciplined and compliant managed to reverse their disease. Wow  - that was fascinating  - EUREKA! What a discovery!

Then research showed that when we manage our stresses by sourcing energy as instituted at NURA for a period of six weeks we had the following change in the biochemistry in addition to the change towards a happier and healthy state.

DHEA doubled in the blood as soon as cortisol reduced by a quarter - this proved that all we needed was source energy by natural techniques and to become aware and educated about our own health and happiness.

Development of the techniques, success with implementing them, helping clients to reverse their disease and in turn their ageing was a great boon.

Some of the clinical trials by applying techniques from Impact of a Workplace Stress Reduction Program on Blood Pressure and Emotional Health in Hypertensive Employees  led to the development of NURA,

Rollin McCraty, Ph.D., Mike Atkinson, and Dana Tomasino, B.A.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2003; 9(3): 355-369.

Objectives: This study examined the impact of a workplace based stress management program on blood pressure (BP), emotional health, and workplace related measures in hypertensive employees of a global information technology company.

Design: Thirty-eight (38) employees with hypertension were randomly assigned to a treatment group that received the stress reduction intervention or a waiting control group that received no intervention during the study period. The treatment group participated in a 16 hour program, which included instruction in positive emotion refocusing and emotional restructuring techniques intended to reduce sympathetic nervous system arousal, stress, and negative affect, increase positive affect, and improve performance. Learning and practice of the techniques was enhanced by heart rate variability feedback, which helped participants learn to self-generate physiological coherence, a beneficial physiologic mode associated with increased heart rhythm coherence, physiologic entrainment, parasympathetic activity, and vascular resonance. BP, emotional health, and workplace-related measures were assessed before and 3 months after the program.

Results: Three months post-intervention, the treatment group exhibited a mean adjusted reduction of 10.6 mm Hg in systolic BP and of 6.3 mm Hg in diastolic BP. The treatment group also demonstrated improvements in emotional health, including significant reductions in stress symptoms, depression, and global psychological distress and significant increases in peacefulness and positive outlook. Furthermore, the trained employees demonstrated significant increases in the work-related scales of workplace satisfaction and value of contribution.

A Controlled Pilot Study of Stress Management Training of Elderly Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

Frederic Luskin, PhD, Megan Reitz, BA, Kathryn Newell, MA, Thomas Gregory Quinn, MD, William Haskell, PhD
Preventive Cardiology 2002;5(4):168-172, 176.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of stress management training on quality of life, functional capacity, and heart rate variability in elderly patients with New York Heart Association class I-III congestive heart failure (CHF). While substantial research exists on stress management training for patients with coronary heart disease, there are few data on the value of psychosocial training on patients with CHF. Thirty-three multi ethnic patients (mean age, 66±9 years) were assigned through incomplete randomization to one of two treatment groups or a wait listed control group. The 14 participants who completed the treatment attended eight training sessions during a 10 week period. The training consisted of 75 minute sessions of stress management.

Subjects were assessed at baseline and again at the completion of the training. Depression, stress management, optimism, anxiety, emotional distress, and functional capacity were evaluated, as well as heart rate variability. Significant improvements (p<0.05) were noted in perceived stress, emotional distress, 6- minute walk, and depression, and positive trends were noted in each of the other psychosocial measures. The 24 hour heart rate variability showed no significant changes in autonomic tone. The authors noted that CHF patients were willing study participants and their emotional coping and functional capacity were enhanced. This program offers a simple and cost-effective way to augment medical management of CHF. Given the incompleteness of CHF medical management and the exploding interest in complementary medical intervention, it seems imperative that further work in psychosocial treatment be undertaken.

Emotional Self-Regulation Program Enhances Psychological Health and Quality of Life in Patients with Diabetes Rollin McCraty, Ph.D., Mike Atkinson, and Lee Lipsenthal, M.D. HeartMath Research Center, Institute of HeartMath, Publication No. 00-006. Boulder Creek, CA, 2000.

Aims: This pilot study was designed to assess changes in psychological status, quality of life and hematologic measures predictive of long-term health and well-being in patients with diabetes following a stress reduction and emotional self-regulation program.

