# Yo Eric



## GSDOWNER (Jan 7, 2004)

Hey Eric .. how's things? have not been on the site for a couple of years now (forgot my old profile password aswell) When I was last here I had decided to follow the CBT route to combat IBS (tried almost everything else) .. and its worked out pretty good .. still have IBS but can manage it (and the effect it has on my life) 1000 times better. Took some time and some hard work but worth every bit and learned one hell of alot along the way .... anyway, have been speaking to a DR (he's a friend of ours) and he's asked me to review this CBT course and let him know what I think. Its an 8 session CBT course on line availble in the uk on the following address http://www.ultrasis.com/products/btb/btb.html I'm going to look at it over the next couple of days but wondered if you have already seen it and have any thoughts? Whats all this 'retired' thing ... surley not


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Hi GS, what was your old bb name?I am thrilled to hear CBT has helped you thats great to hear.







Yep, retired, I did it for a long time and it is quite a bit of work, although I still of course research and post and am a part of the bb here and still enjoy the HT and CBT forum. There were some problems though. I had not seen that before. I hope it works out for them. Again, glad your doing better, because better is good.







Have you seen this one?Its a biofeedback game. http://www.wilddivine.com/ Emerging TechnologyThe Anti-Video GameA revolutionary idea that could convert critics of these virtual worldsBy Steven JohnsonDISCOVER Vol. 24 No. 12 | December 2003 | TechnologyOn my computer screen, a jewel-encrusted bow points skyward, with an arrow pulled back and ready to fire. In the distance, I can see a bullï¿½s-eye planted in front of a Himalayan landscape. Slowly I lower the bow until the arrow is fixed on the target. For a second, I overcompensate and the arrow points toward the ground. I catch my breath, pull the bow up, and then release. The arrow sails across the virtual terrain and lands with a small flash at the center of the bullï¿½s-eye. Hereï¿½s the catch: Iï¿½m not aiming that arrow with a joystick, or a keyboard, or a mouse. Iï¿½m aiming it with my mood. Illustration by Leo EspinozaTechnically, Iï¿½m directing the arrow by altering my physical stateï¿½the electrical resistance at the tips of my fingers and my heart rate. Iï¿½m hooked up to a biofeedback system: three sensors worn like rings around my fingers and wired into an ordinary personal computer. The sensors read the galvanic skin response of my fingertips and my pulse. Increased galvanic skin response and heart rate usually accompany active states of awareness, as in the sweaty palms of the fight-or-flight instinct. Lower levels suggest relaxation.My virtual archery session is part of The Journey to Wild Divine, a new interactive CD-ROM that turns your PC into a device for focusing your energy and reducing stress. Wild Divine is technology designed to help you find an inner calmï¿½a way to unwind in front of the computer, not away from it.Playing Wild Divine involves exploring a lush 3-D world with waterfalls, elaborate gardens, spiritual guides, and a menagerie of grazing llamas and white wolves. The pace is reminiscent of the pioneering game Myst: slow and entirely free of violence. Solving puzzles or passing special tests allows you to enter new areas. A narrative begins to develop, although following the plot generally takes a backseat to exploration. The real fun comes from those biofeedback sensors. Most important, the tests in the game require you to alter your physical state in a specific fashionï¿½to slow your breathing and heart rate or to push yourself to become more alert. If you succeed in changing your state, you pass the test and can advance. Wild Divine uses the spiritual language of ï¿½energy flowsï¿½ and ï¿½heart breathï¿½ to describe those changes, but underneath that vocabulary are real physiological events tracked by the sensors. The more you play the game, the easier it becomes to lower the electrical resistance of your fingertips on command. Once youï¿½ve mastered that kind of self-regulation, you can translate it into the real world. Of course, no one needs a computer linked to galvanic skin response sensors to ameliorate stress: Meditation and yoga can generate the same results. But biofeedback tools add external information to the mix. ï¿½You have this ancient technology in yoga and meditation that dates back thousands of years,ï¿½ says Wild Divine creative director Corwin Bell, ï¿½but being in the scientific paradigm that weï¿½re in, we want proof. I felt that yoga and mediation were really important tools, but I still wanted that printout at the end of the session to show me what was happening to my body.ï¿½ Enhanced self-control has always been the promise of biofeedback, but the systems have suffered from limitations. One is that representations of the physical state are usually spiked lines scrolling across a screen. As Bell puts it, ï¿½The problem I always had with biofeedback was the feedback.ï¿½ Wild Divine feels more like the inside of a Nepalese temple than the inside of an emergency room.The other traditional limitation with biofeedback has been the gear itself, which is typically bulky and expensive. By contrast, Wild Divine simply requires sliding three rings on your fingers and costs under $150. Bellï¿½s colleague Kurt Smith, a biomedical engineer who financed the project, envisioned a system that would ï¿½help people with all of their health, not just ï¿½your heartï¿½s not working properlyï¿½hereï¿½s a new contraption for it.ï¿½ We wanted to create something where people would go through this really entertaining, journeylike experience.ï¿½The overall design of Wild Divine preaches to the converted, ï¿½ la sacred temples and gardens. If youï¿½re the sort whoï¿½s not inclined to dabble in Eastern philosophy, the gameï¿½s imagery may be a barrier. But even if you ignore the spiritual implications, thereï¿½s much to learn. It took me only about 30 minutes to learn how to drive my galvanic skin response levels at will; after that I found myself levitating virtual balls, opening massive oaken doors, and controlling the flight patterns of birds with relative ease.A century ago, Swiss psychologist Carl Jung used a crude galvanometer and electrodes attached to patientsï¿½ hands to measure changes in electrical resistance on the skin of patients during various word-association experiments. Conventional lie detectors rely on the same basic technology. Playing Wild Divine also made me more aware of the mental states that I brought to the game. Near the beginning of the journey, youï¿½re asked to light a fire by breathing in sync with bellows that blow air on a pile of logs and kindling. The test is designed to teach the heart breath used by many Yogis to reach a state of balanced calm. Using a more Western language, Smith describes the state as one in which the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems of the body are working in sync with one another, without either one dominating. I found that lighting the fire was impossible in my overcaffeinated morning state. During my sleepier postlunch hours, I could generate a blaze in seconds. Struggling to start that fire made me wonder what might happen if more software relied on biofeedback. We already use input devices to inform computers of our mental states: We click on documents weï¿½re interested in; we scroll rapidly through text that bores us. What kind of software tools could be developed if the computer could sense a stressed-out, drowsy, or razor-sharp operator? Your to-do list might expand or contract based on how much energy you had that morning, and your e-mail program might caution you against sending out harsh messages if you were stressed. More traditional action games could use the technology too: Imagine having to keep your galvanic skin response levels low to survive a grueling interrogation session.The most intriguing thing about Wild Divine is what happens when you take the sensors off. A number of recent studies have shown that playing conventional video games enhances visual acuity, as well as hand-eye coordination. Some education scholars now believe that many games on the market enhance childrenï¿½s memory and logic skills, thanks to their complex puzzles and increasingly Byzantine rules. Bell and Smith propose a more challenging extension of the video games-can-be-good-for-you hypothesis: games that alter psychologicalï¿½and physicalï¿½well-being, teaching the user to regulate internal systems without going on a Transcendental Meditation retreat or signing up for a yoga class. ï¿½The game is meant to be training wheels,ï¿½ Smith says. ï¿½After youï¿½ve played it, you should be able to say, ï¿½Oh, thereï¿½s that feeling of my stress levels going up, so Iï¿½m going to do this exercise that I learned from the game.ï¿½ï¿½ The idea of Wild Divine is appealing in a world where the Columbine killers became notorious for being avid players of the violent Doom games. After years of video games that encourage people to playact as Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wouldnï¿½t welcome a game where you get to be the Dalai Lama?www.discover.com/issues/d...gy/?page=2


