Neurofeedback Training for PMS

PMS or pre menstrual syndrome does, in fact, exist. However, it is not a unitary condition. The symptomatology is highly variable among individuals. In fact, PMS is not a recognizable disorder within the diagnostic and statistical manual used by psychiatrists and psychologists. Perhaps it can best be looked at as a condition of disregulation. Biofeedback is therefore, highly applicable.

It is the cyclic hormonal variations that make females vulnerable to a variety of symptoms. PMS includes a variety of physical and emotional symptoms associated with a specific phase of the menstrual cycle. Premenstrual symptoms are reported by at least 75% of menstruating women, but they may not be severe or debilitating. However, there are a number of women who become extremely debilitated, experiencing severe symptoms.

Many PMS symptoms are characteristic of depression. Women are often treated with anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication. However, medical management of PMS has been generally unsuccessful. The fundamental issue of PMS is that of disregulation, for which the remedy would be self-regulation rather than the more unilateral intervention of medications.

Intervention with neurofeedback has been found clinically successful in helping individuals who suffer from both the physical and emotional symptoms of PMS. Early on in EEG clinics the patients were not referred for PMS but were referred for specific symptoms which were causing them trouble, such as sleeplessness, irritability and depression. Over the course of time it was observed, however, that PMS responded well to neurofeedback training.

The mechanism by which neurofeedback helps the individual experiencing PMS is regulation of the brain. The client is fed back information on her various brainwave states. Through the process of training the individual begins to learn how to bring these brainwave states under voluntary control. Over time she learns to regulate the disregulated brain. Since this is a training process, once it has been learned, the individual continues to maintain control over these dysfunctional states. Therefore, repeated treatment is generally unnecessary. Now the individual is no longer vulnerable to the volatile changes that usually occur during the premenstrual period, but has emotional resiliency.

Brainwave biofeedback training for PMS generally takes somewhere between 20 and 40 brainwave sessions. We would like to keep these brainwave sessions in close proximity. It is preferable to see the individual at least three times a week particularly during the initial stages of training.

For more information on neurofeedback training for PMS as well as other physical and emotional disorders, visit our web site: www.LoraLonsberry.com, or call: 406 752 6634.