Resolution

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Resolution

for migraine, headaches, chronic daily headache, cluster headache, & tension headache

Resolution is a new technique that reduces many symptoms and conditions.  At first, it was used for migraine, and then it was discovered that the same technique worked for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and many more conditions.   People who had mastered the technique began to use it for many of their other problems, like tension, S.A.D (seasonally affected disorder), dips and sudden changes in mood e.g. outbursts of bad temper.  It was soon found that people who only suffered from these symptoms, like tension headaches, also responded well to the Resolution techniques. 

Neurological Wave Syndrome Theory

In 2004 I began to help people to gradually reduce all of their symptoms linked with migraine down to nil, using a very different technique, called Resolution. (Bear with me, this does have relevance to cystitis and IC too).

Migraine begins with a wave of neurological activity, a pulse of electricity, that runs along a nerve and discharges wherever that nerve ends.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome also begins with a wave of neurological activity and this time the bowel receives the blast of electricity - and it hurts! 

The greater the electricity, the more it hurts. Small electrical pulses can cause aching, rather than shear pain. 

The reactions of migraine headache and IBS (diarrhoea, bloating and flatulence), couldn't be more diverse, but they both have the same originator - that phantom blast of electricity, the neurological wave.

Now, you may be wondering why I am talking about migraine and IBS now, well you would never guess, but when people begin using Resolution for their migraine or IBS, they also had many other symptoms of other conditions, and some of them had cystitis!

Some people said that if they didn't have migraine, they had their IC. That was curious. We also noticed that some people had many different symptoms at different times. Everyone who knew how to use Resolution techniques use them for every symptom they had - including chronic cystitis and IC!

We knew that the wave of neurological activity could change route, as many people can feel it changing when they are using the Resolution techniques. Sometimes it changed quickly, from one minute to the next. It was as if the electricity was jumping from one nerve to another. the symptoms were so very different, and yet the cause was the same - the wave of neurological activity.

Resolution is a technique to reduce the wave of neurological activity. We found it worked for a multitude of symptoms and conditions. As you can imagine, this technique is so new and so different, it takes some getting used to!

The good thing about Resolution is that it is a procedure. It isn't faith healing. You don't have to believe in it for it to work. You just have to follow the instructions. 

It's easy to learn it, with a CD and regular telephone coaching sessions. I make these personally, and I have others who are trained to coach when I am too busy. At first you hear from me every week, and as you learn the routine, you will also be given new techniques for particular occasions. 

It is so exciting. At first you will be working hard to repeat the exercises at regular intervals, but as your condition eases, you spend less time on it, until, like me, you can send away any symptom in just a few moments.

Migraine:  Migraine is often treated as a very different problem to that of headaches, as it affects so many other systems of the body.  It may or may not, include a forewarning set of symptoms, the Aura.

The Aura

One definition of an aura describes it as a group of sensory and mood disturbances that occur some time before a migraine attack begins in earnest. The time interval varies from typically a few hours to a few minutes before the main attack begins.  Not everyone gets an aura, and some people get an aura only occasionally.  Before an attack, some people recognise some telltale signs that tell them an attack is likely.  Some people say they simply feel ‘different‘, and it is hard from them to describe this feeling, other than to say "That feeling".  Other people say they feel a sense of elation, as if they are walking on air.  They are full of energy and love the feeling, except that they know it comes at a price.  Other people feel a heavy weight on their shoulders, or a sense of unusual tiredness.

Commonly people with aura have disturbances of their vision, and this often occurs closer to the beginning of a migraine attack, typically half an hour down to just a few seconds. It can also last on through an attack.  The ability to judge distances is impaired, and driving becomes impossible.  Many people who have an aura see flashing lights, or a gap in their field of vision.  Some have reported being able to see only their peripheral vision, leaving a circle of blackness right in front of them.  Even worse, some people experience total blindness lasting from a few seconds up to a few hours, and it can be very frightening.  Light sensitivity can begin at the aura stage, but in any case it is a very common symptom for many migraine sufferers, and they prefer to lie in a darkened room throughout the attack.

