Contributors | The Canary Report

Announcement: Our Canary Report network will not be reopening

Posted by Susie

Feb 032012

After a lot of thought, I’ve decided not to reopen Our Canary Report network. It was a difficult decision. Our community was helping a lot of people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity– our membership was over 1400 when we closed last Oct.

But it’s a brand new world for me as I regain my health and I need to adjust my online activity accordingly. I am having great success with Ashok Gupta’s program and I am fully committed to following all of his recommendations for recovery from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. One recommendation he makes is to spend at least 50% of waking hours engaged in leisure activity. Given that I have a full time job, that leaves me no time for social networking or running an online community.

I plan on keeping this blog open for now and finishing up the posts I’m doing on each of Gupta’s sessions.

I want to thank all of you who contributed so much wisdom and support to the members of Our Canary Report community. Special thank you to the network Admin Team: Michelle, Kikilani, Linda, Connie, Katrina, Lou and Candy. A very special thank you to Bill for all his support.

Aloha,
Susie

We interrupt this series on the Gupta recovery program to announce some housecleaning at The Canary Report

Posted by Susie

Dec 062011

I’m doing some housecleaning on the blog–deleting some posts, updating photos, cleaning up code, that sort of thing. For some reason, this is making OLD posts pop up in the email notices to my subscribers. I’m sorry it’s happening because I’m only blogging about my experiences with the Gupta MCS recovery program right now and I don’t want my readers (or me!) distracted with old and completely irrelevant posts. But there you have it, old posts about dryer sheets and job discrimination cases are popping up in my subscribers’ email– yesterday’s email notice had a link to a post that doesn’t even exist anymore. I’m sorry for the confusion.

It might happen again for the next couple of days. Thank you for your understanding!

Aloha,
Susie

Guest Blog: A message from Kikilani about her initial experience with Gupta’s MCS recovery program

Posted by Guest Blogger

Dec 042011

As a certified traditional naturopath, I know every part of the body is connected to every other part. So if I “fix” one part, it spills over to all other parts. I have always taught that we only need to get in balance, not be perfect, in order to be well.

Kohala, a favorite spot in Hawaii.

By guest blogger Kikilani, a certified traditional naturopath and one of The Canary Report’s “Mother Hens.”

When Susie told me about her progress on the Gupta Multiple Chemical Sensitivity recovery program I thought she was nuts, maybe delusional. Ha ha. I thought, “Yah, she is better today, but when she crashes (don’t read this, Susie, or if you do, say stop-stop-stop!) then she’ll see you can’t fully recover from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.” But I met her in person in Hawaii last month so I got to hear it and see it firsthand. She is well! Really well! Amazing.

My process with the Gupta program was a bit different than hers. She got the Gupta DVDs and intensely practiced the techniques for many hours, then saw results. I watched Ashok Gupta’s YouTube videos while I was communicating with Susie and reading other posts about the program. I was soooooo skeptical. I was really negative, so sure MCS could not go away. But once I watched all three hours online, I understood the concept behind Gupta’s treatment. I have a degree in psychology and have meditated for 40 years. I also am a certified traditional naturopath (ND). All this education and practice made it obvious to me what Gupta was getting at. He helped me observe and recognize my inner dialog that was so negative. It was incessant. I was always looking for the next “hit” and figuring out how to “flee,” classic amygdala thoughts. I also was a Science of Mind minister in my youth, so am well versed in “positive thinking.” But I still was sick. The first in-bed experience I had was at 35 years of age after a few years of intense pressure in my life. It has never totally gone away since then.

After listening to Ashok Gupta’s videos and looking at my thinking, including my fears, I realized I just needed to tell my brain I am safe, I am ok, I am cared for, I am protected, etc. I would hold my hand over my kidney meridian (the seat of fear) and affirm these statements from a quiet inner place. I kept doing this for hours until my emotions calmed down. Within days, my MCS symptoms calmed down. Within a week I was able to take a trip on a plane to Hawaii (a trip I had been dreading) and I didn’t get sick! There is vog in Kona from the active volcano and I didn’t get sick from that. Then I noticed the diesel on the highway wasn’t making me sick and then a friend hugged me and she had perfume on and I didn’t get sick.

After I arrived in Hawaii, I ordered Gupta’s DVDs. When they arrived my fiancé and I watched them together each night. We’d discuss them and I practiced the main amygdala retraining technique incessantly, like Susie, for hours at a time. Within a week I noticed my negative thinking reduced by a lot, maybe half. With Susie’s example of taking time off work, I took off from my work and any obligations so I could practice. By the end of my second week, I had very few negative thoughts about symptoms. I was getting good at interrupting them. This has been such a blessing because my mind has about driven me mad at times in spite of my best efforts. As Ashok Gupta writes, “The amygdala will also over-stimulate the brain, causing repetitive negative thoughts and feelings about the reactions, which themselves become hardwired into the brain. This reinforces the vicious cycles.”

