Brain retraining and nervous system regulation programs operate under the theory that ME/CFS and related conditions are driven by (but not solely caused by) dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. In a nutshell, it posits that the body’s balance between sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) is unstable, preventing the body from recovering from things that other people recover from, or from tolerating the same level of exertion or environmental stressors that other people can tolerate. To be clear, this hypothesis does not say that the disease is psychological, rather that the physiological issues can be at least partly addressed by working on the autonomic nervous system. The theory suggests that the autonomic nervous system may be overloaded with stress, impairing the body’s ability to resolve existing problems. By improving the function of the autonomic nervous system, the body can more readily deal with whatever physiological issues are present.
Therefore, nervous system regulation aims to do just what it says, regulate the autonomic nervous system so the body operates in a balanced way. It encompasses both bottom-up (body-focused) and top-down (mind-focused) exercises. The bottom-up practices can be things like breathing exercises, vagus nerve toning or somatics. Examples of top-down practices are meditation, mindfulness, and brain retraining. The goal of brain retraining is to help you to establish a more relaxed baseline and to react to things in a more calm and confident way. The idea is to recognize unhelpful patterns of thinking, then intentionally choose a healthier response (this is usually what a program means when it talks about “rewiring the brain”).
Functionally, brain retraining often looks like this:
Each program teaches this process its own way, with slightly different steps, different focuses, and a different flavor. The steps will be a little different, for example it might include a breathing exercise or affirmations, sometimes instead of a visualization. The frequency and length of the suggested practices vary by program. Which is the best way to do it? That would be a wonderful topic for a research study, and I hope it is done someday. Likely, it depends on the person, your individual preferences and goals. The way you implement the practices is ultimately up to you. And because brain retraining is individualized, it can be a powerful tool for personal growth. To me, the benefit of these kind of exercises is their potential to benefit your physical and mental health regardless of whether it leads to a full recovery.
After completing the survey and choosing your shortlist, I encourage you to explore the programs’ websites and learn how they talk about brain retraining.
Here are some explanations I found helpful, including from a few of the programs. If any of these programs are on your shortlist, this could also be a good way to see if their approach and philosophy resonate with you.
The peer-reviewed research on brain retraining is limited as of this writing, but here are a few studies.
While there is a need for more studies about brain retraining, the benefits of mindfulness more generally is widely accepted in the medical community. For example, see this article from the Mayo Clinic or this article from the American Psychological Association.