One of the creators of Havening Techniques (HT), Dr Ronald A. Ruden, refers to Havening as a new and revolutionary way to heal emotional disturbances, empower an individual’s quest and optimize one’s performance. Based on empirical evidence with some small research trials and soon to release more rigorous controlled trials, those that have learned and used Havening already know that its ability to achieve amazing results is well beyond mere conjecture.
Why Havening Techniques vs Talk and Drug therapy?
Mainstream methods for healing emotional and physical disturbances, empowering individuals and optimizing performance are based on two main therapeutic arms, language (as in talk) and chemicals (as in drugs). Talk enters the brain via the auditory cortex and uses words to treat emotions. For most of us it is difficult to talk oneself out of guilt or anger. Talk generally tries to reframe thoughts so that they are no longer distressing and the problems they create diminish. Drugs, on the other hand, enter the brain via the circulatory system after absorption through the digestive system. There, they alter the neurochemical landscape by which information is processed without dealing directly with the underlying problems. Thus, Talk; while problem specific, cannot easily reach the root cause of our problems, our emotions, and drugs, which are not problem specific only mask the true underlying issues.
How else can we influence the mind and the brain for therapeutic gain?
Through the use of Havening Touch! What? Do I really expect you to believe that simple touch can heal emotional trauma, cure pain, be empowering and optimize one’s performance?
Lets explain:
Havening Touch is one of the active components of a group of methods called Havening Techniques (HT). The other two components are emotional activation and distraction. Havening Techniques is a psychosensory (the application of non-specific sensory input to alter the mind and brain) method, which uses simple touch as the therapeutic method to effect change. Firstly, HT offers an empower viable alternative because it enters the system differently from talk and drugs (by touch). HT enters the brain and generates special brain waves called Delta waves. This is one of a set of brain waves that we all inherently experience already but Havening touch helps to generate in abundance for therapeutic gains. How these waves interact in the mind/brain have everything to do with how the events that cause the distress are encoded.
Secondly, Havening offers an viable alternative because it deals directly with the unconscious where programmed negative emotions, such as chronic anger, fear, and guilt are stored. These immutably encoded emotions are the forces involved in the production of disease, distress, helplessness and poor performance. Talk deals with the consciously accessible thoughts and drugs do not deal at all with content.
Thirdly, Havening offers an empower viable alternative in that once the encoded event is found and treated the individual is cured. This is a bold statement.
One does not use this word cured lightly.
Havening touch works by generating an electrical signal called Delta waves. Our brain already operates using electrical signals to help us operate in the various modes we need to operate in every day; sleep, rest, work. Activated at the right moment, delta waves produce a cascade of events that lead to the extinguishing of the subconscious emotional stressor from an encoded traumatic event. When trauma is endured it is encoded into the amygdala, the part of the brain that stores trauma memory. By extinguishing the emotional stressor it alters the downstream co-encoded components, cognitive memory, visceral (e.g. the heart, liver, and intestines) and somatosensory (e.g. muscles joints skin fascia). Meaning that emotional pain, caused by trauma, is no longer felt by the body like it was before. The mechanism by which this is accomplished is called depotentiation.
In talk or drug therapies we use words like remission, yes, but not cured. Can we say that Havening is curative for all emotional and physical disturbances? Of course not, some problems are inherently hard wired (genetic) and we can only manage them. Talk and drugs therapy can be useful but it is important to begin to think differently so that we can recognise those that are amenable to treatment via Havening as a viable alternative.
This is why I refer to Havening being an empowering alternative as it can help us remove the inner chains to persistent negative emotions and associated thoughts and behaviours, all of which can have such a negative impact on our lives, relationships and how we view ourselves.
Credits to Dr. Dr Ronald A. Ruden – https://www.havening.org/
Original blog article adapted and sourced from Dr Ronald A. Ruden, M.D., Ph.D. at: http://haveningblog.tumblr.com/post/100434116064/a-better-life-through-neuroscience