Ive been in therapyfor several years now. I just now did neurofeedback where they use a QEEG to find the problem areas. It shows high anxiety and depression. The problem is mine came out near perfect!!! What does that mean for me in therapy? I'm not making up my problems. The psychologist said that I'm about as normal as it gets in alot of areas on my QEEG. I feel more ashamed than ever now.

Will anyone ever believe me? Should they believe me? Should I believe myself?

[Rapunzel]

Your feelings are real, no matter what one test says. What do you think those results could mean? Could you use them in any way that would help you? I don't think that invalidating your feelings and your struggles is supposed to be the end result, but I am sorry that it is making you question yourself. There is a reason for you to feel and act as you do, whether that test is able to detect it or not. Maybe you were having a good day when they tested you.

[zombiette]

i'm no psychologist, but i was thinking maybe the tests show that ur problems aren't biological/genetic in nature? if this is the case then it might mean that talking therapy, changes in environmental/life circumstances would be more benefitial to u than meds.

[Bethsway]

If you feel you need therapy...then you NEED therapy...no matter what a test result shows...It is what is inside you that counts...

[Evangelista]

(((EV)))....Science nor it's tools can explain everything EV..you are unique, ..ppl have the same blueprints with subtle adaptations in just about every nook and crawlspace..maybe the QEEG just dosent reflect what is unique about the way you have adapted, but other tests may..its the tool's failing and not yours. Just my opionion..I am sorry the testing effected you in an adverse manner..I hope you talk this over with your T, take care..

It just means at the time of the test you were not experiencing any depression at a level in which it would have showed up on the machine.

At the mooment I can't remember if you have DID or not. those that have DIS have a higher ability to consciously and unconsciously use relaxation skills to the point where they register the equivelent alpha or beta waves that a person under hypnosis, no depression and or being asleep would register. so Im not surprised that the test turned out this way.

Instead of depending on the visual aid of the machines you might have to do your process the same way I do - by paying attention to your heart rate and breathing rate and muscle relaxation instead of brain wave activity.

[jennie]

Were you on psych medications or other meds that interfere with brain function during the test?

QEEG is measuring what? It measures electrical activity. It doesn't measure normal brain function. Interpretation of the recorded brain waves is not a science.

What was the duration and location of the test? Where you in a controlled, safe setting for a short amount of time? Or did you wear the electrodes as a portable monitor for 24 hours a day for at least a week as you performed your daily routine?

Did you have a baseline reading to compare the test with . . . a before and after? Or is the analysis being compared to someone else's brain waves?

Was the equipment faulty? Were the electodes placed properly? Did the person conducting the test know how to obtain accurate brain frequency data? (It's not easy.)

Is qEEG reliable? There is no standardized procedures in measuring the waves.

According to this eMedicine article . . . "EEG may be normal or minimally disturbed in a number of patients in the initial stages of Alzheimer disease." I haven't read much about qEEG, but if it doesn't detect all cases of Alzheimer's (advanced dementia), then qEEG is not a reliable test.

If you believe your test measured what it was supposed to measure, then shouldn't this be good news? You are on your way to recovery.

((((((((((esthersvirtue))))))))))))

[kimmydawn]

((((((((((((((((((((((EV))))))))))))))))))))))))

There was the day that that would've scared and confused the heck outta me!

However, I had a test of the brain areas a LONG time ago and it was to look for PHYSICAL stuffs only...anything phsysical that might've been causing the panic and other symptoms.

I still had alot of therapy to go through after that.

We're here. We're listening.

KD

thanks all..
i dunno. My T believes in neurofeedback so much. I am just so doubtful of everything now. I think maybe i just want to work on my eating disorder and not think abou all the other stuff. The ED is the most real now.

[(JD)]

WHOA! (((esthersvirtue))) Sorry you are so confused, but maybe due to your depression you didn't really understand what was told you...or they didn't really explain things to you? Let me pull a quote about QEEGs, since you need the expert's wording
</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>

QEEG's can also serve as an effective tool for differentiating between organic and functional brain disorders. This functional data provides an excellent supplement to data obtained from CT scans and MRI's. For instance, QEEG is a useful tool for differentiating between physiological and functional causes of depression and hyperactivity. It has also been helpful in the identification of schizophrenia and dementias. This procedure can be employed to identify cases of cerebral atrophy associated with alcoholism or drug abuse as well as determining whether a child is presenting with neurologically based attention deficit disorder or one of psychogenic origin.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

It doesn't decide if you are depressed or not. It rules out brain dysfunction due to such as a brain injury...etc.

Please don't be ashamed! There's no shame in this. This is a good thing...this result. It doesn't mean depression isn't real...for we all know it is.

I suggest you continue to discuss this with your psychologist, and ask the hard questions for you... I think you will find the answers aren't hard to hear.

