Twenty-five-year -old “Jeremy” spent most of the first 24 years of his life thinking he was stupid or, at the very least, had a severe case of attention deficit disorder (ADD).
From the earliest days, school was a nightmare. He was put on Ritalin in kindergarten and held back that year. (He’d take some sort of stimulant all the way through his school career and beyond). He went into special classes for slow learners. He was bullied by the other kids and called “stupid” and other hurtful names.
Despite his challenges he managed to graduate from high school—barely—with a D average. After taking courses at a community college and failing five times, he resigned himself to a life of working menial jobs.
Then he learned about neurofeedback and gave it a try.
A brain map revealed he didn’t have ADD but a learning disability, so he discontinued his medication. In a matter of weeks of intensive neurofeedback training, Jeremy’s ability to learn and understand improved dramatically and he began making plans to build a house.
“If I had done neurofeedback sooner, I know I could have been more and done so much more, but I’m looking forward and not looking back.”
Coming from a highly educated family, no one understood why Jeremy struggled so much academically.
Jeremy’s school years consisted of going to tutors daily and, as he got older, regularly staying up as late as midnight to finish his homework. He made decent grades in history and English, but math and other subjects made absolutely no sense to him, no matter how hard he tried. Anxiety was a daily companion, as were frequent panic attacks for which he took medication.
Just “focus and buckle down”
“My doctors told me to ‘just focus and buckle down,’ but they didn’t understand my struggle to sit at a desk and try to study,” he explained. “It was like a farsighted person trying to read without glasses. It was a terrible disability.”
There must be a better way
A little voice in the back of his head kept nagging away that there must be a way to get better, however, so he began reading self-help books.
One day he was listening to an audiobook by Dave Asprey called Head Strong when he heard about neurofeedback for the first time.
“My doctors had never told me about this. It seemed like something that actually might help me,” Jeremy recalled.
He immediately began combing the internet for information about neurofeedback, found Center for Brain and made an appointment.
Startling brain map finding
The first order of business was doing a brain map. It had a startling result: “I learned that I had been misdiagnosed,” he said. “I didn’t have ADD. I had a learning disability and never needed all that medication!”
For the first time in his life, Jeremy had hope. He thought to himself, “Thank God, there’s someone who can fix me. I’m not crazy and I’m not stupid.”
Improvement in a matter of weeks
Even though getting to the Center for Brain Training for neurofeedback training required a two-hour round trip each week, Jeremy enthusiastically made the drive once a week to Jupiter for three months.
In a matter of weeks, his ability to learn and understand improved dramatically, and the intensity and frequency of his anxiety significantly diminished. He was able to get off of all his medications.
Moving forward on building a home
Before coming to the Center for Brain Training, Jeremy wanted to build a house for himself but couldn’t understand much of what he needed to know, even something as basic as how to measure a room.
After doing neurofeedback training, Jeremy began moving forward on building his house with far less trepidation than before, calling the process “much more manageable.”
More confidence to “take on the world”
“I now feel more confident about being able to take on the world and do things I never would have attempted before, like building this house,” he explained. “I have much more focus and motivation.”
In fact, once the house is finished and he’s put some savings away, Jeremy plans to go to school to pursue a career in the medical field.
“I wish my parents had known about neurofeedback back when I was in middle school,” he lamented. “If I had had just one summer of doing neurofeedback, my school experience would have been so much easier. If I had done neurofeedback sooner, I know I could have been more and done so much more, but I’m looking forward and not looking back.
“I’m very grateful to everyone at the Center for Brain Training for dramatically changing my life,” he said
Jeremy has continued doing periodic training at the center to keep sharpening and “tuning up” his brain.