Methods: Twenty-two patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus participated in a 2 day HeartMath workshop, a research-based program developed to reduce stress and negative affect, increase positive affect and reduce inappropriate autonomic nervous system activation. Self report measures of stress, psychological status and quality of life were administered before and six months following the intervention. Hemoglobin A1c, cholesterol and triglycerides, and blood pressure were also assessed.

Results:Participants experienced significant reductions in psychological symptomatology and negative emotions, including anxiety, depression, anger and distress, following the intervention. Significant increases in peacefulness, social support and vitality were also measured, as well as reductions in somatization, sleeplessness and fatigue. Participants showed reduced sensitivity to daily life stressors after the intervention, and quality of life significantly improved. Regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between self-reported practice of the techniques learned in the program and the change in HbA1c levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Increased practice was associated with reductions in HbA1c.

Conclusions: Results suggest that the HeartMath emotional self-regulation intervention reduces stress, improves psychological health, enhances quality of life and may improve glycemic control in individuals with diabetes. Replication of this study with a non-treatment control group is necessary to confirm these findings.

An Inner Quality Approach to Reducing Stress and Improving Physical and Emotional Wellbeing at Work Bob Barrios-Choplin, Ph.D., Rollin McCraty, Ph.D., and Bruce Cryer, M.A. Stress Medicine 1997: 13(3): 193-201.

This exploratory field study examined the impact of an Inner Quality Management program (IQM) on three groups of Motorola employees. IQM is a training program designed by HeartMath to help people increase productivity through improved health, communication, goal clarity, positive mood and job satisfaction, and through the reduction of tension, burnout, physical symptoms of stress and negative mood. Both psychological and physiological measures were assessed in the 6-month study. The study involved three groups: managers, engineers and factory workers. Results showed that contentment, job satisfaction and communication significantly increased after the training, while sleeplessness, tension, anxiety, nervousness and physical symptoms of stress significantly decreased. Blood pressure in hypertensive individuals decreased, and there was reduction in sympathetic nervous activity. Implications for workplace wellbeing are discussed.

Impact of the Power to Change Performance Program on Stress and Health Risks in Correctional Officers Rollin McCraty, Ph.D.*, Mike Atkinson*, Lee Lipsenthal, M.D.*, and Lourdes Arguelles, Ph.D.**
*HeartMath Research Center, Institute of HeartMath, Boulder Creek, CA
**Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA HeartMath Research Center, Institute of HeartMath, Report No. 03-014. Boulder Creek, CA, November 2003.

This study investigated the impact of HeartMath’s Power to Change Performance stress and health risk reduction program on physiological and psychological stress and health risk factors in a sample of correctional peace officers. Eighty eight officers from three facilities were randomized to an experimental group and a wait-list control group. The experimental group participated in the stress and health risk reduction program, which was delivered over two consecutive days. The program included instruction on health risk factors as well as training in positive emotion-focused stress reduction techniques intended to reduce negative emotional arousal, improve physiological balance, increase positive affect, and enhance performance. Learning and practice of the techniques was enhanced by heart rate variability feedback, which helped participants learn to self generate physiological coherence, a beneficial mode associated with increased efficiency and synchronization in the functioning of physiological systems. Measures of physiological and psychological stress and health risk were assessed before the program and again 3 months afterward. The measures included in the health risk assessment were the Personal Wellness Profile self-report survey, which assesses a broad range of health-related information, behaviors, and attitudes; and four biometric markers: height, weight, blood pressure, and total cholesterol levels. Additional measures reflective of physiological stress and overall health included cortisol and DHEA, secretory immunoglobulin A (an immune system marker), HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose levels, a 10 minute resting electrocardiogram, and measures of heart rate variability (an indicator of autonomic function).

Three self-report psychological surveys were also included to assess emotional stress and work-related variables. An analysis of baseline data revealed that officers in this study were under greater stress and at greater health risk in comparison to a reference sample of working adults. A within-group analysis of pre-post changes showed that 3 months after the intervention program, employees in the experimental group demonstrated significant reductions in stress and health risk factors, as well as significant improvements in work-related parameters. Physiological changes in the experimental group included significant reductions in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol levels, the total cholesterol/HDL ratio, fasting glucose levels, mean heart rate, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Psychological changes included significant reductions in overall psychological distress, anger, fatigue, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, speed and impatience, and global Type A behavior, and increases in gratitude and positive outlook. There were also improvements in key organizationally relevant measures in the experimental group after the program, including significant increases in productivity, motivation, goal clarity, and perceived manager support. Finally, the reduction in health risk factors achieved in this study are projected to lead to reductions in both health care and absentee costs, yielding a total projected annual cost savings of $699 per employee.