One gentleman telephoned me in 2004 when he came across my website.  He had suffered from aura alone for many years.  Two or three times a year his eyes had begun to see zigzag lines, and he had to pull his lorry of the road.  The problem would last about two hours, and then it would disappear.  At first, he had been very frightened, believing it was probably a brain tumour, but once he had been told it was due to migraine, he was relieved, but still concerned that it could happen at any time. 

Other senses can be affected, such as balance, hearing, or the sense of taste or smell.  Some people can sense a certain smell that they can recognise, like the smell of roses, but others experience a completely original smell that only appears during an aura.  In a similar way, some people feel sensations of taste.  The aura can also include of any symptoms of migraine, such as tingling sensations or numbness down one side of the face or going right down one side of the body.  People can have difficulties with the ability to speak, or say the right words. 

As a migraine attack continues, some aura symptoms can linger on, and others disappear.  A few people are very unusual, and suffer only the aura, and are spared the onset of the full migraine attack.  This can still be quite debilitating when it means that the person unable to function normally. 

The Migraine Attack

The migraine attack normally progress to a searing or pounding headache, nausea and vomiting.  The headache is beyond description.  Many people have said, "If other people suffered the pain that I suffer in my head with my migraine, they would commit suicide."  Unable to express how severe this pain is, and not expecting anyone else to be able to begin to understand them, migraine people feel isolated and disbelieved, even by people in the medical profession.  There are simply no words to describe this excruciating pain.  It is as if it is the ultimate in extreme pain.  As if your head is exploding inside your scull.  As if the internal pressure was so great that your brain is being slowly crushed.  As if the only thing is shear pain, unrelenting, and then, as if it wasn't bad enough, it throbs and increases the pain even more.  It is an all-consuming, off the scale, pain. It excludes thought, and it excludes hope.  It epitomises extreme despair.  Some people also experience this pain in other parts of their body.  Sometimes it travels down arms and legs, or into the shoulders and the back.  The wave of neurological activity is discharging electricity into the brain, electrocuting this most tender of places.

Ordinary headaches

Tension headaches, chronic daily headaches, and cluster headaches are all just headaches to me.  Headaches may have a particular pattern, but it really doesn’t make any difference to the way they are treated with Resolution.

Many people with migraine also suffer from a selection of 'other' types of headaches.

As people master Resolution they reduce their migraine 'off-the-scale' headaches down to bad headaches, then down again to mild headaches until they finally disappear and then these people simply don't have any type of headaches any more

Nausea & Vomiting

The body produces hormones called serotonins, chemical messengers that either instigate or result from changes in the behaviour of the body.  At first, it was thought that there was just one hormone like this, but now they are finding more and more. A few years ago, there were thought to be five serotonins, named one to five, each one with a different effect. When one type of serotonin is present, the patient feels nauseous.  However, they will not actually vomit until another version of serotonin is present.  Many people believe that serotonin is the cause of the migraine.  It is my belief that serotonins are simply the chemical messengers, and are not the cause of symptoms.

Some people suffer nausea but do not vomit during a migraine attack.  Others experience both.  Some people suffer this symptom all on its own, without any headache, or with a different combination of symptoms.  In the past, these attacks were called bilious attacks, and nowadays, most people believe that these are migraines of the stomach.  Many children suffer this type of migraine.

People who have IBS may also suffer nausea.  Often it is not associated with the condition, and treated as if it were a result of bad food or a virus.  When people suffer a mild nausea that ’comes and goes’ this can be another symptom of the IBS/migraine family.  I met someone who suffers from mild nausea every morning until nine o’clock.  This type of thing happens to many people, even though they might not have any other migraine symptoms at all.

Light sensitivity

As if it wasn't bad enough having a headache that threatens to take your head off your shoulders, being violently sick, and yet still feeling waves of nausea, sometimes people can't bear any light in their eyes.  Migraine has to be the worst of all NWS attacks!

As people diminish their migraine using Resolution, they can be left with one mild symptom, such as light sensitivity for a while. However, I recommend zero tolerance for all symptoms, and I encourage people to work diligently on their last remnants of migraine.  I met Tina several months after she had successfully mastered Resolution for her migraine. She was wearing tinted glasses, and I asked her if she was wearing them because her eyes were light sensitive.  Tina told me that she had noticed that she felt more comfortable wearing sunglasses even on a cloudy day.