I am now on my 5th week and I have now tackled the non-symptom thoughts. This is much more of a challenge for me because it is a bigger chunk of my thinking.

It has helped greatly to be able to disconnect from life to work on this. I have even had to interrupt discussions with people where I could start to feel my amygdala/adrenals going off. I offended a few people at the beginning by telling them to “stop.” It is totally out of character for me. This has created a safe space for me to let my nervous system calm down.

It has also been very helpful to have my partner’s help and support and Susie’s support. We have laughed over the fact that this is such a huge life changing event that there is a re-integration time. None of us are very good at being healthy. It has been outside of my experience for over 30 years. And even before that, as a girl, I had lots of problems because they sprayed our farm with DDT often and I got doused.

I am not sure how to proceed with communicating my Gupta experience to the MCS community. I want to honor everyone who is doing all those creative things we have all done to get better. I have no intention of making anyone wrong. At the same time, I want to celebrate being well, to grow in my understanding, to accept of a new life, and continue my commitment to service to help others become as well as possible.

To say there is anything wrong with a protocol, any protocol, is not what we are here for. I made the same remarks to myself when Susie first said she was better! If my partner had not insisted I get the Gupta DVDs and do the program with him, I might not have tried it.

I also would never tell someone to quit their supplement protocol (I am still on mine) or stop being cautious with chemicals. An over exposure can kill a person. So that is a reality check. At the same time, I want to live a free and happy life with a brain that works and is not fogged out all the time. I also want a body that is not in pain constantly, and energy to do the constructive things I need to do. The past few years, I have been so ill that my businesses have suffered greatly. I need to get my life back in order.

I’d like to add that I think my background has contributed to my quick success with this program. It didn’t take much of a stretch for me to put the pieces of training I have had together with Gupta’s process.

I cannot say I totally understand what has changed in my body. As an ND, I know every part of the body is connected to every other part. So if I “fix” one part, it spills over to all other parts. I have always taught that we only need to get in balance, not be perfect, in order to be well… like there is a “tipping point” we need to get on the other side of.

I don’t see the amygdala issue as being psychological. It is hard wiring. It is how our nervous system has been conditioned to work. Calming the amygdala is perhaps essential, I would guess, in all diseases. Of course it would be over stimulated when one is chronically ill. Makes me think of a friend who is a special effects designer who has been contracted to design peaceful environments in surgical rooms so the doctors, staff, and patients have a more positive experience.

I want everyone to know how much I appreciate your sharing. It has made a huge difference in my life. I just hope now that I am better that I can still be of some help.

