Betty overcomes her obsessive compulsive disorder

Betty called after hearing of my work. Now in her mid 20's, she related a story of having to deal with OCD since early childhood. Her obsessions were causing her significant difficulty at work and her primary relationship. She was desperate for relief but very doubtful I could help. I combined neurofeedback with her learning and using the four-step method taken from Dr. Schwartz’s book “Brain Lock”. After 12 sessions, she wrote the following:

“I first came to Dr. Staso when I was experiencing severe anxiety that was affecting my ability to sleep, and caused me to have a panic attack while in a classroom with students. I knew at that point my condition would be debilitating if I did not figure out a way to get control of it. On top of my generalized anxiety, I have had a lifelong pattern of Pure-O (a type of OCD where there are no compulsions, only horrible obsessions). I never imagined there would be a way to fix the way my mind works. I had become so adept at hiding my stress that it was not visible to even close friends or family, but was occupying 90% of my thought time, and was eating me up physically as well.

Since I have starting seeing Dr. Staso, I have literally experienced a miracle I would have never imagined possible. I never knew how unhealthy my thoughts were before, because I had never lived without them. But now, through talking to Dr. Staso and through using his neurofeedback, I have come to a place where I feel more strong and positive than ever, because my mind has literally been swept out, and everything that was dirty or destructive, or counterproductive, is instantly recognizable and immediately thrown away.

I no longer fixate on worst case scenarios. I no longer fantasize about what will happen if I get terminally ill. I no longer get overwhelmed by stress or anxiety. I can sleep 8-9 hours a night without waking up, and in the morning I feel rested. It is AMAZING how much better I feel, and how I can now devote my mind to "real" issues and fun things, rather than always being preoccupied by the terrible ideas my imagination used to dream up.

Anyone who has suffered from OCD in any form, I know you know what I'm talking about. People can't see what we're going through, or how our minds become fixated and we can't move on in our thinking. I promise you, there is hope if you feel like you're in the same boat (or similiar) as I was. I went into these treatments as cynical as you can imagine, thinking that nothing or nobody could ever help me, unless it was a Godsent miracle.

Well, I suppose that's what it was because there was no other way for me to get past the way I was. I am now free of my old unhealthy thought patterns, and haven't experienced any physical or mental anxiety for close to 5 months now.

I am so thankful to Dr. Staso, and such a supporter of Neurofeedback. I am also a Christian, and wondered at first if I would have any theological problems with someone "adjusting my brain" but after much research, I have learned that neurofeedback is not injecting anything into your mind, or manipulating your brain at all. It simply provides your brain a mirror of itself, which automatically causes it to balance and adjust to that of a normal, healthy person's brain. It's not sci-fi like you might think. It's a natural function that most people are born with, and I feel LUCKY and blessed to have found a way to fix it in myself.”