Neuralplasticity and ME/CFS

A few people have asked me about a book I sometimes make reference to  - 'The Brain that Changes Itself" by  Norman Doidge.

ME/CFS is a classified by the World Health Organsiation as a Neurological Condition. So for sufferers it contains a great overview of the changes in our understanding of how the brain works. In short, not only were we wrong about how the brain works but we were spectacularly wrong! The concept of neuralplasticity has totally changed how we treat certain conditions and what we now see as possible. In some cases such as stroke rehabilitation, it has turned the impossible into a wonderful new reality. What was unrealistic and just plain impossible is now standard treatment.

I see the Lightning Process as part of this new wave of approaches.

Sufferers of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Conditions may be particularly interested reading how the very early work on 'Neuralplasticity' (that won Eric Kandel a Nobel Prize in 2000) was about influencing pain messages to the brain.

I sometime encourage people to read the book before coming onto a training as it gets people to realise that many of the things that we learnt at school as 'facts' have changed.

For those suffering from ME/CFS and feel unable to take in the whole book, there is a documentary of the book and there are lots of free videos online of Norman Doidge discussing the book and the concept of Neuralplasticity.

The book itself is available at most bookstores. Read it. Your brain will thank you.

"In other words I now have a life" - Claire - CFS for 16 years

Another great Lightning Process success story. This is a letter from Claire, a lovely lady I saw in Auckland a few months ago. The letter was written to the New Zealand ME Society and featured in their monthly newsletter.

Well done Claire. What a remarkable change. Enjoy!

Ever had your diagnosis challenged as not genuine?

This is my response (published in the Meeting Place - NZ ME/CFS association), to a previous article challenging that the Lightning Process can work with ME. My previous post gives the context of the letter.

Letter to editor

A recent article in the ANZMES newsletter from a member, put into print one of the arguments I regularly hear and felt needed addressing. A big thanks to Colin for allowing my comments to be printed in the following edition.

To paraphrase the article I was responding to - If you get well using the Lightning Process you couldn't have had ME in the first place. It was probably Glandular fever or some mimic of ME.

It is an argument that I hear all the time and makes no logical sense, as people I see are getting their diagnosis from ME experts. Which creates an interesting dilemma - either the diagnosis from the experts are wrong which puts uncertainly on all other diagnosis OR the Lightning Process can be effective with ME. I suspect it is the later.

Hopefully at some stage there will be a biological marker or definitive test that will allow these anti-Lightning Process arguments to be put to bed once and for all.

Lightning Process, rain, wind and thunder

Last year I had a very nervous training in Noosa as a cyclone headed our way and changed course at the last moment. Phew.

Then my last trip to South Island New Zealand for a training had the small town I was staying in receive a record downpour and I was flooded in. (Hello to Oamaru!)

I then had a lady fly to the Sunshine Coast for a training and her plane was struck by lightning on the way home. (I assured her it wasn't part of the training package!)

Over the last few months the South East of Queensland have been so wet that I had to cancel several trainings.

Then just last week a had a man fly down from Cairns for a 1-on-1 training. As Cyclone Yasi headed towards the coast, he didn't know if he would have a home to go to.

I know the Lightning process is powerful but that is ridiculous. :-)

CAUTION-The Lightning Process can scar you for life

How's this for an email I got from a lovely lady I saw 2 months ago. Well done Alex. You are a champion.

"Hi Ian,

Just emailing to tell you how I’ve been going. The past month has been absolutely amazing. I won dux at my school despite all the time I had off, I came first in English, Extension English, Modern History, Society and Culture and Music. I also passed my P’s test in the hail while all the traffic lights were out and it was flooding. I was able to keep my cool with the process. I also played my first proper gig on Sunday night in Newtown which was really fun.

I have been running the beach each day and this morning (I don’t know what your opinions are on tattoos but I got this one this morning) My first and last as I am not one to get tattoo’s but I believed it was appropriate. I attached a picture. It will be a constant reminder of what I have achieved and to always stay positive :)

I believe the process saved my life and I am so grateful for everything you have done.

Thanks again and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. "

(FROM IAN -The rubber duck is part of a story I tell in my training about the potential speed of change. Nice one Alex!)

ME/CFS and XMRV -

A new study has cast further doubt on the idea that a virus called XMRV causes chronic fatigue syndrome. READ BBC ARTICLE HERE

Although I'm sure this won't end the debate about XMRV and its links to ME/CFS, it would seem that opinion is starting to sway towards the findings that XMRV is not linked to ME/CFS.

Through my experience I would say that there isn't one single virus that causes ME/CFS. Any lingering virus has the potential to cause it. Onset may be from any number of stressors. I have seen Epstein Barr, Ross River Fever, Barmah Forest Virus, an operation, physical or emotional trauma, physical injury, vaccinations, bacterial infection, pregnancy, exposure to chemicals and even extreme jetlag.