Tina used to have migraine twice a month on average, and her worst trigger was the lighting in supermarkets.  Light seems to play a major part in triggering migraine attacks.  However, now that Tina had mastered the Resolution techniques, she no longer suffered migraine, but she was left with a remnant of light sensitivity.  I asked Tina to deliberately look at daylight by a window, and do some active exercises for just a couple of minutes, several times a day.   Each time Tina repeated the exercise, the light sensitivity halved, until it disappeared altogether and Tina could feel perfectly comfortable in normal daylight without her sunglasses.

Sound sensitivity

As migraine gradually reduced while people were using the programme, they became aware of other related symptoms. Some noticed that their tolerance to sound varied considerably.  Previously, their other symptoms had been so severe that sound sensitivity was the least of their worries. 

For some people, however, sound sensitivity is a major symptom.  It means that they cannot go to concerts or to the cinema.  Even listening to a beautiful choir or watching television can be uncomfortable.  This symptom could even stand alone, going unrecognised for years for what it is. 

Smell Sensitivity

The smell of some things can trigger some people’s migraine attacks, as well as become intolerable before or during an attack.  It is not always the obvious smells, like perfume or car fumes that can be involved.  Sometimes it can be very mild smells, limited to the smell of one thing such as leather, for instance.

Touch Sensitivity - Allodynia

Sometimes people experience an unpleasant over-sensitivity to touch.  Even the lightest touch seems to 'hurt'.  Some people experience this as a transient symptom associated with migraine, and some people have reported this as a side effect of medication.

Yawning

One of the often-overlooked symptoms of NWS is that of yawning. Yawning can begin even when someone is very busy, being especially active, and it is quite inappropriate.  People experience this repeated yawning often in the period coming up to a migraine, as part the aura stage.  Because it is not particularly unpleasant, it is often ignored, however, it is important for me to include this in the list of NWS related symptoms so that people on the Resolution Programme can watch out for this when they are clearing out the last remnants of their migraine in line with the ‘zero tolerance’ policy.

Numbness or Pins and Needles (Marilyn’s story)

“Pins and needles” or numbness can be experienced as either part of an aura, or during a migraine attack. It can affect just one side of the body, involving the face, the arm, hand and fingers, and it can seem like a stroke, especially if partial paralysis occurs on the face.  Marilyn ended up in hospital on more than one occasion when she appeared to be having a stroke. When she said that she could not feel anything down one side of her body, and her face seemed paralysed down one side, it really did look like a stroke. 

Marilyn contacted me after finding an advertisement for a course for Resolution trainee therapists.  As a psychologist herself, Marilyn had studied the work of the subconscious and was intrigued by the way Resolution could affect the link between the subconscious and the physical condition of migraine.  As a sufferer for forty years, Marilyn had tried absolutely everything available.

Marilyn was taking six codeine and paracetamol combination tablets every day, and had done so for much of the previous forty years. This was in addition to preventative medication, amitriptyline.  Marilyn’s first attack began when she was very young, and then became more and more frequent as she grew up.  Luckily, the really bad attacks were infrequent, but the daily headaches were unrelenting.  Marilyn began Resolution in 2005. 

Marilyn was working part time in Heathrow Airport, as a staff trainer.  She led a busy life, and often worked a shift pattern.  At first, Marilyn didn’t put any effort into Resolution.  Somehow, the time was never available.  However, during the telephone coaching sessions, I managed to persuade Marilyn to be more decisive, and to begin to use the techniques she had been taught.  After the first week, Marilyn realised that she could fit in the mental exercises, even while she was at work, if she did some on the way to work and at break times.  As she had the headache every day, she simply had to repeat the exercises at regular intervals. 

After a few weeks, Marilyn could feel the intensity of her headaches reducing, and gaps were appearing and growing longer and longer.  After another few weeks, Marilyn decided she was feeling brave enough to stop taking her daily painkillers.  As the months rolled on, Marilyn reduced her preventative medication down to nil, and has remained headache and pill-free ever since. 

Some of the ‘extra’ benefits that people feel after they have resolved their migraine come as a surprise afterwards.  Marilyn noticed two important differences - being able to think clearly every day and having much more energy. 

Paralysis

Some people experience this frightening symptom before or during migraine attacks.  The paralysis usually lasts only a short while, but it is nonetheless terrifying.