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## GSDOWNER (Jan 7, 2004)

Hi Eric, I think it was Conners .. I really can't remember







CBT made a huge difference to me, I was in a real circle and could not accept IBS (convinced it was cancer .. made them do every test twice) and determined to find the cause ... but for me I am the cause - when I get stressed or down IBS plays up .. when IBS plays up I get stressed. Was lucky to have a DR that is into CBT and went for it (bit wary at first) but I learnt firstly how to accept I have IBS (I'm going to have good days / bad days) and how to find and manage the triggers (I'm big into the trigger thing .. man your mind can stir you up) - I learnt alot about myself as well. It took time and work but the difference to me is amazing - and your right, its good to feel better - still have some attacks but now they don't escualte into something I can't control.. I'm not to self focused... I know its not for everyone but what you got to lose? it certainly ain't gonna hurt, although its hard work. Sorry to hear there was some trouble - always seemed to be something going on like that when I was here before .... just gotta blank it out and keep reminding yourself of all the people you have and will help ... Be happy and heathly Eric, you've earned it !


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

GS, its just excellent you have sorted through the IBS and the issues associated with having it and the process has made the difference.Some qoutes for you because they fit what your saying and I thought you might like them."Everybody wants to change the world, but no one thinks of changing himself"- Tolstoy"People are so busy worrying. I don't worry. You waste time. If it's going to happen, worrying isn't going to stop it from happening." "There's a saying, 'in life it's attitude. Ten percent is what happens to you, but 90 percent is your attitude toward it.'" Learnging coping skills for IBS are very valuable tools,help with symptom reductions and can even help other aspects of our lives.I have to ask you this, but do you know much about Gut directed Hypnotherapy for IBS? CBT works with our concious thoughts and the HT works on the subconcious level where digestion takes place autonomically.I am thrilled your feeling better and have come back here to share your success. Can I copy this to the cbt and HT success thread?keep at it it only gets better and congradulations and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.


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## GSDOWNER (Jan 7, 2004)

I like the "Everybody wants to change the world, but no one thinks of changing himself"- TolstoyCBT works for me so more than happy for you to post on the success page - its great to know that I can manage it .. and the strange thing is the more I do the less the IBS attacks come and the less the effect me .. I now don't worry about what I eat so much now or if it has an effect on me .. my wife thinks I'm just getting old and laid back (maybe I am







but at 33 I'm looking back at the 4 years of frantic searching for a quick fix or answer for this and wishing I had tried this first .. maybe you have to be ready to try this... I'm no expert.) My mother was diagnosed with tounge cancer last december and used CBT to help her through - she would tell people that she can't control that she has cancer or control what the future holds but she can choose and control how she deals with it - she had a 10 hour op, lost half her tounge and has had to learn how to speak again, she had some good and some very bad days but dealt with it brilliantly - her proudest moment was when she was asked to speak by her surgeon at a surgeons conference last month on her experiance and her use of CBT to assist her recovery - it did not help remove her cancer but certinaly aided her recovery after the operation and as she says 'kept her alive inside' I'm not sure CBT is for all but I'm a fan - ive certainly seen the benifits and will continue to use it. Have not looked into Gut directed Hypnotherapy


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2004)

Thumbs up on CBT from me as well, although I am also partial to the hypno as well as a couple of meds. Having used both CBT and hypno as well as biofeedback in the past, I can honestly say that they are all related in some ways and work together very well for me....however I am one who still needs meds for the best outcome.


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