Here's some more from the experts...I hope you will see that they are ruling OUT possible causes and disorders. </font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
For who would a QEEG be appropriate?

QEEG's are initially performed to determine the presence of focal or generalised cerebral dysfunction

following a closed head injury, stroke, heart attack, or pulmonary dysfunction following hypoxia;

when seizure disorders or tumours are suspected;

in suspected cases of Attention Deficit Disorder

in suspected cases of specific learning disabilities

in suspected cases of cerebral dysfunction related to substance abuse;

when pathological alterations in vigilance (narcolepsy, confusion, coma) or acute nervous system processes (acute headaches, vomiting, aphasia) have been observed;

to investigate cerebrovascular disorders.

QEEG's can also be used

as follow-up to monitor organic brain syndromes, alcohol withdrawal, chemotherapy/radiation treatment, withdrawal from psychotropic medication or illicit drugs;

to follow-up on infectious diseases such as encephalitis or meningitis

to follow-up on post-operative status.


</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">[i]exerpts from http://home.iprimus.com.au/rboon/Qua...ographQEEG.htm

thanks sky.. i don't think im confusing what he said. this is VERY different from how my results were explained. I guess the psychologist who did the QEEG more told me what i was experiencing. Almost verbatim, he told me that he doesnt think i have or have ever had severe depression, but probably at the most some mild depressive eposides consistent with dysthymia. Also that they didnt see much anxiety at all, but that its probably more an internal thing that im feeling, because Im average on that end. This is the interpretation. I guess from what you guys are saying is that it might not pick up everything, but that is not the way my therapist and the psychologist have explained it to me. I dunno. I'll talk to them. Perhaps they are right. I just feel invalidated

[Rapunzel]

EV, what I didn't say in my previous response was that these results can just mean that there isn't a physiological barrier to your recovery. Hopefully that just gives you more control, but it doesn't mean that your problems don't exist or that you should have that control before you have learned it.

Do you know why they decided to do the QEEG? Such as to check for any damage that might have been causes by your eating disorder or other trauma?

well ultimately the QEEG was to identify areas for neurfeedback training because we thought that had anxiety and depression problems.... but i guess we found that it isn't so much there.

[Hopefull]

Feelings are real even if they can not be displayed on a computer screen. It sounds like the test was to look at physiological issues not feelings. If there were a test for depression, I think they would give us that test rather than try to diagnose us by asking us questions. I would love to be able to have a picture that says whether or not I am or have ever been depressed. But, it isn't going to happen. My psychiatrist wants me on an anti-depressant based on nothing but my discussion of symptoms. That is how depression is diagnosed not by some brain waves test.
I'd look into the research on this particular test and on biofeedback. Medline might be a good place to look.

[Sarah116]

Hum, see some one else too get a 2nd opinion. You know you the best! God bless you! Sarah

[LMo]

wait a minute - why does it mean that your reasons for going to therapy are invalid just because you are "normal"? I consider myself to be "normal", but I still go to therapy regularly. It is my opinion that every adult should go to therapy for at least one year.

Normal people struggle with depression and anxiety. I don't know if you're on meds, but perhaps your depression and anxiety were either managed or in 'remission' at the time of the neurofeedback session. But nevertheless, it doesn't really matter what the tests show or what your T's opinion is. If you get something out of going to therapy, then by all means keep on going!

I do not have any clinical levels of anxiety or depression. However, I've been going to therapy for 12 years now and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. I'd go every day if my T would let me and if I could afford it. It helps me get through many day-to-day relationship issues, as well as stuff left over from my past. Therapy is still useful, no matter who you are or what your formal diagnosis is.

Please don't feel ashamed or invalidated. It's a diagnostic tool, not a pass/fail.

[winterbaby]

Yes, your needs are important. The need to be heard, validated, understood (even if you are NORMAL - whatever that means). That's what therapy is all about, or should be. Whether you are NORMAL or not, doesn't mean that you shouldn't get what you need from therapy as long as you need it.

[DaveyJones]

Despite what your T believes, neurofeedback is a controversial treatment technique...there is virtually no scientific studies to establish its efficacy.

Your depression is real. If your T's reliance on neurofeedback is going to hamper your therapy, then perhaps you're going to need to find a new one. Only time will tell.

Above all, don't feel ashamed that you "flunked" a test...your T should be ashamed that she/he made you feel bad about it.

DJ

[Perna]

The QEEG shows brain activity, not "emotional" problems. That there's nothing wrong with your brain physically does not mean you can't benefit from therapy, just that there's nothing physical that needs fixing. You don't have ADD or something like that which would show up on such a test. That's good! But how we "relate" to ourselves, others, and the world around us isn't so simple that it can be identified by such a test.