Fuzzy-head syndrome/clumsiness

One of the problems that many migraine people suffer from is a lack of mental clarity.  They feel as though they simply cannot concentrate.  People may be talking to them but they are sometimes unable to really hear, or understand the words.  Some people describe this very well when they say that they feel as though their brains have turned to cotton wool.

Quite often, co-ordination also disappears.  Even the simplest of tasks can seem too much.  So often, even when they are not having a migraine, this symptom can linger on for days.  So many things get broken, and so many things are spilt!

Some people rarely get a completely ‘clear-head’ day in between migraine attacks.  Fortunately, lengthening periods of clarity is one of the first rewards that people appreciate when they begin Resolution.  This clarity appears as qualities of brightness, alertness, and capability.  Lack of clarity can erode confidence, and cause frustration and demoralisation.

Lack of confidence

Understandably, given all of the symptoms that migraine, and IBS sufferers endure, they often lose confidence.  Some are in a situation where they are just hanging on to the job they have at the moment.  Any thoughts of promotion are a long way away.  The lack of concentration caused by the fuzzy-head syndrome makes them appear less able, and they are often thought to be absent-minded.  The truth is that this condition makes people less able.  It makes people lack concentration.  It causes people to feel unconfident because they truly are not as competent as they could be, all because of their condition.  However, once the condition is resolved, people can regain their former confidence.

A sudden feeling of coldness

This is a symptom that is often overlooked, as there are so many other symptoms that are much more uncomfortable.  Coldness can happen during the pre-headache phase with or without the aura, or it can happen during the migraine.  Some people find it lasts for half an hour, other just for a few moments.  Some people find that it is just one part of their body that feels this cold, like the arms, legs, hands or feet.  All symptoms are important for Resolution clients to recognise; as it is essential that the migraine syndrome be completely driven out otherwise it can re-emerge at a later date.  Coldness can be the first sign of an approaching migraine, and Resolution can be effective in stopping the progression of the symptoms.

I was speaking to Cherrill from Gloucester this week, and I felt a little lump come to my throat when she told me that when she was a child, she remembered being in the school playground with blue fingers.   I hope one day that all children will be taught the Resolution way to get rid of all of these horrible symptoms.

Aphasia/ incoherent speech/inappropriate choice of words

James telephoned for help.  He had been clear of migraine for a couple of years, but he was afraid that he was beginning to lose control.  A new symptom had appeared, and it was very unusual. “I don’t know what to do”, said James.  “I keep on speaking gibberish to customers at work.  I never know when it is going to happen, until it is too late, and then later on, a migraine attack begins.”  A few days later, James had successfully used a Resolution technique (Retrospective Rehearsal) to reduce this symptom until it disappeared.

Some people suffer from strange symptoms outside the main migraine attack, and these can be quite distressing.  One of the characteristics of an imminent migraine is the affect it can have on the ability to formulate sentences and words.  People feel really silly when they say a word and it seems to come out back to front.  Just as silly, and frustrating is when they try to say one word, and another one comes out in its place.

Susan complained about having ‘blonde moments’.  She was concerned that others would think that she was ‘thick’!  The problem was that occasionally Susan would say something quite unexpected, like calling a door ‘the fridge’.  She would say, “Close the fridge” instead of “Close the door”.  Then it was too late, everyone had already heard her say it.  It wouldn’t be too bad if there had been a fridge somewhere in the vicinity!  Many people did wonder if she was quite “All there”.  This aphasia could happen when Susan didn’t have a migraine attack, and she would never have thought that it could be just another symptom of NWS.

Aphasia/ incoherent speech/inappropriate choice of words

James telephoned for help.  He had been clear of migraine for a couple of years, but he was afraid that he was beginning to lose control.  A new symptom had appeared, and it was very unusual. “I don’t know what to do”, said James.  “I keep on speaking gibberish to customers at work.  I never know when it is going to happen, until it is too late, and then later on, a migraine attack begins.”  A few days later, James had successfully used a Resolution technique (Retrospective Rehearsal) to reduce this symptom until it disappeared.

