Step-by-Step Brain Training - A Recovery Technique for CFS & Long Covid

Learn step-by-step how to do this simple brain training exercise for reducing symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long covid.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 What your doctor probably doesn’t know
02:46 Brain training for symptom flares
03:38 Step 1: understanding how this works
05:01 What is this brain training exercise?
06:25 How I do it
07:19 Step 2: Brain training exercise step-by-step
14:21 How to set yourself up for success
…
NOTE: This description may contain affiliate links to products I enjoy using myself. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Should you choose to use these links, this channel may earn affiliate commissions at no additional cost to you. I appreciate your support!
REMINDER: This is for information purposes only and nothing I share should be considered medical advice. Please make your own assessment, do your own further research, and consult your trusted healthcare professionals before deciding if anything I talk about here might be right for you.
#longcovidrecovery #cfs #mecfs

[@RaelanAgle]

👉 ✅ Come join me in my new course! 🧠 Brain Retraining 101: For ME/CFS and Long Covid Recovery. Enroll now: raelan-agle-s-school1.teachable.com/p/brain_retraining_101

[@susanshank360]

I cannot express my Gratitude for you enough ❤. I have been ill with ME for 18 years and this is the first real help that I have ever received. I was an RN prior to my illness, and sometimes through it, so I was super focused on Western Medicine. Too, too, too many meds have crossed these lips. Not many helpful. So I am weaning off the appropriate meds with my doctor, changing my diet, my environment, baby at brain training but this is it. 🎉 Thank you so much.

[@RaelanAgle]

You've got this, Susan! Sending lots of love ❤️❤️

[@ceciliamac4283]

YOU SO GOT THIS!! You are so brave Susan!!

[@Catwithnoname]

If that’s all it took, you would’ve been better years ago. This is garbage and mocks us with ME/CFS

[@ceciliamac4283]

She didn't say it's all it took. And everyone has a different story (different traumas and wounds that they need to work on healing)@@Catwithnoname . Saying this is garbage is uncalled for. I understand your deep frustration having to deal with ME/CFS but please be mindful. To heal one needs to be open to the idea that it's a comprehensive approach and its root is the nervous system. Wishing you full recovery 💞

[@aliceinjapan1707]

Thank you, Raelan! One of my own brain retraining exercises, or mind reprogramming practice (not sure how to label it), is to picture myself being interviewed by you someday, fully recovered 😊❤.

[@janswimwild]

Many people with MECFS etc have ended up where they are because of a lifelong brain conditioning. The hypersensitivity to inflammatory processes etc has often come about because of long term or intense exposure to trauma, either physical or emotional. It’s good to know that by validating this first (very important) that we can then carefully and mindfully nurture our own systems to feel safe and reduce the physical hypersensitivity to unpleasant symptoms. Thank you for highlighting this and using your channel to bring practical as well as inspiring stories to motivate us. I phrase it this way because sometimes we overlook the fact that ‘brain training’ is perpetual, and has been since birth. Social conditioning is a form of brain training (some would say brain washing). Science is finally catching up, medicine may never, it’s too contained by the pharmaceutical process. It’s up to us to empower ourselves in this way. Just finished the visualisation, thank you for sharing your lovely Pierre 🥰😀 and vulnerability! Lovely! Mine is top right at the moment, looking forward to meeting my little scaredy parts and calming them down! 😂❤

[@RaelanAgle]

Such a great point! It's ongoing, the more important that we become aware of it ❤️

[@cato1708]

Good point about the need to make sure that you actually are safe. It you are not fully convinced that you actually are safe, it will be very hard to convince your brain that it is so. So step one is to make the necessary changes to your life and your emotional well being, then you can start to talk to Pierre and convince him that things actually are different now. It is so easy to look at recovery and brain training in a technical manner. Do this, think like this. But it's really about changing your life and the way you treat your self. No brain training can help you if you are not addressing the underlying problems and are being kind to yourself and dealing with your emotions. You can't force recovery, it has to come from a true feeling of well being and safety.

[@janswimwild]

@@cato1708 very much so. If our upbringing, environment etc has made us feel unsafe (and has caused or added to the intense fear that is driving our systems) we have to address that first. If the unsafe conditions or people still exist in your life brain training won’t work. If they exist but you are not consciously aware of the fear it won’t work. I’ve recently read some research on trauma/abuse/betrayal blindness, (Jennifer Freyd and Pamela Birrell) and having been there myself it makes absolute sense. Safety first, on every level to ensure successful healing. It’s a complex issue but offers huge potential and hope for those who have embraced total healing.