In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that the Power to Change Performance program was effective in significantly reducing stress and health risk factors in a population of correctional peace officers, while enhancing employee productivity and psychological well-being. These changes were realized with minimal intervention and in a relatively brief period of time, and should result in significant cost savings to the organization if the program is expanded to larger employee populations. Thus, by reducing the physiological, psychological, performance-related, and financial impact of high stress and health risks in the crucial and demanding profession of corrections work, this program promises significant benefits both to the employees as individuals and to the organization as a whole.

Interviews by Tim Culbert, MD, Childrens Hospital, Minneapolis, MN

"The basic science of mind-body unity suggests that every shade of emotion and every facet of selfhood is curled together with body states relevant to health."
—Henry Dreher

Professionals are using the FFILS in a variety of situations for stress-reduction, emotional self-regulation, and self-control. This includes most stress mediated illness, many chronic illnesses and conditions that are psychophysiological in nature. In the following sections are descriptions of case studies of clients with common illnesses that have improved while using the FFILS as a stress reduction and emotional management trainer.

Chronic Lower Back Pain

Here is a case from a pain specialist at a hospital in California that gives a good sense of how the Freeze Framer Interactive Learning System can be used in a chronic pain situation:

Author's Commentary: Patients come into our inpatient chronic pain management program having tried unsuccessfully with surgery, medication, single outpatient treatment modalities and talkt herapy to deal with their chronic pain condition. With repeated failure they frequently report feeling utterly helpless to modify their pain or function in a meaningful way. Their attempt to cope is often maladaptive such as muscular bracing and guarding, lying down or sitting throughout most of the day, and social isolation, which itself becomes part of the problem of chronic pain.

Tom had worked in construction for many years prior to his back injury and subsequent 2 back surgeries. He had been a very active person and someone who loved organizing social events with co-workers. He described himself as the person others sought out when they had problems or needed advice or support. Now he was unable to work, had limited tolerance for activity as he experienced increased pain with exertion and rarely got together with anyone other than family. He had turned increasingly to narcotic medication to cope with his unremitting back pain and now experienced negative side effects from the medication, and still had debilitating pain. Tom came into the chronic pain program to slowly wean off his narcotic medication while simultaneously increasing his strength and endurance, learning proper body mechanics and pacing during activities and developing coping skills from our interdisciplinary team.

He said he used to be “high on life” and his biggest goal was to somehow “get back to being the person he used to be”. He reacted negatively to his pain as if the pain sensations were triggers reminding him of what he feared he had lost forever. At first he was angry to hear he would be learning to manage his pain, not get rid of it. As a biofeedback specialist I may use a number of modalities, depending on the problem. I began with EMG biofeedback training to bring Tom’s awareness to the excessive muscle tension in his neck and shoulder area (his “solution” to keep pressure off his back) and a likely source of his aching shoulders and frequent headaches. I also trained him in Autogenic Relaxation and gave him my relaxation tape to use in learning what relaxation is and developing “intentional” self quieting skills. After he learned to breathe deeply without fear that his back would spasm, I introduced the Quick Coherence technique and the FFILS. I knew he needed to change his relationship to his pain and asked him if he would react angrily to his child if he were injured. Of course he said he would give him his love, support, and do everything he could to comfort him. I suggested that he consider offering his injured back the same love and concern as he would his child; that his pain merely signified injured tissue. As he practiced with the FFILS and began to open his heart, he changed his perception and shifted away from his emotional battle with his pain. Frequently he reported his pain sensation decreased following training. A wonderful moment came after a session when he exclaimed that he experienced for the first time in years the “high on life” feelings he had longed to feel again. With training he said that even when he had a pain flare, he was able to maintain peace in his heart and use that feeling “as a shield from the pain over his pure self”. During the 4 week program, Tom had tapered off all his narcotic medications and switched to nonopioid medication and as happens so often, his pain was often decreased. He stopped talking about pain, his sense of humor returned, he rarely used his cane, and he had several plans for fun activities after returning home. Tom “got his life back”, which is what most patients really want out of the program heartmath tools have become an indispensable treatment component for me to use with chronic pain patients to promote emotional wellness and perception change about themselves and their pain.

