Give it a go, but move on if it doesn’t work
Given the numbers of people who have gotten well through using this program, you can be assured that for some people, it is exactly what they need – and therefore maybe for you too. There are a few other very similar programs (DNRS, ANS Rewire), and again, there are people who do well with them. If you know about how the programs work, calling this a “placebo” effect is not relevant. So, they do work, for some.
For me, it did not work. I believe the reason is simply that different people have different fundamental causes of their problem. The list of symptoms of CFS (and the many other conditions these programs try to treat) is very long, and very unspecific. I am sure that many people looking at this have wondered whether their problem is “adrenal fatigue”, or perhaps a thyroid problem, or a gut problem, or an autoimmune condition….and so on.
This program (and the others) contend that the fundamental problem in CFS and related conditions, is over-activity in the fear centres of your brain, which then has numerous downstream effects, since it gears your whole physiology to alert-states, to danger, and so forth. Your immune system, your nervous system, and therefore many other systems, will all be on hyper-alert.
I believe that for some, this is exactly what is going on. In fact, there was a recent trial of a therapy where some Israeli researchers directly manipulated the fear-centres in the brains of patients with Fibromyalgia, which led to marked improvements. So, this stuff is not nonsense.
But, it is just very difficult to tell whether the fundamental cause of your OWN problem is indeed to do with stress, over-worrying about your condition, being frightened about the possibilities, etc. You can’t go into a brain-scanner and have this objectively assessed. You can think it is just not relevant… but then, perhaps you have just gotten used to being in a stressed state. After all, if you have a chronic illness, it is unlikely that you never think about your condition.
So, the only thing you can do, to properly know, is just to try it. Like I am sure you have tried many other things. (You can maybe have a BIT of an inkling, if you feel better after anything that profoundly relaxes you – meditation, long baths, getting carried away in soft music or relaxing TV, perhaps massage etc…but again, this is all so vague, and also short term).
The big problem with these programs, is that you have to believe in them 100%, if they are going to stand a chance of working. The whole way they work, is by calming down the activity of those fear centres. And that happens, in good part, through your total belief and reassurance that you are going to get better, that the program will work, etc. You tell yourself that every day, multiple times.
Now, to be fair, Gupta acknowledges this. You commit totally for 6 months, and if nothing has happened, you can move on.
Personally, I kept trying and trying. 6 months. A year. A couple of years. More. Coming up with justifications for why it wasn’t working, because maybe I hadn’t believed in it enough, wasn’t sufficiently committed or reassured. I guess that is my problem, rather than the program’s, but it is difficult to just switch off your belief and commitment, when your health is at stake.
I think that the situation is not helped by the fact that it is done over the internet. When it began, Gupta saw people personally in a clinic. It is true that there are “coaches” that you can speak to personally, but this is mainly over the internet, and they are all successful “recoverers” rather than people with a medical background who might be able to tell you if there is a different cause of your problem.
So in conclusion, this MAY help you, and give you your life back. As I say, to give it a chance, you have to fully believe in it (and there are good reasons to, since the science is pretty sound in my opinion). But, like any other therapy, it may not work. So, also be disciplined with yourself, if you find that after a reasonable time period, you experience no improvement.