Some people suffer from strange symptoms outside the main migraine attack, and these can be quite distressing.  One of the characteristics of an imminent migraine is the affect it can have on the ability to formulate sentences and words.  People feel really silly when they say a word and it seems to come out back to front.  Just as silly, and frustrating is when they try to say one word, and another one comes out in its place.

Susan complained about having ‘blonde moments’.  She was concerned that others would think that she was ‘thick’!  The problem was that occasionally Susan would say something quite unexpected, like calling a door ‘the fridge’.  She would say, “Close the fridge” instead of “Close the door”.  Then it was too late, everyone had already heard her say it.  It wouldn’t be too bad if there had been a fridge somewhere in the vicinity!  Many people did wonder if she was quite “All there”.  This aphasia could happen when Susan didn’t have a migraine attack, and she would never have thought that it could be just another symptom of NWS.

The Resolution Programme has three Components

- Relaxation Sessions, Active Sessions and Telephone Coaching

The Resolution Programme consists of two sets of mental exercises; the "Relaxation Session" and the "Active Sessions ".  

These will be sent to you, or you can download the MP3 files, and the written notes will be posted or e-mailed to you.

The tutorial will take you less than one hour in total.  The first 20-minute CD contains the "Relaxation exercises" - but you will not be 'relaxing' these unwanted feelings away.  Once you have listened to the first CD, and followed the guided exercises on it, you will begin the second part of the process.  Guided by the telephone coaching, you will be taught very simple techniques that will re-educate your system. 

You will need to re-read the material, or listen to the audio occasionally as a reminder.

Mental Exercises

The subconscious works for us in many ways, running our automatic systems of the body for us, storing our experiences as memories, and also storing our daily skills for us, like driving or typing on a keyboard, so that we can do them 'without thinking'.  The subconscious, far from being locked away inside our brains, is working and active all of the time.  It can learn new skills, store new memories, and change the automatic systems of our physical bodies.  So often, these three areas overlap and influence each other.  Resolution teaches you to use a set of simple exercises to re-educate your own subconscious so that it changes the reactions of the automatic nervous system. 

Relaxation Session

During the Relaxation session, various guided mental exercises are done while you simply relax.  It is a very pleasant experience.  The relaxation session only requires to be done once, but it can be repeated without detriment, and possibly with a little extra benefit.  The Relaxation Session is available on a CD, or MP3 so that you can listen to it in your own armchair at home, and let your own subconscious do the work! 

Active Sessions

Active Sessions are the second part of Resolution, and  consist of an easily learnt set of simple mental exercises that have to be repeated to remind the system to change until it behaves correctly.  When there are no symptoms, you do nothing at all.

Telephone Coaching

You will receive regular telephone coaching sessions, beginning weekly and then at less frequent intervals.

Monitoring the success of the programme

Everyone is encouraged to keep a record of the intensity, duration and frequency of their symptoms.  A chart is provided in the pack.  Surprisingly, you will be able to watch how your symptoms - yes, even panic attacks are 'symptoms', will gradually diminish over a period of time. 

Physical symptoms like severe pain take time to reduce.  Keeping a record, you may not notice any change for a while.  This is because your searing headache may be well over your highest point.  In time, it will come down, and then you will see how your chart begins to show a decline in intensity ratings.

There are other ways that you will be able to see improvement.  Your migraine attacks may go away more quickly, and the gaps between migraine attacks may widen.

Other symptoms may reduce or disappear as your continue with the programme, leaving you with a clear head for much of the time in between attacks.

Feelings-type symptoms are much more quickly reduced that physical symptoms like pain, and you can expect them to disappear within a few weeks.

People who have had migraine for only a few years or only have monthly migraine, often take only a few weeks, (or a few months for monthly migraines) to begin to see the results.  Victoria, the 5-year migraineur in the filmed interview, (see case histories) took many weeks before she could see the intensity reducing on her chart. 

You are welcome to telephone to discuss your symptoms, and to speak to a past client from the panel.

Yes - there is a panel of past clients!

The panel is made up of many clients who have experienced Resolution, and have offered to speak to future clients.  They realise how difficult it is to believe that anything can help some conditions.  You can also read the case histories section for examples of these people.

Discover how other people have benefited from Resolution by reading the case histories, and watching the videos.

The videos of interviews on this website should be available in the case history section - if they fail to load, please send me an email.

Options & costs e