Passage IV

Biofeedback: An Alternative Therapy

The goal chat first morning was ninety-eight degrees and I was supposed to raise the temperature of my index finger, to which was taped a tiny thermometer plugged in to a computer program that graphed temperature to ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit. How would I raise the temperature of my finger? By dipping it in hot water? By holding it under a heat lamp? That is, by simply relaxing.

After a year during which I suffered frequent migraine headaches, my doctor suggested that I try an experimental therapy called biofeedback. This technique can help people to treat various chronic health conditions such as, headaches and high blood pressure. The idea is that when the body is stressed, it enters flight-or-fight mode. In this mode, the autonomic nervous system, which regulates involuntary actions, is aroused, causing increased heart rate, faster breathing, dilation of the pupils, and decreased circulation in the extremities. And that last condition leads to cold fingers. (50)

Some people’s bodies have become taxed by operating upon a constant burden of stress. Consider for a moment, how hard you work most days. In other words, some people are always slightly tense, even when they think they are relaxed. For these people, there is biofeedback—the use of technology (in this case, a thermometer and computer graphing program) (54) to provide people with information (such as a graph showing the change of skin temperature over time) about the internal processes of their bodies. (55)

[1] According to the thermometer that first morning, my finger registered seventy degrees. [2] Through ten one-hour sessions, I would learn various techniques; breathing deeply, the visualization of relaxing situations, concentrating on the flow of blood through my hands—to gradually help me relax. [3] By the end of the tenth session, my finger registered ninety-eight degrees, and, more significantly, my migraine headaches had vanished. [4] And as I learned to relax, the flow of blood to my hands increased. (59)