[@ickytips]

well said :)

[@cato1708]

Funny, I normally picture two different guard dogs. One is a large, but relatively gentle rottweiler named Frank. He represents all my trivial and not too scary thoughts about my illness and situation. He tries to protect me through somehow controlled worrying, planning, reasoning, analyzing etc. I let him out for a walk now and then, but then tell him to go to his place to rest. I don't want him around working to protect me 24/7. The other dog is a miniatyr pinscher named Kurt. He is just yelling and barking at everyone and everything. Highly sceptical of anything outside the unusual and guards his home ferociously. He represents my flare ups, my anxiety, my pounding heart. I usually talk to him like you do with Pierre, all though I've not yet had any verbal reply. But I try to calm him down by standing my ground, showing that I'm not dangerous, bending down to him, letting him sniff me and inviting him for some scratches. All though he is angry, he is actually quite funny. It's only in his head that he is actually scaring anyone.

[@lindagreenfield717]

I have similar mind guard dogs too!

[@J-xy6eb]

You explain things so clearly and I think it’s so wonderful that you’re making these tools available to everyone so people don’t have to pay a fortune to access them anymore. You are doing a great thing 💕

[@healingjourney722]

This is awesome! You are doing such great work bringing these ideas to a wider audience. Thank you.

[@abhishektodmal1914]

Raelan, can't thank you enough for sharing your insights so graciously and with an open, loving heart. Truly appreciated, and it is invaluable service. God bless, and wish you love, light, and joy throughout! :)

[@janahayes1437]

Thanks so much for sharing techniques. I recently discovered functional medicine approaches and had some testing done but was unwilling and unable to invest a fortune in further counselling. I did a little more research and discovered the autoimmune paleo diet and still felt I would have to address the brain component before seeing significant progress. Thanks you for making it possible to begin this journey.

[@Dragonfly20233]

I think this was your best video! Hilarious! Anytime I do this now I am going to be imagining a French Fred Flinstone and will laugh...best thing for an overactive amygdala! I think I might try this as a script with my kids when they are caught in the fear loop!

[@YoungChunds]

The increased production value was very noticeable in this one. And the French speaking caveman, Pierre, was hilarious by the way

[@Nina-jg6pq]

Thank you so much for your great work, your french accent is beautyful❣️A lot of greetings from Germany 🙏🌈🙋‍♀️

[@AnrupB]

Digging the French accent and French Flintstone. 😂 (I speak French!)

[@EolasColas]

Thanks Raelan, thanks for your research and for getting this out to people who can benefit from this.. like me👍

[@yumzsid]

This was really well explained! Before watching this, I have been somehow already doing this, adding it to the brain retraining program I'm currently doing but my "Pierre" is actually a character from the animated movie Inside Out! I imagine the character "Fear" when I'm trying to calm down my limbic system!

[@RaelanAgle]

I'm so glad it was helpful! ❤️

[@janinestreeter2477]

Wow cool so this particular brain retraining visualization is a bit like IFS internal family systems? Nice... I love love love this, I've studied NLP Neuro Linguistic Programming and I've also done a 20 hour (on zoom) course very similar to The Lightning Process this month (here in New Zealand) but I will definitely use this visualization going forward too. 1000 thank you's for this ❤ would you do it for about 15-30 minutes Raelan?

[@jog5289]

Hi. I'm in NZ too. If you don't mind me asking, what's the name of the 20 hour course you did on Zoom, please? Thank you.

[@janinestreeter2477]

@@jog5289 sure it's Empower therapies I post all about my journey @my_crystal.journey if your keen to see my journey this past 21 yrs!

[@haijby4346]

Thank you❤

[@eadiestanley611]

Thank you Raelan!

[@sarahdean6441]

Brilliant stuff, I'm definitely looking into brain rewiring now. I just want to add that I've had to do lots and lots of physical detoxing with treatments like the Perrin Technique (you did a great interview with Dr Perrin) and quite recently I had a HTMA test (hair tissue mineral analysis) which showed how poorly my adrenals, thyroid, liver etc were functioning. I feel like the Perrin helped clear the years of built up toxicity and now with the help from a HTMA nutritionist the brain rewiring can really start to be effective. My point is as you mentioned, this can be part of the jigsaw, incase people try any one thing and feel disheartened if they don't make great progress. Thank you for your great videos, they are a real source of inspiration and keep me going.

[@gitteolsen8358]

This is very good and exactly what I needed🙏❤️ Thank you!!!