Kikilani

~~~

“Kikilani” is a certified traditional naturopath (ND). Naturopathic medicine is based on the belief that the human body has an innate healing ability, and naturopathic doctors teach their patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and natural therapies to enhance their bodies’ ability to ward off and combat disease. Arriving to Our Canary Report community in great need of support for her own MCS challenges, Kikilani found the camaraderie of like minded canaries made her feel less alone. She enjoys paying it forward by connecting with and helping others on Our Canary Report forum (now on hiatus while Susie does the Gupta program).

This post was originally published on the forum at MCS News Australia.

Gupta Programme Session 6: Soften & Flow Technique, Meditation and Breathing

Posted by Susie

Dec 012011

My favorite teaching of this session is the The Hour of Power, a series of things you do when you first wake up to get your day started in a peaceful and relaxed state of mind.

I start every day with a big glass of water, the first thing I do in my Hour of Power. I use my Wonder Woman glass, of course!

This post is part of a series about my experience doing Ashok Gupta’s “Advanced Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Recovery Programme,” which I started on September 30 and will last for at least six months.

Session 6 of Ashok Gupta’s Multiple Chemical Sensitivity recovery program has three sections (6, 6A, and 6B) and contains a lot of information and teachings! In this session, Gupta teaches other techniques to supplement the main amygdala retraining technique. All techniques are designed to calm an over stimulated brain and nervous system. Many of you have probably already done a lot of these types of exercises like meditation and breathing techniques to achieve similar results. The beauty part about Gupta’s teachings is that everything is specifically geared toward recovering from MCS, CFS and Fibromyalgia, and I’ve had very good results through taking the time to learn exactly what he’s teaching and then DOING IT.

My favorite teaching of this session is The Hour of Power, a series of things you do when you first wake up to get your day started with a peaceful and relaxed state of mind. I can’t tell you how much I love this routine! It makes a huge impact on the rest of my day. It starts me off in the perfect frame of mind to have a balanced and productive day free from rushing, free from getting hooked into stress and drama, free from anger and frustration, free to cruise through the hours in a relaxed manner while being attentive to everything I need to accomplish. This is all super important when recovering from MCS.

Here’s what Gupta recommends you do to start your day (he says if you can’t do some of these things in the morning, then do them when you can):

The Hour of Power

Wake up and have big glass of water. I warm the water and drink it out of my Wonder Woman glass! (Photo at top of post.)
Have a shower.
Do 10-15 minutes of yoga (that you feel comfortable with; see image below of the postures I’ve started with).
Do 7-10 minutes of breathing exercise (he teaches an alternate nostril breathing technique).
Do 20 minutes of meditation, either on your own or with Gupta’s guided meditation (I always use the guided meditation).
Fruit for breakfast, maybe some oatmeal—I sometimes have a slice of homemade whole grain bread.

Before I started the Gupta program, my day started with my mind in hyper drive thinking about everything I had to get done. My mind was busy busy busy, zooming with ideas before my feet even hit the floor. I couldn’t wait to have a huge mug of green tea, get that caffeine in me, get into the office, check email, check my favorite news websites and blogs, check on The Canary Report, take a look at my to-do list for my day job and get busy! Before I even got a handle on the day, I was buzzing with caffeine, already stressed, often overwhelmed with the scope of the tasks ahead and worried that I wouldn’t get everything done in time. I used to think this was the proper way productive, accomplished people ran their lives! That was until I started the Gupta MCS recovery program.

In contrast to my past routine, everything about the Gupta program is about bringing your brain into a calm, peaceful, relaxed state of being so that your body can heal, return to its natural rhythms, and sustain that state of balance. And there is no better time to set that peaceful tone for the day than the moment you wake up.

For the yoga, which I have never done before in my life, I’ve been doing very simple postures for the past two months—so easy to do but what a difference in how my body feels! I’m reading the book Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind: A Guide to Personal Reintegration by A. G. Mohan. See below for a sample of what I do in the morning, it’s a page from the book. When I first start stretching in the morning, it always feels awful, so I repeat the postures until I think to myself, “Ah, that feel so good! I’m so glad I’m doing this!” Then I do one or two more minutes of yoga (about 15-20 minutes total) and move on to the breath exercise.

These are the yoga postures that I've been doing in the morning. Very simple but effective at easing me into a yoga habit. I'm amazed at how much more limber I am after doing these simple stretches. This is a page from Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind: A Guide to Personal Reintegration by A. G. Mohan.

I do the alternate nostril breathing technique that Gupta teaches for about 7-10 minutes. He emphasizes the alternate nostril breathing exercise as being very important. He says many of his patients are not breathing correctly because the nervous system is continuously stimulated so breathing is shallow. The shallow breathing means the pattern of proper oxygenation of cells is being disrupted—not a good state to be in. Getting enough oxygen is really important to health and the breathing technique teaches your body to breath deeper and slower—I can attest that it really works!