The body seems to go into a heightened state of sympathetic nervous system arousal causing a miriad of symptoms.

The downside of this news is that it still means that we are no closer to finding a biological marker or definate test for ME/CFS. Until this happens sufferers will have to go through the long and frustrating process of getting a diagnosis.

Lightning Process Babies

As I start to get Christmas cards from people I have seen over the years and I hear what they are up to now, the one thing that always amazes me is the incredible ripple effect that occurs when someone gets success with the Lightning Process. It rarely effects just that person. Most people I see have a support group of friends and family who also benefit when some one gets their health back.

It might be a partner who can now have a 'normal' relationship or a child who gets a mother back. (Some friends and family of course don't stick around and have long gone by the time people see me).

There is one thing though that I really enjoy...getting news that one of my

Lightning Process graduates is pregnant. I know how much it means to them as my wife and I were in the same position.

I call them 'Lightning Process Babies', and I've just found out that one of this years graduates is pregnant!

For my wife it was a little different. We fell pregnant while she was still sick. She was terrified as she couldn't even look after herself. (As her carer and husband I was terrified as well). But being pregnant was the powerful motivator she needed to totally commit to doing the work required to get well.

We now have 2 gorgeous little boys who get to enjoy life with their healthy Mum.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Talk

Today I was asked to speak at Nambour Base Hospital's physiotherapy department about the Lightning Process and its approach to Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain.

Some chronic pain conditions are seen as a real pain to health practitioners as they seem remarkably unresponsive to treatment.

Being an outpatient programme I made an assumption that their approach would be very much based around a physical exercise programme. I wasn't sure therefore how they would respond to the Lightning Process approach of focusing on more on the neurological re-training element combined with activity.

No tomatoes were thrown and they seem to have a very up-to-date approach! It was nice to talk to a group who understood the role the brain plays in pain and that neurological retraining wasn't suggesting it was 'all in the head'.

Hi to all the staff who sat through me rabbitting on. Hopefully it wasn't too painful for you.

Stay tuned for a more in depth piece about the Lightning Process approach to chronic pain.

The Lightning Process gave me wrinkles

Now that's enough to turn most people away from the Lightning Process, but I just got a lovely email from a lady I saw 3 months ago. She was doing the Lightning Process for Chronic Pain and Weight Issues that had kept her house bound and immobile.

3 months down the track she is able to leave the house and is walking regularly, mostly pain free and celebrating her reduction of weight. She now has wrinkles and is happy about it.

Funny how something like wrinkles can mean different things to different people.

Nice story of success

It's the third day of LP and a lady told me this story of a walk yesterday.

She decided to go for a bushwalk as this was something she had given up since having ME. She started walking and came to a folk in the path. She had 2 options to get to where she wanted to go. The 500m path or the 3 km scenic route.

She said it was a 'success moment' for her as she didn't hesitate and took the scenic route. With a smile on her face she decided she was going to take the scenic route of life from here on in.

Well done.

My wife in the news

Check this article about my wife in the Cairns Post about our epic Hinchinbrook Island trekking adventure.
Cairns Post Article

Celebrating with Sandflies and Crocodiles!

Some people like to celebrate anniversaries with Champaign or eating out at a fancy restaurant. Well my wife has just celebrated her 2 year anniversary of doing the Lightning Process and how do we choose to celebrate........by trekking for 5 days through the crocodile and sandfly infested jungles on Hinchinbrook Island (Qld).

For those that don't know the walk, only 40 people are allowed on the Island at any one time and you have to be totally self sufficient, carrying everything you need. It seemed fitting then to celebrate her amazing Lightning Process success by taking on such an adventure. To make it even more of a celebration I carried our son on my back. Trekking with a baby brings extra challenges but the three of us loved it.

We had torrential rain, swarming sandflies and a few nervous moments crossing swollen croc-infested creeks but we loved it.

Having a child (and the energy to look after him) is a dream come true for both of us.

Computer Games - Just a bit of harmless fun?

I just know I'm going to sound like a bit of a 'Grandad' here but of late I've been thinking about the impact of computer games on health.

A lot of the work that I do revolves around retraining the body's dysfunctional stress response.

The flight or fight response is brilliant for getting us primed for physical action. The stress hormones of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol are released and get the blood pumping and heart beating. As this is seen as a dangerous situation, the body prioritises energy to the limbs. In fact any bodily function that is not needed is put on the back burners. So things like your digestion, your immune system, even your normal brain function takes up energy. These systems function are momentarily lowered to ensure all energy is used to get you safe. This is a brilliant system for acute stress. We can do without them briefly. However the impact of chronic stress can be disasterous. (Stress can be physical mental or emotional). We just don't seem to be designed for chronic stress.