Author's Commentary: This case is an example of how the FFILS can help kids and teens with migraine and migraine variants. Studies clearly support the efficacy of a variety of relaxation/self regulation techniques in the treatment of headache. This was extrapolated to an application with abdominal migraine with great success.

Elaine is a 13 year old female who had a history of periumbilical recurrent abdominal pain since a young age (several years) and who had completed extensive evaluations with specialists in neurology and gastroenterology with no specific findings. Evaluation at the integrative medicine clinic found her history to be consistent with a diagnosis of abdominal migraine. Results of laboratory and radiologic tests were all within normal limits and previous therapeutic interventions which included a food elimination diet and use a smooth muscle relaxant medication proved to be unhelpful. At the time of her visit, she reported (her parents concurred) having severe abdominal pain episodes several times per month, screaming and writhing in pain, necessitating several trips to the local emergency room which resulted in no definitive findings.  Occasionally Elaine described experiencing a headache before, during or after the abdominal pain but this symptom is not consistent. In addition to the abdominal pain, she will occasionally experience concurrent symptoms of nausea and vomiting.

Elaine had been missing school several days per year on average because of this ongoing pain and this had increased recently. In addition, her family felt that her pain was beginning to affect the entire family’s function. Pain episodes could last anywhere from a few hours to a few days at this point and nothing was providing Elaine with any consistent relief. Mental health screening was within normal limits. Past medical history was otherwise non contributory except to note a strong paternal family history for migraine.

Initial recommendations were made for a multimodality treatment approach that included low-dose SSRI coverage which was not started initially, self-regulation skills training to facilitate a lowered state of sympathetic nervous system arousal and some basic nutritional supplementation At her first follow up visit one week later, Elaine had reported 2 severe abdominal pain episodes during the prior week. In fact, one had occurred while the family was out of town and they all ended up coming home early because of Elaine’s pain symptoms. At this session, Elaine was taught to discriminate differences in relaxed versus aroused states of mind/body, and she was coached through basic progressive muscle relaxation and diaphragmatic breathing exercises and a practice plan was made.

At her second visit one week later, things were about the same. She was instructed in the relevance of peripheral temperature as a marker for stress and then the basics of mental imagery were reviewed.

At her third follow-up she noted the frequency and severity of events had slightly decreased. At that visit she was introduced to the FFFILS and the Quick Coherence technique. The use of skills that she had previously been practicing and mastering was discussed, showing how those skill helped with getting into the “zone”. We reviewed home and school practice strategies.

By her fourth follow up things were continuing to improve and Elaine had only one severe episode in the previous 3 weeks. She was attending school every day which was a great improvement and was receiving A and B grades. She reported only one minor episode of pain in 4 weeks. Elaine described practicing 1-2 times each day for 5-10 minutes. We then worked on the idea of taking shorter more frequent “mini-breaks” for 1-2 minutes a time, several times each using the Quick Coherence technique.

At the fifth and sixth follow ups each about 4 weeks apart she continued to do extremely well with minimal abdominal migraine episodes, regular school attendance and with her family also commenting about improvements noted in her mood. Elaine reports using the various self-regulation techniques on a regular basis and feeling quite confident in using them in both preventative and abortive modes.

Here are some case studies from a nurse at Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA.

A. Jill, a 34 year old female with Multiple Sclerosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Hypertension of unknown etiology. Jill came to our center for symptom management of her Irritable Bowel Syndrome and associated stress and anxiety related to her declining health. Using the FFILS, she became much more open and communicative. It was as though she was opening her heart for the first time. Her IBS symptoms became less bothersome, blood pressure decreased from 180/90 to 126/70. Having experienced these welcomed improvements, she recognized the self-healing ability that she possessed and recommitted to living her life to the fullest.