After the breathing exercise I do Gupta’s 20-minute guided meditation. It’s hard to get my mind to be still but sometimes I can get it to stop climbing around all over the place and it’s a wonderful feeling! Bliss. Even when I can’t get the thoughts to stop, I remain still and calmly focus on my breath for the full 20 minutes, expecting nothing and not beating myself up if thoughts keep barging in. As Gupta says, “It’s all part of the process.” Sometimes I replace the guided meditation with the Soften & Flow technique, which is very similar to the meditation, but instead of focusing on the breath, focus is put on areas of the body experiencing discomfort or tension.

After the meditation, I have some fruit, oatmeal or fresh homemade bread, and decaffeinated tea (“Eradicate caffeine,” says Gupta). And then I start my work day.

Through doing the Hour of Power, I’ve learned that there is great power in slowing down, pacing myself, and frequently taking deep, full breaths throughout the day. I find that I can now enjoy my work days no matter how tight the deadlines or demanding the work. I rarely get frustrated and I can’t remember the last time I got angry. I feel happy and peaceful; I even move and walk slower than before I started the Gupta program, no rushing. I think a lot of that has to do with doing the main amygdala retraining technique, but there is a strong possibility that I’ll be starting my day with the Hour of Power for the rest of my life!

Remember that the yoga, breathing and meditation exercises are not meant to initiate MCS recovery on their own—you need to be doing the main amygdala retraining techniques to truly initiate recovery—but integrating these types of activities into the daily routine is excellent support for a healthy brain and nervous system. Also remember that even though the main retraining is happening in the brain, Gupta’s hypothesis does NOT hold that MCS is a psychological disorder. Gupta states emphatically that “MCS is a real physical disorder with real physical symptoms, and is not psychological in nature.”

In the next post, I’ll cover Session 6A and Session 6B, which take a closer look at symptom and non-symptom patterns that help perpetuate the illness.

More soon!

Gupta Girl

Disclaimer

Experiential learning: Trial by fire!

Posted by Susie

Nov 282011

Who knew that only six days into Ashok Gupta’s Multiple Chemical Sensitivity recovery program, I’d be putting the treatment to the test, up close and personal with a brush fire!

Just six days into Ashok Gupta's MCS recovery program, there was a brush fire less than a mile from my home. Had I not already learned the main amygdala retraining technique, there is no doubt that the smoke exposure would have initiated MCS symptoms. Instead, I was Gupta Girl in action! This photo was a blast to catch.

On Oct. 6, I was ready to start Session 6 of Ashok Gupta’s Multiple Chemical Sensitivity recovery program, but first I wanted to review a concept already covered in a previous session: identifying patterns associated with my chemical sensitivity symptoms. This had proved challenging; I found it difficult to identify patterns that were so hard wired into me that I saw them as natural mechanisms rather than conditioning from the illness. The examples on the worksheet Gupta provides were all geared toward symptoms associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I couldn’t relate to any of it. So before starting Session 6, I sat down and focused on this task, determined to find my patterns before moving on to the next lesson.

The smoke got very thick very fast, sweeping through our gardens and house.

Suddenly, out of the blue, as I was sitting there trying to figure out my patterns, I got a whiff of smoke on the air—and in that instant of one breath, my whole body went into a state of alarm: ALERT! SMOKE! DANGER! My mind lurched, my heart raced, and I suddenly felt unsafe. In that moment, I learned firsthand about a main pattern: breathing something threatening causes an instant alarm in every part of my body; even before I have time to think or analyze the source of the problem, I feel unsafe. Bingo! A pattern.

I immediately started doing the main amygdala retraining technique using my brain, body and voice, just as Gupta taught me only two days prior. The smoke was getting really bad and I heard sirens in the distance, which played into my own internal alarm. My husband dashed off to find the source of the smoke, but in that moment, I chose to focus on the retraining technique rather than the fire. I did the technique three times in a row and the alarm inside me subsided. I experienced no MCS symptoms!

Meanwhile, my husband had discovered the smoke was coming from a brush fire less than a mile from our home. We then decided it was best to get out of the smoke so we grabbed some food and water and jumped in the car. I grabbed my camera on the way out the door.

What happened over the next hour was astonishing in regard to my chemical sensitivity. Had I not already learned the main amygdala retraining technique, there is no doubt that the smoke exposure would have initiated MCS symptoms. For years I’ve had problems breathing particulate matter. Exposure to yard waste fires, emissions from the island’s active volcano (called vog), or even heavy dust on the air can cause eye irritation, coughing and wheezing. Also, an exposure like that can make my chemical sensitivities to go into hyper drive. But none of that happened. No eye irritation, no coughing, no wheezing (and later, no ultra sensitivity to chemical exposures). In fact, I felt so good after doing the technique, that I wanted to get in the car and go get a closer look at the fire to see what was happening!

This is the view we had from up the slope looking down at all the excitement. A few minutes after we got to this vantage point, I realized we were standing in a just-planted corn field, probably recently sprayed with pesticides. I did a quick retraining technique just in case and then turned my attention back to taking photos. Our home is about a half mile to the left, right in the path of all that smoke.