So that's what's going on physiologically when we go into 'Flight or Fight'. Now think of computer games. We go into the same flight response. What is the impact of children spending hours and hours playing computer games in this stressed state?

There is another potential impact as well. New understandings of how the brain works indicates that our experiences changes the neurons in our brain. (A concept known as Neural plasticity) If we see someone doing something, the corresponding parts in our own brain light up as if we are doing it (Mirror Neurons). If we see it enough it is like we are doing it.

Computer games are no longer a yellow pac man eating pills and chasing monsters. It is so life like and you are 'in the picture' in what psychologists call being 'associated'. So with the shooting games children are learning in graphic detail what it is like to kill someone (but without the emotion or consequences).

New brain retraining programmes are highlighting the positive impact of computers to rewire the brain. So some caution should be exercised to ensure our children's constantly changing brain are protected.

Food Intolerance

Last week we looked at how our emotional state impacts directly on our digestion. The link between stress and ulcers is well known.

It’s worth looking at the field of neurology and how our understanding of the brain has radically changed over the last 10 years.

It was once believed that the brain was unchanging after early childhood. Well it turns out not only were we wrong but spectacularly wrong. Our brain is always and constantly changing. The concept of Neuralplasticity says that everything we do and think lays down new nerves in our brain. If one area of our brain is damaged we can train other areas to take up the missing function.

Another mantra of neurologists is ‘What fires together wires together”. For those that remember the Russian scientist Pavlov, his experiments with dogs and bells, was neurologicall conditioning . The sound of the bells became linked with food. So when one fired, the other fired. It’s a radical concept. That a bell could influence an animals digestive system!

When 2 things are happening simultaneously the brain makes a neurological link. Even if there is no actual link.

Now how is this linked to intolerances? If someone is undergoing stress then there is the potential for the brain to link that stress to whatever is happening at the same time. The longer the occurance of stress the greater the potential of a link. Remember - What fires together wires together.

From the brain’s point of view it is in ‘danger’ mode and detects gluten/grass seeds/lactose - things that are normally common and harmless. But a link is made. It then has been conditioned to respond to to the ‘danger’. Avoidance behaviours further reinforce the danger - which has now moved from perceived to real.

The the body has learnt (incorrectly) that something harmless is harmful. So it can be re-educated and you can be trained out of food intolerances. It takes a bit of work but far easier than a lifetime of avoiding foods and missing out on social activities because of a limited diet.

Next week we will look at the impact of computer games and TV in our childrens’s health….but as a sneak preview. If your child is playing war games for hours on end, they are in fight or flight not rest or digest.

Never Eat Angry - Digestion and Stress Hormones

It’s amazing how many times modern scientific discoveries finally catch up with ancient wisdom.

As I was sitting through a lecture in the role of stress hormones on digestion my mind was taken back to what I was told in an Ashram in India – never eat angry. The idea that you are better to go without than eat when in a distressed state -  as in that state you can not digest properly. A period of calm after eating also ensures proper digestion so it is recommended lie down and rest. Well a lie down seems like a pretty good idea when the only thing waiting for you after dinner is another long session of yoga or silent meditation.

But what about in the ‘real world’. Surely with the faster pace of our lifestyles it’s just not pratical. It is advice ignored at our own peril and it turns out this becomes even more important .

Flash back to my lesson on stress hormones and it all falls into place as does the high incidenses of digestion problems and intolerances.

Our bodies are designed to be able to deal with ‘stress’.  The part of the body responsible for this stress response is known as the Sympathetic Nervous System, or the flight or fight response. Our bodies goes through a rapid biochemical change releasing a cascade of neurotransmitters and hormones to attempt to bring the body back to homeostasis.

When you are stressed the body goes into fight or fight mode.  To get out of danger we are primed to either run away or fight the danger, so need our muscles. So it’s action stations.  The body then has a very clever way of putting all it’s energy into fight or flight. Any system that is drawing energy that is not needed is temporarily shut down.

During the moment of danger we do not need to digest as it uses up vital energy that might be spent getting out of immediate danger. And so our digestive function (as well as immune function) temporarily reduces.

So in a stressed state your digestion function drops hence the Ancient wisdom reminding us to not eat angry.

Of course the stressed state is not just anger. It includes anxiety, panic or just plain old garden variety stress. But what about eating on the run when you are running late for a meeting? What state are you in during your breakfast, your lunch and your dinner?

An extreme of this is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a physical condition, whereby after some stressor (often viral) the body starts it’s stress response. The initial trigger seems to pass but the body gets stuck in what’s known as a sustained sympathetic nervous system arousal. With key body functions like digestion, immune and sleep ‘turned off’ the ensuing consequences can be debilitating. The majority of people I see with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have some form of food intolerance and there is little point focusing on the food intolerance until the underlying dysfunctional physical stress response is addressed.