B. Karen, a 38 year old female with a long standing history of depression, anxiety and panic disorder. She was being seen for management of symptoms due to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Karen was extremely receptive to learning to use the FFILS and optimistic that it would be a useful tool. On the fourth session, she had made significant gains in her level of coherence. Karen’s had finally  achieved a modest gain of 4 percent of high coherence. Karen became tearful then sobbing uncontrollably then shared that she was overmedicating herself and she had suicidal ideas. She acknowledged for the first time that her life did have meaning and achieving this level of coherence was so cathartic for her. Following a hospitalization, Karen began to slowly engage with her family, care for her children, and integrate back into society. C. Brent, a 45 year old male for anger management and anxiety. After 15 sessions with the FFILS, he successfully achieved a medium level (eight percent) of entrainment. This provided confidence to Brent and he began to use the Quick Coherence technique whenever feelings of anger or anxiety arose. He accepted the suggestion to use the technique twice daily during times when there were no anger or anxiety. Upon his last visit Brent achieved a 30 percent high level of coherence. Several months later, he wrote a note expressing how calm and peaceful his life had become. He verbalized deep appreciation for all the blessings in his life.

Introduction
Certain negative emotional states such as anxiety, anger and panic, include a component of over-arousal thereby triggering the “fight or flight” repertoire of physiological responses. Some of these existing emotional tendencies are additionally amplified by stress. When in an undesirable emotional state, many individuals then experience unwanted cognitive and behavioral phenomena that can lead to impaired performance and undesirable behavioral choices. If shifted to a more positive, balanced emotional state, many find that performance and behavioral control improves. The FFILS has been used successfully with clients having emotional/behaviorial conditions, such as:

• Anxiety Disorders
• Depression
• Anger Management
• Emotional Liability
• Asperger’s Syndrome
• Performance Anxiety
• Peak Performance Training
• ADHD

The following information is provided by a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. I have a private psychotherapy practice in the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. I also spend a day each week in an urban low cost clinic. I work with adults ranging in age from their early 20’s into their 70’s. In both practice settings most of my patients are city dwellers. They present with a spectrum of diagnoses ranging Generalized Anxiety Disorder to Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some seek to resolve creative blocks limiting their art and others are seeking freedom from lives interrupted by intrusive recollections of a painful childhood. I introduced each of them to the FFILS regardless of their presenting problem. I usually present the FFILS in this manner. I tell my patients that change, while sometimes desirable (and always inevitable) is nonetheless often contrary to the habitual nature of humans. I explain that psychotherapy will often stir up memories and emotions and that part of their therapy will involve my teaching them some basic skills. These skills, in emotional self-regulating as practiced with the FFILS, will help them to understand and manage these “periods” so they might make the best therapeutic use of them.

I want to teach my patients how to “soothe” and “ground” themselves. I help them learn that they can change their minds about a problem by using the FFILS. They discover new ways to manage their emotions rather than feeling controlled by them.

The FFILS quickly and easily shows them the power of their own thoughts and the immediate effect they can have on their body. One goal of therapy, stated or not, is always to heal the past in the present and thereby free the future for new possibilities. The FFILS is a valuable tool that helps my patients learn that they can change their minds. I use the FFILS in conjunction with these psychotherapeutic techniques:

1. Psychodynamic / Insight Oriented (talk) Therapy
2. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) (I believe the FFILS has many elements similar to EMDR. One primary similarity being the attention paid to multiple stimuli. Similarly, I think of the FFILS as helping the user to “reprocess or rethink” ideas that may have gotten “stuck” due to strong emotion or dysfunctionally stored information. I suspect the FFILS might have a similar effect on sub-clinical problems that professionally administered EMDR has on more florid clinical issues.
3. Peak Performance Enhancement

Here is a case study from a recreation therapist at University of North Carolina hospital in Chapel Hill, NC, who points out that consistent practice, and helping patients move along the continuum from education to application, can result in burn patients learning to reduce stress and anxiety, expand coping skills, and improve autonomic nervous system functioning.

Author's Commentary: Burn injuries result in sequellae of events, often with profound physical,psychological, and emotional ramifications. Concomitant trauma on a psychological level frequently accompanies the physical trauma of the burn injury. Aside from the very significant pain issues, burn survivors often suffer from anxiety, PTSD, and/or depression. HeartMath techniques, and the FFILS, offer patients a means for reducing the distress associated with post burn psychopathology and a method for influencing the pathophysiology.