We took a road going straight up the mountain behind our village to get out of the smoke and had a good vantage point to watch the fire. I had fun taking a lot of photos. Later, we drove down closer to where they were fighting the fire, and I had a super opportunity to photograph the helicopter as it brought water up from the ocean and dumped it on the flames! It was so exciting! (That’s the large photo at top of post.)

But even more exciting was that even though I was exposed to the smoke and several chemicals that previously would have gotten me very sick, I flew through that hour feeling on top of the world because I’d used Gupta’s amygdala retraining technique at the first sign of a pattern, which short circuited any MCS symptoms before they even started! (Remember that even though this retraining is happening in the brain, Gupta’s hypothesis does NOT hold that MCS is a psychological disorder. Gupta states emphatically that “MCS is a real physical disorder with real physical symptoms, and is not psychological in nature.”)

Here’s a list of a few things to which I was exposed during my fire adventure:

Heavy smoke from the brush fire.
Diesel exhaust.
Air freshener from a cop’s car that parked right next to me when I was photographing the helicopter.
Laundry products on a neighbor’s clothing. I actually hugged him without any problem at all.
The mail, which we picked up at the post office on the way home and included one package with new books and one package with new clothing, all of which I opened up and handled right away in the car before we got home.
Creosote on a wooden bridge when we took a back road home.

Previously, any one of those exposures would have made me feel ill. But I didn’t have a single MCS symptom!

I need to say here that not everyone with MCS will achieve these same quick results from the amygdala retraining technique. I’ve talked to people who say results from Gupta’s program happened very fast for them, too, but I’ve seen testimonials where people say it took six months or a year or more to see symptoms abate. Some people aren’t helped at all, although it’s been difficult for me to tell if they did everything as instructed for a full six months. But even with that possible variable, since no two cases of MCS are alike, it only makes sense that each person will have a different experience with the program.

If you decide to try this treatment, I think you should take Gupta’s advice and do it at your own pace, no rushing! Don’t worry about how fast it will work for you, just do everything Gupta teaches you at your own pace and keep at it for the full six months as he advises. Even though I am already seeing improvement in my chemical sensitivity, I still have tons of work to do and have fully committed to giving it my all for at least six months.

By the way, I slept soundly that night after the fire, no insomnia and none of the “buzzing” in my body that usually happens after a day of chemical exposures. I woke the next morning refreshed with no MCS “hangover,” which meant no time spent in a recovery phase of hours or days or weeks. Now that I had a full experiential understanding of a main pattern, I was now ready to do Session 6!

Gupta Girl

Disclaimer

Gupta Programme Session 5: Live Demonstration of Amygdala Retraining Technique

Posted by Susie

Nov 202011

Ashok Gupta

Session 5 of Ashok Gupta’s recovery program, which I watched on Oct. 5, is a live demonstration of the main retraining technique where Gupta works with a patient who has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Because I had spent so much time learning the technique two days prior and was already seeing improvement in my chemical sensitivity symptoms, it was a lesson in patience for me to sit still and watch Gupta’s patient learn how to do it. But the section of this fifth session that I found the most interesting was the interview that Gupta conducted with the patient at the beginning of the session. It wasn’t the patient’s answers that caught my attention, but rather the questions Gupta was asking.

Especially interesting were the questions about what the patient was doing at the onset of the illness, how much stress he was under, whether or not he was actively engaged in ambitious activities and putting himself under a lot of pressure, asking a lot of himself and striving for perfection, go-go-go all the time—because guess what? According to Gupta, he finds that many of his patients were living that kind of lifestyle when they then experienced the particular stressor that initiated the illness. In the case of CFS, that stressor is often a particularly nasty and lengthy viral or bacterial infection, and in the case of MCS, it’s exposure to certain toxic chemicals (as we know through anecdotal evidence in our MCS community, there also are other stressors linked to the onset of MCS, for example exposure to toxic mold or ingestion of certain pharmaceuticals).

Martin Pall

Of course I’ve read a lot about severe psychological stress contributing to the onset of MCS, CFS and Fibromyalgia—see researcher Martin Pall’s website, scroll down to Table 1. But I found it fascinating that Gupta finds that everyday stressors of someone living an ambitious lifestyle also could set up that person for developing these illnesses. So understanding that better—the condition of a “perfect storm” of a stressful lifestyle (or as Martin Pall’s research has shown, severe psychological stress) coupled with exposure to the stressors associated with the illness—helped me understand better what needs to be done to initiate recovery from MCS and then, one step further, to sustain that healing. There may be, of course, other factors involved in MCS such as possible genetic predisposition, but the takeaway for me in this session is recognizing that a big part of Gupta’s treatment is about getting to the core causes of stress, stressors, and stress responses that contribute to the illness.

