Biofeedback is a highly effective mind-body therapy that can be used to learn how to control some of your body’s functions, such as heart rhythm. During biofeedback, you are attached to an electrical sensor to help you receive information about your body by your therapist. With HeartMath biofeedback, your therapist will use a gentle earlobe sensor. This sensor relays your heart rhythm and respiration patterns into a computer program that gives you visual and auditory feedback in order to understand how your thoughts and emotions correspond with your body’s functions.

Research has shown that during periods of stress, anxiety or depression, when the heart rhythm pattern is erratic and disordered, the corresponding pattern of brain signals traveling from the heart to the brain inhibits higher brain functions. This is sometimes called “fight or flight” and limits our ability to think clearly or make rational decisions. HeartMath biofeedback is designed to help you understand your fight or flight responses by showing your heart rate variability and teaching you how to control your response by regulating your breathing and thought patterns.

During your biofeedback session, you will learn several easy-to-understand techniques, such as rhythmic breathing and meditations focused on positive emotions and memories, to help you connect with your body to manage stress and learn to regulate your emotions. By using these techniques with the HeartMath technology, you will learn to achieve mental and emotional resilience and learn to manage and control your emotional responses to stress, anxiety, and depression.

Biofeedback is a risk-free way to learn how to control your body’s responses to stress and other triggers that may cause unwanted symptoms. The benefit to biofeedback is that it can be used on its own or in conjunction with other therapies, such as traditional CBT and grounding techniques for anxiety, as well as medication therapy.

Additionally, biofeedback can be an effective alternative to medication if you are unable to take or are uninterested in medication therapy. Biofeedback also helps you feel that you are more in control of your treatment and an active participant, as the technology allows you to see exactly how your behaviors and other interventions affect your body’s functions. During each session, your therapist will help you begin to understand your patterns and rhythms and, as you progress, you will notice how you achieve a more coherent pattern of heart rate more quickly the more you practice.

The therapists at Colorado CBT are a resource in Denver for those interested in biofeedback. To get started, reach out to us today to make an appointment!