In the burn population, researchers are interested in the psychopathological responses to burn injury.Psychological distress has been shown to affect the physical recovery process. Clearly, interventions designed to improve coping with the myriad of post burn issues are of significant interest. The HeartMath techniques offer a user-friendly format for integrating emotional aspects of coping with cognitive processing. For example, the FFILS and Quick Coherence technique can be useful for engaging the patient in dialogue around trauma-associated distress while providing an appropriate avenue for focusing efforts to reduce the distress.

Two cornerstone HeartMath emotions, appreciation and gratitude, are effective building blocks for developing the much-needed coping skills. Burn patients often gravitate to this perspective naturally, and the attentive healthcare worker will often hear an expression of gratitude. This affords the opportunity to introduce a framework for skill development, such as the Quick Coherence technique. For example, patients often make a remark of gratitude, such as “I am thankful my burn wasn’t worse” or in reference to spared body parts, survival, family support, etc. Depending upon the location of the burn, those with an available digit can benefit from the concrete learning opportunities associated with the FFILS. Although use of HeartMath technology is necessarily tailored to an individual’s specific circumstance, common elements of progressive training can be identified. Following an introduction to HeartMath techniques, with an emphasis on the impact of both positive and negative emotions, specific skill development may continue. The point at which the technology of the FFILS is introduced may vary. For those patients who are technologically inclined, or who may be drawn to the “game-like” nature of the program, it can be effectively introduced during the initial session. The immediate reduction in pain or anxiety that patients frequently report after use of the FFILS is reinforcing, as patients often integrate the perception that they can teach themselves to feel better. Since many patients experiencing pain or anxiety also exhibit disordered breathing patterns, attention to breathing can aid patients in achieving coherence.

Patients who understandably become very focused on the situations surrounding their injury may requirecoaching to identify events in their life evocative of positive emotional experiences. Empowering patientsto influence their physiology and sense of well being through use of the FFILS is most effective when followed up with identifying potential situations for applying the new skill.  Application of HeartMath techniques can be useful during specific burn related events that typically increase pain or anxiety, such as wound-care, surgical interventions, or emotionally charged issues like facing family, friends, or classmates after a disfiguring burn injury. The following are a few examples of specific situational applications of the FFILS.

A. Jen, a middle age woman with burns on over 40% of her body, was highly motivated to use the FFILS program on a daily basis. She noticed that she “felt better” after spending time in a coherent state. This was significant, given her history of substance abuse, depression, and anxiety. During her 7-minute practice session, with the hot air balloon game, the soaring balloon dropped precipitously, then resumed it’s previous height. In processing this event afterwards, the patient relayed flashing back to the events surrounding the fire, and being able to recover from the anxiety by focusing on the gratitude she felt for having saved a child’s life before the fire ravaged the house. B. Freddy, a teenager was extremely nervous prior to surgery, and was open to trying the FFILS program during Recreational Therapy. The immediate success was evident, as his first request after returning to his room post-op was to use the FFILS again because he wanted to feel better. C. Scott, a 50 year old man, frustrated with many perceived annoyances of being hospitalized, applied the Quick Coherence® technique, and used the FFILS to change his perspective about many of his stressors. In one instance, after becoming frustrated with the phone “ringing off the hook,” the patient was able to apply his heart intelligence to observe that “they don’t know what’s going on up here, they are just being concerned friends. I can let them know when a good time to call would be.”

