Neuroplasticity Program Effective For Fibromyalgia - Q & A | Ashok Gupta | Gupta Program |

Well, hello and a warm welcome back. A warm welcome back to our fibromyalgia celebration, a celebration of the new medical study that we've just had published. And we'll now do a Q and A in terms of questions that you may have around, perhaps the paper, perhaps your experiences of fibromyalgia and how the Gupta program can support your healing. So we're just going to go to the Gupta program page here, and I'll be able to see some of your questions. So please do ask the questions in the comments section for our Q and A that's live right now. And in terms of some common questions that we get asked, the most common question we get asked is, are you saying that fibromyalgia is in the head, that it's just in the mind? And obviously, we're very clear these illnesses are not in the mind. They are not psychosomatic in the traditional sense. These are real physical illnesses with real manifestations of symptoms. So in fibromyalgia, in me, chronic fatigue syndrome, we know there's massive increases in cytokine production. There is massive neuroinflammation where there's inflammation in the brain structures like the amygdala, the insular prefrontal cortex. There are definitely responses in the brain in terms of nociception, which is a kind of pain response. So we know that people are more reactive to pain. So it's definitely not in the mind. Okay. This is a real physical illness. What interests me is not the physical aspect of it, but what perpetuates this particular reactivity, what perpetuates this pain. And once again, that perpetuation is not in the mind, but it is in the brain, in the unconscious brain. So having these illnesses is not our fault. We're normally not in control of these types of illnesses like fibromyalgia and unexplained pain. But through some novel brain retraining techniques, we can regain control over these systems and reset. And that's what we're doing here with neuroplasticity approaches. So, Geetham, just asking a question. Do antidepressants help? I think the evidence on antidepressants is mixed. So there have been some studies that have shown a small positive effect in terms of kind of serotonin. And, you know, I guess I can't give any recommendations in terms of antidepressants, whether you should take them or not, but just know that antidepressants and pain medications are not getting to the underlying root cause of why these conditions occur in the first place. Now if you find them helpful, that's fine, but if you're not finding any medium to long term effect, then one really has to question why you would take those types of medications. But if it's supporting and helping you, then that's okay. Nicole saying thank you. I've just started doing the Gupta program and learning so much. Thank you Nicole for your kind comment. Please do let us know where you're tuning in from and please do once again share this this video on your groups, on your Facebook pages and on social media. Susan asks a question here. To what extent do you find that brain retraining enables the brain to produce pain control substances? And to what extent is the reduction in pain syndromes due to other brain retraining? Okay, it's a very good question. Now I'll give you an example of what we found in our study. So this particular study on the Gupta program and fibromyalgia, what we found was that in fact there was a reduction in a brain chemical called bdnf. And that particular brain chemical has been associated normally with increases in pain and increases in symptoms of fibromyalgia. And we found that people who use the Gupta program it normalized that particular brain chemical. So that does show us that brain retraining is directly impacting on the brain chemistry as well as the actual neurological responses. And you can't separate the two. So if you shift your way of thinking or you're retraining the brain, you naturally are impacting on the brain chemistry. And many people who have fibromyalgia, they find that they are more prone to depression and anxiety. They're more prone to finding it difficult to feel happy or good about things simply because that over response in the brain impacts on our feel good chemicals and then it becomes harder to stay positive and focused, which also makes the brain less neuroplastic as well. Geetam saying, I'm having reflux issues and muscle pain for the last 15 years, but medicine seems to aggravate my indigestion. Yes, that we do hear reports of that quite often. There are certain medications which can aggravate stomach problems, can actually create headaches, etc. And that is a challenge with those types of medications. And yeah, we hope that you will try the Gupta program. Once again. Please do let us know where you're tuning in from. Jerrianne says hi there Jerriann. Nice to see you. What would you recommend for a child who fits the dysfunctional pattern you've described in order to help them to retrain before getting deeply into chronic illness. Well, as you know, there are many schools now experimenting with mindfulness techniques and meditation. So the first port of call would be to encourage your child to meditate. And even children from the age of 8 or 9, depending on their particular personality, they can be ready to meditate. So meditation can help calm the brain down at an overall level. And then if you think that they actually need some brain retraining, we do know that certain older children, young teenagers, even older teenagers, have used our program in conjunction with their parents and have been able to retrain their brains out of chronic illness. Elena says, have you had success with chronic migraines? Yes, we have. So I believe if you look at the success stories page on our website, I think there's a couple of stories around chronic migraines. And in terms of the process and how it works, how many people report that stress makes their migraines worse? There is a definite connection between stress and anxiety and chronic migraines. And what mechanisms are then causing that? There are many people who have different models on that, but we know that when people use the Gupta program and especially the soften and flow technique that we have within the program, they've been able to really calm down their migraines, if not allow them to disappear. So I definitely encourage you to use the Gupta program for chronic migraines. Jane Austen, question. I just had oral surgery, and the dentist hit a nerve, and the whole area is completely numb. The pain is debilitating in that area. Is there hope? So, Jane, I think if this is something that's just happened to you, what I would do is go down the mainstream route of treating that, because that actually sounds like an actual injury, a physical injury to a nerve. And it's only if you exhaust all the mainstream medical avenues and it then turns into a conditioned response in the brain, then that's when you might come to a neuroplasticity approach. So it's very important that you get a formal diagnosis of an unexplained pain syndrome or fibromyalgia before you use our program, because there are many other physiological injuries and conditions which can mimic some of the things we're talking about. Gaynell, tuning in from the Bahamas. Very envious there. Gaynell. Okay. Sheila, also asking about migraines, so I just answered that. Dina, tuning