So being mindful of how you eat is just as important as being mindful of what you eat. If you are spending a fortune on suppliments, vitamins and organic fresh food but putting them into a digestion system that isn’t working for you, then you won’t be getting the full benefits.

Next week we look at the rise of food intolerances and new theories on how we are training ourselves into intolerances.

Nature and healthy Children

A lot of my work is involved in the impact chronic physiological stress plays on our health.

I have worked a lot with children and over the years and I have become fascinated by the positive impact that being in nature has on our physiology and health. Most would agree that they feel less stressed in 'green space'. But as our culture changes our children have less contact with nature and less direct nature experiences.

This is an article I wrote a while back that looks at this subject. Enjoy

London Training

Any doubts about having made the right decision to become a Lightning Process Practitioner soon disappeared when I began my studies. Most of the people training with me had recovered from ME or CFS over the last year. The all had incredible stories of recovery. Some have spent long periods in bed or in a wheelchair!

The buzz in the room is incredible...filled with all these incredible people who have made such recoveries and ready to help others achieve the same.

To further the excitment of being invloved in such a training, I sit in on regular 'live' seminars and watch people arrive on Day 1 (normally with a mix of fear and excitement) and leave on Day 3 transformed. They have a look on their face that I remember from my wife. It is the look of someone who is once again in control of their life and are ready to live life to the fullest.

The transformation for some is quite amazing. You can see it from a distance, in their faces, how they carry themselves. Even their clothes tell the story of their transformation.

They have reclaimed their lives!

It is such an honour to be bringing the Lightning Process to Australia and New Zealand.

MY STORY

I have been teaching and training for over a decade with both adults and children in environmental education. When I first met my wife she was an active, energetic and full of life. We swam, hiked, climbed mountains....but little did I know that she was ‘pushing through’ to achieve this, and her ‘crash’ a few days later was my introduction to Chronic fatigue Syndrome. I would slowly see her leave a job she loved, loose friends, struggle with the simplest of activities and at times be bed bound.

Her path became my path as I took on the role of carer. I was way too young to be a carer for my young partner, but that is the tragedy of CFS. I watched the ups and downs, the crazy cures, the seemingly uncaring doctors, the endless blood tests. It sometimes felt hopeless. Any progress she seemed to make would all give way to another crash.

She had managed her energy well for a few months, but on the second night of our honeymoon she had another crash and it felt like our lives were destined to revolve around CFS. It was one of the loneliest moments of my life - to be strolling along a tropical beach on my honeymoon......on my own. So we settled into a life of never knowing what tomorrow would bring. Grateful for the ups but always bracing ourselves for the inevitable downs.

When I heard about the Lightning Process, I was dubious but the results from others were incredible. The thought of a full recovery was so enticing, when we were merely aiming to just manage it. Maybe that’s why I was dubious. How can you get such results in just 3 days! My wife’s friend who had successful taken the Lightning Process practically pleaded for her to try it, and it was her results that gave us the confidence we needed.

So with the aid of Wheelchair assistance and very helpful airport staff my wife made the trip to England on her own.

At the end of the first day I received an excited phone message from London about the Lightning Process and news that she was off for a long walk! after Day 2 I had a long email, written with such an energy and passion I hadn’t witnessed in years. By the final day she was ready to live a full life again.

All the while I was wondering whether this was just another build up for a spectacular crash, and she still had her jet lag to contend with coming home……

But a few weeks later a very different person walked through the Arrivals door at Brisbane airport.

When people ask me now what it was like, I honestly struggle to remember. It feels like another life time. Since doing the Lightning Process we have traveled, started a family and a new business together. The days of her brain fog are long gone as she often puts me to shame with her sharp analytical mind. We used to dream of having a normal life, but instead we have a spectacular life.

After my experience with the Lightning Process in the UK, I was determined to help those in Australia and New Zealand. I made it my mission to bring the Lightning Process here.

Teaching the Lightning Process allows me to help people return to their true nature – their energetic and vibrant former selves. To be able to live the life they love.

How LP came to OZ & NZ

The Process that has helped thousands around the World is now finally available in Australia and NZ.

CFS, ME, PVSD, FM. These are real physical illnesses & I know how horrible they can be. My wife had Chronic fatigue Syndrome for 7 years. As her carer I know how it consumes people’s lives –both the sufferer and their loved ones. Then you had to travel to Europe for the Lightning Process. The transformation in her health was incredible. After 7 years of hell, she returned to Australia symptom free.

So I made it my mission to bring the Lightning Process to Australia. We moved to England and I underwent training and accreditation, and returned as Australasia’s only practitioner.

I am so excited to be able to offer it to others.

This blog will record my journey as a LP practitioner. I hope to give people a sense of me and the work I do.

For more information about the Lightning Process itself please go to www.iancleary.com or www.lightningprocess.com

Or simpler still, give me a call or drop me an email.