Emotional Distress and Neurological Balancing Systems (NBS)

Once a client has created effective, personalized strategies, addressing emotional distress issues is generally the next step.

Emotional distress can be triggered initially by a diagnosis of a medical condition that is seen as pathological, or what is out of balance in a person’s life. This can create a cascade of feelings that comes from so much new understanding and information that is often stressful and challenging. The perspective at TLEC is one of regaining and finding balance regarding any type of stress.

Conceptualize that we live in a band of balance in which we create homeostasis as human beings. The band on the top end is when a person is so over-activated that the body wears out. The band on the low end is when a person is so under-aroused that it the body is unable to take action because systems are shut down. In counseling, the key is to discover ways to stay in the band of balance. Each person is unique in what works for them.

The final aspect is to remember that a dynamic balance is always moving and fluctuating to some degree, and what we call homeostasis on the physiological end is balance for the physical body. A good example of this is athletes who often make reference to being “in the zone.”

The emotional distress factor is addressed in an article I wrote about adult ADHD, titled, “Coping with ADHD’s Emotional Distress Syndrome (EDS.)” The EDS of any diagnosis, or different way of processing, will create a stress factor that needs to be addressed to manage the issues a person brings to the table. Emotional distress also comes into play in the general nature of living in today’s world that has many paradigms, shifting from economics, to technology, to the nature of social networking.

Emotional distress in the big picture is seen as a natural course in everyone’s life. How a person responds to this distress, however, is the key factor. TLEC uses a term, ‘Neurological Balancing Systems’ (NBS) to describe how a person keeps their brain balanced and engaged on a daily basis. The essentials of NBS are sleep, nutrition, water, supplements, and exercise; important, but perhaps not normally considered, are in the mental, emotional, and spiritual health realm.

NBS could be any form of meditation, breathing, or balancing system such as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT,) originally developed by Gary Craig; EMDR developed by Francine Shapiro PhD; Somatic Experiencing (SE;) or other sensori-motor techniques.

Other NBS techniques that would be considered more existential or meta-physical are the Sedona Method developed by Lester Levinson or Dr. Hew Lin’s Oooponoh. Helping clients understand how to develop a toolbox of systems is vital to their long-term health and more empowered living.

Other stress factors many times not associated with something that needs to be managed is that of eustress. Eustress was a term coined in the 1970s to identify the positive stress elements that come with any task seen as beneficial to accomplish, yet takes a variety of steps to complete. An example is going on vacation, which is generally seen as a positive occasion; however, there is an element of advance planning to be considered before arriving at one’s destination, which can creates some level of distress. The idea of eustress is important at TLEC because this is an element that is also to be managed and supported on a daily basis.