in from New Jersey in the U.S. natalie from Spain. Hello to you. Bettina from Denmark. Geetam asking which one is more helpful, meditation or deep breathing for calming the brain from India. Each of them have their role, and I would advise both. It's like saying, which is more useful? The knife or your fork or a knife and a spoon, which is more useful? They both have their roles to play. And generally, in traditions from the east, breathing has been a precursor to meditation. So what I would advise you to do is engage in some deep breathing followed by some meditation. And we have some breathing techniques that we use in the Gupta program. We have alternate nostril breathing that we use, or deep diaphragmatic breathing where you're breathing from the stomach. And we also highly recommend the breathing techniques as provided by the Art of Living foundation, which is an independent humanitarian charity. And they conduct specialist breathing workshops and meditation workshops around the world. And they're doing them online now. So that's one that can be very helpful for calming the brain. But remember that with all of these conditions, we can calm the brain at a general level, but at the core of it, the brain still needs to be retrained out of those conditioned responses, out of that traumatic response it's got stuck in. Elena, asking about chronic and long term tinnitus. Yes, in fact, tinnitus is a symptom which accompanies a lot of these different conditions. And the reason, we believe is simply it's part of the same process. So what happens? You have signals that come from our ears or the auditory canal in terms of a buzzing sound. And once again, we don't know if the buzzing sound actually exists or is it a part of the actual cortical auditory networks which are creating a false map of the territory. And once that happens, that then those auditory signals then start getting processed in the brain. The brain thinks they are dangerous and part of a chronic illness, which then starts magnifying the signals from the auditory cortex and we get caught in that vicious cycle. So a similar process may be occurring in tinnitus. And in fact, several researchers have prompted that type of model. As Susan's saying, thank you for your answers. Discovering and using the Gupta program is already life changing for me in terms of pain reduction and other forms of increasing health and well being. Your dedication and the dedication of your team make a positive difference in the world. Oh, thank you so much, Susan. That's very kind of you. Michelle, tuning in from Kingston, Jamaica. Lovely. Got a lot of people from the Caribbean tuning in. Noel saying, I've been using the Gupta program for a while, focusing on some of the techniques, such as the stock technique, which I find extremely beneficial, plus the daily commitment and the daily meditation practice. Definitely moving forwards with newfound peace. Thank you, thank you to Gerianne for your kind comments. Laura saying hello from Vancouver, Stacey saying hello from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you for this program. I joined yesterday and I love it already. It makes so much sense for my mystery illness and I can relate to the anxiety and my nerves that are feeling shot. Mavish saying, please can you guide me about fibromyalgia? I've been diagnosed with this and for five years now. I our body makes at multiple levels. I regularly have to take painkillers. So Mahesh, yes, as we described in today's presentation, when pain becomes chronic, we have to ask is there actually an underlying organic cause? And that's where we in the mainstream medical route we look at what is going on and if we can't find a mainstream medical organic cause for our pain, it is likely that it is not the pain that's the issue, but the illness is actually the conditioned response of the brain to pain. And that pain that you experience in your body, although it feels really bad, I want you to know that it's probably temporary. And when we fix the pain processing system itself, the pain itself should dissolve away. And we see this time and time again with fibromyalgia. So that's the hope. I want to give you my habish and hope that you at least take a look at our free program online@cooktoprogram.com, have a surf around, watch some of our videos for free and if you like the program, you can purchase the program with a 15% discount using the code study. And also, even though we've had this study published, until we get a large scale independent clinical trial with hundreds of patients, we're offering a one year money back guarantee. So after six months of using the program, you can return the program for up to a year, get your money back, no questions asked. Okay? You got nothing to lose by giving it a go. Laura says can you speak about the role of cortisol and stress in fibromyalgia? Yes. A cortisol is one of the stress chemicals. So we have adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol is the main ones, but there are many other involved in a complex reaction to stress. And cortisol has the role of tensing up our muscles and when we tense up our muscles, that's supposed to be a temporary effect. But what happens is if that tension becomes chronic, there's constant buildup of lactic acid which then can cause pain. Then we don't stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system which is designed to heal the Joints heal the cells, heal the muscles, and we get caught in a continual state of fight or flight, which we call chronic sympathetic activation. Now, some people then say, well, hang on. In a lot of these illnesses, there's no evidence of chronic sympathetic stimulation. Otherwise, we'd find excessive levels of these chemicals all the time. But what happens is the brain ratchets down its response, so the HPA axis compensates. And there can be times we actually have lower levels of cortisol, lower levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline in our bodies and in our brains than we would normally. So that's why this isn't a diagnostic criteria. Depending on what's happening, we can have either excessive levels of stress hormones and neurotransmitters or lower levels of them. Got a question from on our Instagram page why I have, during the Gupta program, detoxification symptoms. For example, a metallic taste in the mouth. Yes, this is very common. The Gupta program is triggering our parasympathetic system as part of the healing. And that means that our detoxification systems, our natural ones, will get triggered, which then means that we may feel more physically dirty, have metallic taste. But that's very important because before, when we were in sympathetic mode, those detoxification systems have got switched off. So when we have that, many people find that when they use the Gupta program, they feel better. They feel better. Then they suddenly get a period of feeling extremely exhausted when the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in and the vagus nerve kicks in, the detoxification systems are working correctly. They fight for a few weeks, they just sleep for ages, and they just feel really drowsy all the time as finally their bodies get that deep clean that it needs. And then they get their energy back. Margaret saying, as an ex fibro sufferer, I can vouch for the success of your program. Your program is like.