This case comes from a Pediatric Psychologist in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Molly is a 9-year-old girl who has a significant history of anxiety and functional abdominal pain. Two years ago, at age 7, Molly and her parents began working with a pediatric psychologist. Initial interventions focused on developing Molly’s self-regulation skills for management of stress, worries, fears and functional abdominal pain. Molly’s therapy included a combination of parent coaching, play therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and bio feedback training. Molly was quite successful in learning “belly breathing” and other age-appropriate relaxation techniques, including self-hypnosis, progressive muscle relaxation and positive self-talk. She improved her coping skills and was much more functional in managing stress and her feelings of anxiety. Molly recently returned to the clinic, at age 9, for a follow-up session due to symptoms of anxiety and some sleep onset difficulty. Parents felt that Molly’s anxiety was interfering with her optimal functioning. She was having difficulty effectively using her self-regulation skills to modulate her feelings of stress and anxiety. Molly was then introduced to the Freeze-Framer Learning System as a tool to help with self regulation and coherence training. We reviewed the concepts behind heart rate variability training and linked these skills with her breathing and other relaxation techniques. On her fi rst attempt, using the heart rhythm display screen, Molly did a beautiful job getting into the zone, with the use of diaphragmatic breathing. She obtained a high coherence level of 52%. We then added some new ideas about the use of positive emotion in terms of the Quick Coherence technique. Molly then used these techniques with the Rainbow game screen and obtained a high coherence level at 100%! We reviewed these new skills with Molly’s mother and discussed a home practice program to help Molly achieve a state of high coherence to help with stress management. Molly found that with these new skills she was able to better manage stress and anxiety. Molly’s parents commented that they had observed her having greater confidence in her ability to self-regulate at times of stress and emotional arousal.

Author's Commentary: Over the past several years a number of studies have reviewed the pivotal role that emotional regulation (or lack thereof) can have on the clinical course of asthma and the frequency of exacerbations and need for hospitalizations. Mind/body techniques can be very helpful in modifying the course of asthma and in providing tools for individuals with asthma to better manage long-term health as well as acute events; in some cases reducing or eliminating the need for bronchodilating agents. Some children and teens with asthma develop other complicated breathing problems such as paradoxical vocal cord adduction, where the vocal cords inadvertently close during inspiration creating an uncomfortable feeling of tightness or shortness of breath which is not medication responsive. For most children who experience this, there is a psychophysiological state of inter-related phenomena that seem to bring this on, including stress as a common mediating factor.

Janelle was a 16 year old competitive figure skater referred by the pulmonology group with a diagnosis of asthma complicated recently by paradoxical vocal cord adduction (also called vocal cord dysfunction or VCD). Janelle was fi nding her daily practice and also performance at skating competitions was being affected by her experience of shortness of breath that was related to VCD and therefore not responsive to her usual asthma medications. This resulted in decreased stamina and had an impact on her ability to finish a full routine without becoming fatigued and short of breath. She felt “driven" to do well in figure skating, admitted to stress secondary to her strict schedule and was finding it less “fun” at times. Her goal was to compete successfully at a national level. She was also a straight “A” student in high school.

In reviewing the etiology of VCD we reviewed the basic sequence we think happens to most individuals that we see. First of all, increased levels of recurrent stress may lead to more thoracic breathing patterns and a tendency to “brace” or tighten the muscles in the upper body-shoulders, neck and even face. With these muscles being tighter, particularly at times of increased aerobic activity where you are breathing harder, a basic “dys-coordination” occurs whereby the tightened neck muscles and thoracic breathing contribute to a situation where the vocal cords inappropriately close (adduct) partially during inhalation causing resistance to air fl ow. This is experienced as tightness and shortness of breath. This feeling in turn may increase anxiety even “panic” feelings which can drive the cycle further in the wrong direction. This is commonly at first attributed to the underlying asthma which can be exacerbated by exercise. However, in the case of VCD, it is not medication responsive and requires an undoing of this habituated pattern of stress, muscle tightness, thoracic breathing and negative expectation and emotional“dysregulation” with symptoms of anxiety.

For Janelle, training in progressive muscle relaxation (with special attention being given to the shoulders, neck and face muscles) was combined with training in quick coherence/freeze framer HRV techniques and resulted in an excellent impovement over a 12 week time frame. She was taught to practice diaphragmatic“ heart focussed” breathing first in resting, sitting and standing positions, and then taught to breathe more comfortably and fully with positive expectations while engaging in increasingly higher levels of aerobic demand (skating slowly at first and then gradually with more intensity). She was gradually able to breathe much more comfortably again while skating with increased confidence and improved performance. Daily use of the Quick Coherence technique and related stress management approaches were also suggested as a way to manage day-to-day background stress which was also felt to be a contributing factor.

 At NURA we have solutions to bring you back to a healthy state.

Research Done By:
Dr. S.K. Ramesh