The other line of questioning I found interesting was about whether or not the patient’s mind is a busy mind that he can’t turn off and whether or not relaxation helps. As it turns out, a constantly busy mind may be a stress response related to the illness—not something consciously done but something hardwired into the brain and body through conditioning (remember that Gupta is not saying that MCS is psychological but that this conditioning is happening at physiological levels). For me, who thought that a busy mind that approaches life with a constant sense of urgency was a good and productive thing, the idea that a constantly busy mind is a stress response comes as a revolutionary concept. Never had it occurred to me that my busy mind was tied up with perpetuating and sustaining the chemical sensitivities and that it was pulling me farther and farther away from good health. But as I do Gupta’s main retraining technique and the other supplemental exercises to the point where I actually get that busy mind and over active sympathetic nervous system* switched off, the positive results are astonishing not only with the MCS symptoms abating but also in other unexpected ways as well. As it turns out, Gupta’s treatment is not limited to improving the acute illness at hand—it also has the potential of reaching deep down to my core to create an environment so that my body can heal itself of myriad stressors and imbalances.

Andrew Weil

Dr. Andrew Weil, the physician who diagnosed me with chemical sensitivity in 1995, writes in his book Sound Body Sound Mind, “Healing is making whole, restoring a state of perfection and balance that has been lost through illness or injury… I’ve learned that you are your own physician and have to heal yourself. The trick is to get your ego out of the way, get your concepts out of the way, and just let the body heal itself. It knows how to do it.”

The Gupta Programme is teaching me how to do that—how to get my ego out of the way, get my concepts out of the way—so that my body has a chance at recovering from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

More soon!

Gupta Girl

Disclaimer

*I had originally written “central nervous system,” but have corrected it to “sympathetic nervous system.”

Gupta Programme Session 4: The Amygdala Retraining Technique

Posted by Susie

Nov 132011

This is the packet of materials for the Gupta Amydala Retraining program. The Mind Map, shown here folded up with the copyright symbol, is a large, bold, colorful poster showing the seven steps of the main brain retraining technique that you lay on the floor—it helps you walk through and fully engage in the technique with your brain, body, and voice.

I’m excited to tell you about Session 4 of Ashok Gupta’s Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Recovery Programme because it’s the lesson about the main amygdala retraining technique.

If you’ve done your homework as I suggested in my previous posts, you know that Gupta’s hypothesis holds that Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is a neurological disorder caused by conditioned trauma following specific or general exposure to a chemical—he believes that MCS is a physical illness initiated through protective physiological and chemical defense responses originating in the brain, specifically the amygdala. The main brain retraining technique helps you break free of the conditioning through repetitive exercises that engage your brain (both conscious and subconscious), your body, and your voice to affect the change needed to bring about recovery from MCS.

Gupta advises that you do Session 4 in one sitting. I put every ounce of attention into the lesson and did absolutely everything he asked me to do (lots of pausing the DVD and doing worksheets and exercises). I learned about identifying established patterns that define my experience of having MCS and about how to break away from those patterns so the body can heal. I learned about the Mind Map, a large, bold, colorful poster showing the seven steps of the main brain retraining technique that you lay on the floor—it helps you walk through and fully engage in the technique with your brain, body, and voice. Through this comprehensive exercise (brain-body-voice), you are disengaging from the old, static neurological patterns of the illness and moving yourself into new dynamic patterns of health and well being—you are literally rewiring the brain and nervous system. (I’m not going to be blogging details about the technique– the point of this series is not to teach you how to do the technique, but rather to share my experiences.)

In this first experience with learning the main technique, which I did on Oct. 3, I did the process over and over and over again, identifying patterns associated with my illness, memorizing the steps of the technique, repeating the process probably 20-30 times total until I could do it without any guidance from the video or supplemental materials. The hardest part of the learning process was the very first step, in which I had to identify the established patterns of the conditioned trauma—it was difficult to identify or even recognize patterns hardwired into my brain and body over the course of 16 years with MCS—but once I figured that out, the rest of the technique flowed easily.

While I was doing this session, I focused intensely on learning the technique. I gave it my all and simply suspended any disbelief about the treatment that occasionally popped up in my thoughts so that I could learn exactly what Gupta was teaching without any judgment interfering. I found that suspending disbelief helped me to not get distracted by doubt and cynicism, and allowed me to move forward with learning about and actually doing the retraining technique. I can tell you that it paid off for me because I experienced improvement in my chemical sensitivity symptoms soon after learning the main retraining technique!

Gupta encourages you not to dwell too much on outcomes during the six-month treatment, so I won’t at this point. But I have to say it’s difficult to contain my excitement and optimism after already seeing improvement. I continue with practicing the main technique and doing the recommended supportive activities (which I will be sharing with you in future posts). So far I have nothing but good things to say about Ashok Gupta and his treatment. If you have any curiosity like I did about him and his program, I encourage you to order your packet and give it a try!