[@ChrisZemdegs]

Thank you! 🙏

[@wilfridgervais9087]

Merci Raelan for your support, very instructive :)

[@priyadhiman3887]

Very thankful to you Raelen... u r amazing... so kindness n love in your voice, such a beautiful heart u r having... how u r helping people is amazing 👏

[@louiscervantez1639]

You had me at “deep dive” - I subscribed - will be checking out your vids

[@wallywallace5616]

Thank you Raelen. You are doing amazing work helping so many people recover. ❤

[@aliceorourke8170]

Thank you Raelan and what a great video. This will work great for anxiety too! X

[@HealingGemsGLF]

Love this and felt so calm, mine is a little red devil having a melt down lol

[@rachel8219]

I think this is great. I dialogue with my anxious part more.

[@wdzikowski]

Thanks!

[@RaelanAgle]

Much appreciated! ❤️

[@alexandrecouture2462]

Thank you Raelan and Pierre for this video! :)

[@RaelanAgle]

Our pleasure! 😃

[@anitas5817]

I’m so grateful I found your channel. I am just now going through your videos and learning soooo much. I didn’t realize I have become afraid of everything, and the amount of avoidance I have developed. I am actually a psychiatrist and I know avoidance increases anxiety but I didn’t recognize the fatigue as a symptom of that process, but it is for me. I kept thinking that if I get enough rest, I’ll feel better. I didn’t realize that just getting rid of stressors wasn’t the whole answer. I just retired about a month ago and am looking forward to working through recovery! Thank you so much for what you are doing.

[@RaelanAgle]

Wow, Anita, that's some great insight into fatigue! 😊🌟 Congrats on this new chapter, and I'm here cheering you on as you work toward your recovery goals! ❤️

[@jog5289]

Thanks so much, Raelan. 💕 I'm really keen to support your paid channel. It would certainly be a win-win for all concerned. 💕

[@RaelanAgle]

Thank You so much! I appreciate it ❤️

[@lianpeet3502]

Great stuff, well explained and funny to boot!

[@RaelanAgle]

Glad it was helpful! ❤️

[@me-cfs-strategiesforhealing]

Can you post links to the medical studies you are talking about near the beginning in the description box please?

[@teddybearroosevelt1847]

Oh that would be useful yeah

[@MackLee23]

I just found out that at least one very prominent MECFS Facebook group does not allow mention or discussion of brain retraining, as they say it's been proven to be a scam. I was hoping to learn a bit more using the group but had multiple comments deleted trying to explore the issue. Why is the larger MECFS community so opposed to this?

[@richjones5112]

Because a lot of those groups are searching for a cure that doesn’t exist and they think brain training means it’s in your mind. I’ve found a lot of these groups teach you to learn to live with it… I want to overcome it ! I stay far away from them.. all negative

[@jog5289]

That's very interesting... Fortunately, I have never had a Facebook account, so throughout my 5 year illness I have never been exposed to any of those types of group, and providentially I found Raelen's channel in recent years. I wonder if the people on the group are waiting for a miraculous pharmaceutical drug to cure their condition. Maybe they can only hold on to the notion that ME/CFS is not curable, as told by some Doctors. I watched a German documentary on ME/CFS a year or so ago, and several patients on there were waiting for a drug that was being trialled, but it turned out not to be helpful to the condition after all. Sorry, I'm not much help. Just sharing some of my thoughts. Best wishes.

[@PeaceIsYeshua]

@Mack, Maybe the group has ties to pharma. Sadly, there are a lot of evil people in the world who happily profit off of sick people. :/ Or, maybe they mistakenly think brain retraining implies it’s not a real illness, but of course, we know that isn’t the case.

[@CaLDwELLGoD]

I never thought life would be so fearful when someone would get in my car, drive my car and be around people in public. immediate throat tightness and labored breathing with anxiety and into a panic attack. Life sucks.

[@ceciliamac4283]

Hahah French caveman Pierre love that! Perfect analogy !! 😂👌👌 I like how Dr Kate Truitt (she has some wonderful videos on Havening technics) calls it: Amy the amygdala. She uses her right hand and put it under her left underarm (close to the spleen) and the left hand on the right shoulder and keep smiling and breathing and reassuring Amy that she is seen and heard and she is safe 💗

[@RaelanAgle]

Wow, such a cool reframe! ❤️ Thanks for sharing! ❤️

[@ceciliamac4283]

My pleasure dear Raelan! ❤💗@@RaelanAgle

[@l-ls.6105]

Recently found you. Wondering what does a person do if they cannot visualize? Thank you

[@rtucci3643]

Hello :) what tests should I have to know if it’s me cfs, my doctor doesnt understand what I talk about and I wanna force him to order the proper tests…

[@bettinalully8448]

🙏🌈🍀❤️