I want a portable self contained biofeedback/neurofeedback machine for my wife, she has a lot of stress & anxiety, I’m willing to give biofeedback a try. What do you recommend? A couple that I’ve come across:
emWave stress relief http://www.amazon.com/emWave-Biofeedback-Stress-Relief-Silver/dp/B000LQR3BW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1300156818&sr=8-3
I appreciate any advice you can offer.
Sometimes my toilet is a biofeedback machine.
And we’ve known about StressErasers for a while, they’re called either booze, guns or divorces.
Why not find the root of the stress and anxiety instead of treating the symptoms?
Journey to the Wild Divine was an old one that used it hooked up to the computer. I never got around to trying it. Actually, I just googled it:
http://www.wilddivine.com/meditation-products.html
Up to $300 when it used to be $99. Last I heard it was just a finger sensor that monitored maybe HR and skin conductivity or something else.
This one is actually worth the money:
Full 16 channel EEG or something awesome.
theuofh - I tried one of those Wild Divine “games” when I temped for the company. Some really weird stuff. Hooked my fingers into these sensor thingies, and had to make a tree sway by controlling my breath. Or maybe I was just high…
[quote]theuofh wrote:
Journey to the Wild Divine was an old one that used it hooked up to the computer. I never got around to trying it. Actually, I just googled it:
http://www.wilddivine.com/meditation-products.html
Up to $300 when it used to be $99. Last I heard it was just a finger sensor that monitored maybe HR and skin conductivity or something else.
This one is actually worth the money:
Thanks for the links. Have you used either of these?
Full 16 channel EEG or something awesome. [/quote]
Haven’t used either, but I’d do some research and check out the science behind some of the things, i.e. the nature of the sensors and how they actually measure stress levels. The ones you posted on Amazon appear to just be heart rate monitors.
The emotiv EEG is awesome and the company is taking off. I think a major part of their business model is with universities for research based endeavors, but there is still a fair amount of commercial developers and hobbyists creating software that you can use for meditation/stress reduction. Take a look at their forums and maybe sign up and ask some questions to see if anybody actively playing around with that can help.
Never tried the Wild Divine either, and I think it is just a skin conductivity sensor, unless they changed it as it is now at a higher price point then it was. Still, it had a good reputation within the community that concerns itself with such things, and specific software for the purpose you want.
As they are at a similar price point, I think the EEG is the more impressive sensor package, but you may have some difficulty getting it set up. The Wild Divine may be what you are looking for, and I’d recommend either of these over your Amazon finds.
I work for Wild Divine and this popped up in my google alerts, so I thought I’d provide what information I can. I have used all of the devices mentioned so far, except the Emotiv.
Generally, they are all going to help with relaxation when used properly. One thing I’d note up front is that the StressEraser is the only one that is considered to be a biofeedback device.
The StressEraser and EmWave are both good portable units. The drawback to their portability is that they are going to be a bit less interesting to use. There’s only so much that you can do with such small devices. They are essentially going to help train you to breathe more smoothly and regularly. The StressEraser plots your heart rate on that display on the device, and also has a tone that is used to help train that. The EmWave uses those lights to show whether your are in coherence.
Wild Divine’s products are going to be somewhat less portable because they have to be used with a computer. However, using the computer offers vastly more flexibility in what can be done with the iom hardware - which does heart and skin response. Our products teach breathing and meditation techniques to help with relaxation. In Relaxing Rhythms, which is the program of ours that I recommend for most people, there are guided practices and guided meditations that are intended to teach various relaxation techniques. Then the hardware is used to drive mini-games that reinforce the lessons being taught in the program. Using the tree example that bcingu mentioned, the user breathes with the expansion and contraction of a tree displayed on the screen. As they do, it builds a bridge until the game is complete. Or if you don’t breathe in the proscribed pattern, it doesn’t.
Heart Math also has a computer based product, emWave Desktop - http://store.heartmath.org/store/learning-programs. The major difference between Heart Math and Wild Divine is that Heart Math tends to focus more on numbers while Wild Divine focuses on creating an experience. So if you’re looking for a program that can be used with a PC, Heart Math is the choice if you want numbers and graphs, and Wild Divine tends to be a better choice if you are less concerned with those, and are more interested in a graphically rich experience.
I have not had an opportunity to try the Emotiv system, but I’d like to. $299 for a full EEG system is crazy. Just a few years ago something similar would have cost thousands. if your wife is going to be using it in public, find out whether she is willing to put something on her head. It would attract quite a bit more attention than putting sensors on your fingers or ear lobe.
bcingu: Where did you temp at Wild Divine?