How Combating Anger with Biofeedback Can Help
We all get angry at times. But the way we express anger varies. A lot of people tend to explode, physically or verbally hurting other people (even if they don’t really mean it), even their own bodies. Others choose to internalise their anger which results in migraine, fatigue, anxiety, depression and other chronic illnesses. Whichever way, anger is a naturally occurring emotion that can have dire consequences if not controlled.
Biofeedback to Combat Anger
People who have problems managing anger have plenty of treatment options. Maybe you’ve heard about counselling and hypnotherapy as two of the most effective therapies for this condition. But there’s another one that deserves appreciation – the biofeedback therapy. What about it? How does it work and how can it help combat anger?
Biofeedback is a technique that teaches people how to improve their health by learning how to control their body signals. The goal of the therapy is to gain awareness of most things that happen in the body and be able to manipulate them, including those that are known to occur naturally or automatically such as the heart rate, brain wave, and breathing. Through biofeedback, the mind and body are given time to connect to each other and fill the gap that separates them.
How does Biofeedback Work?
In a typical biofeedback session, the therapist makes use sensors connected to a computer to monitor the different physiological processes happening in the client’s body. Data signals are then fed back to the person in a visual or auditory form, sometimes, a combination of both. The client then gets a vivid understanding of these bodily processes, how well they are doing, problems they’re having, and so on. Such information then leads the person to self-awareness. And with self-awareness, there is room for control and improvement.
Other than being aware of certain processes in the body (peripheral nervous system), a person may also gain awareness of his or her emotional responses (central nervous system) through biofeedback. Often, this process is called ‘nuerofeedback’. This therapy helps create a stronger connection between the emotional and executive areas of the brain which leads to a greater understanding of how the mind processes emotions and emotionally respond to stimuli such as stress or anger.
Regulating Anger Responses
Just by understanding how biofeedback or nuerofeedback works may already be enough to realise how the therapy can actually help a person deal with anger. Awareness, which is the centre of this treatment, makes people identify what they their triggers are and know to what extent their brain responds to such triggers. The goal of nuerofeedback is not to eliminate anger (as it is a naturally occurring emotion critical for survival). The therapy simply helps a person regulate it and minimise its effects.
Biofeedback may benefit children as much as it benefits adults. But instead of the traditional sessions, therapists promote mind-and-body awareness in a child in a much more creative way, like using a video game. Here, the child’s victory does not depend on how well he plays the game, but on how well he controls his emotions. While playing the game, the child has sensors placed on his head which collect brain wave information. If he or she is not being focused, the game will not advance. And if the child erupts, it stops. To win the game, he or she needs to find a medium to regulate emotional responses. Constant training teaches the brain to control emotions, suppress negative ones, and bring out the positives.
Combating anger with biofeedback is not limited to controlling the mental and emotional faculties of the mind. The therapy also involves controlling certain processes in the body to achieve optimal results. For instance, the client is allowed to observe and control his or her breathing which results to relaxation – a great strategy to prevent emotions from erupting. Biofeedback could also help a person manage his or her pulse rate, relax tensed muscles, and control body temperature and other body responses that are highly active when a person is in a state of anger. There’s no wonder why the therapy also works in combating other emotional/behavioural problems, such as anxiety disorder.
Anger is a normal emotion. But when unmanaged, it causes people to lose their jobs, families, relationships, and even their lives. Natural therapies such as biofeedback provide a better approach to helping people manage anger and become more in control of their mind and body.
Dear Readers,
Have you ever tried undergoing biofeedback? How did it help you improve your physical and mental well-being? Can you name other benefits of this therapy?
Share your comments below!
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