Gupta Girl

Disclaimer

Gupta Programme Session 3: Testimonials

Posted by Susie

Oct 262011

Session 3, which I watched on Sunday, October 2, shares testimonials from people who have recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by doing Ashok Gupta’s amygdala retraining program. You can view all the testimonials on Gupta’s website.

Debbie aka "Lady Itchalot"

As I blogged about in previous posts, I’d been inspired to give the program a try by testimonials from members of Our Canary Report Community who recovered from MCS by doing Gupta’s program: Debbie (Part One and Part Two) and Erik (first post and second post on his progress).

Erik

Recently, Els, who lives in Denmark and wrote a book about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity a couple of years ago, published her testimonial– it’s so well done that Gupta has added a link to it on his own website.

Els

These are three people that I have communicated with over the past three years and have found each one to be thoughtful, intelligent, and up-to-date on current research about MCS. I know each of them to have a good head on their shoulders and keen analytic skills, so my ears perked up when I started to see consistency between their stories of recovery from MCS through Gupta’s treatment. Go ahead and re-read them even if you’ve already done so. I feel inspired each time!

In my journal, I made notes about a difficult decision I had to make on this day after I watched Session 3. One of my biggest worries leading up to starting the program was about what to do with Our Canary Report network. People close to me were advising me to close it completely because of all the time it takes and stress it causes, and as you will learn, the program is all about reducing stress as much as you can so the body can heal. But I feel immense responsibility to our members and I worry about removing the support that others need. But on this Sunday, after watching the CFS testimonials, I own up to the decision to fully commit to the program and I figure out a plan to put the network on hiatus.

It’s very hard for me to come to the realization that I cannot run the network or even have the network online while I do the program. But none of that responsibility or drama can be in my life in order to fully engage in the brain retraining. I just want you all to know that the decision to put the network on hiatus was not arrived at lightly and I am very grateful to everyone for all your support in my decision. Thank you! (I hope you’ve all found your way to the temporary network Rob at DTOX Radio set up for all Canary Report members while I am on hiatus– many thanks to Rob and all the Mother Hens for creating a safe haven for our members while I get Gupta’d!)

My next post will be about learning the main amygdala retraining technique in Session 4!! Definitely one of those days that I will remember as long as I live.

More soon!

Gupta Girl

Disclaimer

Gupta Programme Session 2: Explanation of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Posted by Susie

Oct 262011

This post is the third in a series about my experience doing Ashok Gupta’s “Advanced Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Recovery Programme,” which I started on September 30 and will last for at least six months.

I watched Session 2 on Saturday, October 1. I watched this whole session on the DVD but I’m going to refer you back to the first post in my blog series about my doing the program, because this actual Session 2 on the DVD is geared to ME/CFS, not MCS.

Basically, you can read about Gupta’s basic hypothesis on his website (his peer reviewed and published hypothesis was originally developed for his own case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and has now been expanded to include other related illnesses such as MCS). Then you can read about his hypothesis in relation to MCS. It’s dense reading but I highly recommend you make an effort to read it, that is if you really want to understand what the program is addressing.

A summary of key points in Session 2 on the DVD include this (quotation from the transcript):

we have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind
inside the subconscious mind there is a brain structure called the amygdala (small almond shaped structure in what is called the limbic system of the brain, and in fact there are two of them)
the amygdala’s role is to decide if something threatens us, and to release an appropriate response to protect us, often involving the fight or flight response
the fight or flight response is also known as the stress response, or stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system
we can sometimes unknowingly train the amygdala to be concerned or even fearful of things that we don’t want to be afraid of (emphasis added)
through our conscious mind, we can always retrain the amygdala

I know that list poked a few of you with a stick– I know! I felt poked, too! Some of you are thinking, “Is he saying it’s all in my mind??” No, he’s not. Don’t miss the key word in the list above: “unknowingly.” Gupta’s hypothesis does NOT hold that MCS is a psychological disorder. Gupta states emphatically that “MCS is a real physical disorder with real physical symptoms, and is not psychological in nature.” So my best advice at this stage in the game is, at least for the moment, to suspend any disbelief you may have, let go of any cynicism, try to do the “homework” I suggested, and just come along with me for the ride, keep me company on my journey. And don’t lose sight of that last bullet point: “through our conscious mind, we can always retrain the amygdala”– because, ultimately, THAT is where we are going!

As I blogged in my first post in the series, Gupta recently released a video about his hypothesis in relation to MCS. Be sure to take the time to watch this, it’s important! Here’s the blurb and video:

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities can be explained by a new hypothesis implicating the limbic system of the brain, specifically the amygdala. The brain structure called the insula is also involved. The Gupta Programme, or Gupta Amygdala Retraining is a brand new treatment for MCS, ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia which retrains the brain to stop it reacting to chemicals and electrical stimuli. This video is part of a coaching programme on the treatment specifically dealing with MCS.

More soon!

Gupta Girl

Disclaimer

Gupta Programme Session 1: Introduction and How to Use The Recovery Programme

Posted by Susie

Oct 252011

This post is the second in a series about my experience doing the Gupta Amygdala Retraining program, which I started on September 30 and will last for at least six months.

The Gupta Amygdala Retraining packet contains a12-DVD set of Gupta's lessons with the retraining techniques and supporting exercises. There is a book that's basically the transcript of the lessons on the DVDs (at left). The packet also contains audio CDs with supplemental exercises. In addition, the packet contains the "Mind Map," the large poster you see folded up with the copyright symbol. The Mind Map is a colorfully bold graphic of the seven steps of the main retraining technique. You lay it on the floor, it reminds me of the game Twister. It's is the most ingenious teaching tool for showing you how to engage your body, mind, and voice in the very specialized main brain retraining technique!

The Gupta Amygdala Retraining packet arrived from Ashok Gupta’s clinic in London on September 30 and I was excited to get started! I’d been inspired to give the program a try by testimonials from members of Our Canary Report Community: Debbie (Part One and Part Two) and Erik (first post and second post on his progress). Recently, Els, who lives in Denmark and wrote a book about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity a couple of years ago, published her testimonial– it’s so well done that Gupta has added a link to it on his own website. These are three people that I have communicated with over the past three years and have found each one to be thoughtful, intelligent, and up-to-date on current research about MCS. I know each of them to have a good head on their shoulders and keen analytic skills, so my ears perked up when I started to see consistency between their stories of recovery from MCS through Gupta’s treatment.

But when choosing medical treatments or procedures, testimonials are never enough for me no matter the source. I need to see strong credentials from the people I choose as part of my health team. Though not a medical doctor, Ashok Gupta brings some heft to his hypothesis and treatment:

Gupta had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome himself as a student at Cambridge over 10 years ago and completely healed himself through experimenting with the techniques he’s now honed into his amygdala retraining program. (Please note that current peer-reviewed research shows that CFS/ME, MCS, Fibromyalgia, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are all part of the same family of illnesses; see the published work of biochemist Martin Pall.)
Gupta has worked successfully with CFS patients for seven years at his clinic in London.
His hypothesis is published in a peer reviewed medical journal.
He has conducted an audit on the success rate of his treatment, also peer reviewed and published.
He has strong working knowledge and experience in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (a basic component of the main retraining technique in the Gupta treatment).
He’s done his own research into recent advances in brain neurology, notably the work of Joseph Ledoux.
He understands Martin Pall’s theory about CFS/ME, MCS, Fibromyalgia and PTSD, and has worked Pall’s findings into his own hypothesis and model; if you look at Gupta’s graphic about his hypothesis (scroll down to the dark blue graphic titled “The Amygdala Hypothesis”), you’ll see “nitric oxide increase” as a secondary illness cycle– the NO/ONOO- theory is Pall’s contribution to the current literature on MCS. This inclusion of Pall’s findings into Gupta’s model made a great impression on me because it showed me Gupta is not only knowledgeable about current MCS research, but he incorporated and improved upon that research through his own hypothesis and model.

I was very excited when the packet arrived! September 30 was a Friday, and as soon as I finished my work for my day job at about 4:30p, I opened up the packet and reviewed the contents. The packet contains the main 12-DVD set of Gupta’s lessons with tons of background information and the retraining techniques and supporting exercises. There is a book that’s basically the transcript of the lessons on the DVDs (I curl up on the couch with a cuppa and that book a lot!). The packet also contains a couple of audio CDs with supplemental exercises.

In addition, the packet contains the “Mind Map,” a large, colorfully bold graphic of the seven steps of the main retraining technique. You lay it on the floor, it reminds me of the game Twister. It’s is the most ingenious teaching tool for showing you how to engage your body, mind, and voice in the very specialized main brain retraining technique! I can’t wait to tell you about learning the main retraining technique in a future post (Session 4).

Gupta has made the first session available on YouTube, so you can watch the whole thing below! In my journal, my main takeaways from this session are:

Gupta believes MCS is a real physical condition with real physical symptoms in the body.
The body’s ability to heal is very much based on the state of mind during healing. (This comes into play when learning the main retraining technique and supplemental exercises.)
Make a commitment to do the program for six months. Done!
Ups and downs are expected, just focus on the long term goal of health.
Laugh out loud as much as possible!
Get out of the house as much as possible, take long walks in nature, get as much daylight and fresh air as possible.
Do only one session a day.

So here you go, Session 1 of Gupta’s Amygdala Retraining program (all you have to do is replace “CFS” with “MCS” and you are good to go for applying the lessons to MCS):

Session 1, Part 1: