Thoughts on how to generally treat HPPD.

[SnuffoSoffi]

I was searching around the web when I came across this video: 

It's about a method to improve eyesight through natural means.
Now the video is focusing on the "Common" eyesight problems, but this made me think about cross-effects and that this method is a general principle to improve basically anything in the mind and body.

HPPD and Tinnitus generally feel like something is "Out of tune" that something is so focused and alert that phantom vision and/or hearing start to appear. With tinnitus for example you're standing near a speaker with high volume, and the brain automatically becomes aware of the speaker being in your vicinity and adjusts brainwaves accordingly to it, then once you leave the speaker the brain has trouble relaxing from the exposure and continues to be on high alert even though the speaker isn't there anymore, resulting in a constant auditory hallucination with phantom noise filling in the speakers place in your mind, and therefore the only logical way to remove it is to relax your hearing and making it readjust to silence again.

To prove my logic I am gonna compare this to muscle building. To develop more muscle you have to make use of the holy trinity of bodybuilding: Exercise, Diet and Rest.
Exercise puts strain and damages the muscles, Diet gives you the resources to repair it, and Rest starts the repairing.

If you exercise too much without proper dieting or rest you paradoxically destroy your muscles by exercising.
So for HPPD it would be that you first cause EXTREME tension on your visual system through inappropriate use of hallucinogenic drugs, and after that you get more tension from stress and anxiety, and maybe even more tension from drug use, causing TENSION AND TENSION AND TENSION, destroying the visual system in your brain without any chance of it repairing.

So my general theory on how to treat HPPD/Visual Snow/Tinnitus is to RELAX.
It's scientifically proven and I can also tell from personal experience that relaxing feels good.

[hppd33]

How do we relax

[China]

I didn't watch the video, which may answer this question, but do you think that blindfolding yourself for a few days would essentially relax the visual cortex? I don't really have CEV's, just some static I notice if I keep my eyes closed too long. I know your visuals are always processing information, but perhaps keeping blindfolded would give your brain time to recuperate and re-encompass pre-hppd sight?

[Syntheso]

I didn't watch the video, which may answer this question, but do you think that blindfolding yourself for a few days would essentially relax the visual cortex? I don't really have CEV's, just some static I notice if I keep my eyes closed too long. I know your visuals are always processing information, but perhaps keeping blindfolded would give your brain time to recuperate and re-encompass pre-hppd sight?

Actually, the claims you pasted from that Longecity member about fasting got me thinking about what sensory deprivation could do for HPPD - would it allow the brain to rewire itself in the same way that that person claimed fasting causes your brain to rewire itself. I haven't looked into it, but the first thing that came to mind was Charles Bonnet Syndrome, whereby blind people begin to experience visual hallucinations. It is theorized that the brain does this to make up for the lack of visual stimuli. So, potentially, sensory deprivation could worsen things. Maybe it could make things better - the brain is funny.

The thread about temporary visual snow treatment seems to indicate that more excitable visual stimuli, in correspondence with our visual distortions, is more efficient at ameliorating symptoms.

(Edit: lol... http://www.wired.com/2009/10/hallucinations/ )

I generally agree with the OP's theory, and I quite like the analogy. In my vision therapy classes, when I am not able to complete an exercise ('perceiving incorrectly' - my term), my teacher will prompt me to relax, or breathe properly; this often allows for the correct perception. It is something that is reiterated throughout vision therapy training.

How do we relax? Meditation... yoga (studies show it releases up to 30% more GABA), listen to music. I quite like herbal teas to relax. I recommend the Yogi Tea Calming/Relaxed Mind teas (also their super antioxidant tea). They have lots of good ingredients with studies behind them. Baths (with epsom salts/magnesium flakes if you can), candles, incense, all dat hippy shit.

Second edit:

From the article above...

 

“It appears that, when confronted by lack of sensory patterns in our environment, we have a natural tendency to superimpose our own patterns.”

“Sensory deprivation is a naturalistic analogue to drugs like ketamine and cannabis for acting as a psychosis-inducing context,” Mason wrote, “particularly for those prone to psychosis.”

 

 

 

“There are claims that schizophrenic patients paradoxically find that their psychotic symptoms such as hearing voices are improved by sensory deprivation,” Mason wrote, “though the evidence for this is very long in the tooth indeed. What happens to people who already hear voices when in the chamber?”

 

 

Interesting!

[China]

"All dat hippy shit" XD that made me smile for some reason. Probably my inner hippy rearing his dirty ass head.

That is very interesting! The brain is a perplexing paradox indeed. I would concur on the temporary visual snow treatment as a sort of way to fight excited visuals with excited visuals, if that makes sense. I really don't understand why sensory deprivation is a double edged sword of sorts though, I'll need to read the article posted and do a little more research on the topic, but I feel as if it would benefit people with hppd. Don't quote me not this, but it's been said that our brains are over-excited, and it's also been said that people that deprive one of the senses, finely tunes the others, as a way to know what's going on in the world around them. Back in high school I had this substitute teacher that was blind as a bat, yet would tell people to put away their phones, because he could hear them tapping on the screens (I phones mind you, no noisy buttons). He was like some kind of superhero. Perhaps cutting off sound stimuli would better enhance vision. In contrast, perhaps cutting off visual stimuli would decrease the excitation in the visuals. Idk, it's all very confusing. Honestly, I truly want to electrocute myself, in hopes that it rewrites my brain back to normal lol. Think I've been reading too many comic books. I really want to give sensory deprivation a shot, and will probably do so if my next attempt at fasting doesn't go as smoothly as I want it too. I really like this method of combat against hppd. No pharmaceuticals, just straight up relaxation and mind over matter.

[Syntheso]

"All dat hippy shit" XD that made me smile for some reason. Probably my inner hippy rearing his dirty ass head.

That is very interesting! The brain is a perplexing paradox indeed. I would concur on the temporary visual snow treatment as a sort of way to fight excited visuals with excited visuals, if that makes sense. I really don't understand why sensory deprivation is a double edged sword of sorts though, I'll need to read the article posted and do a little more research on the topic, but I feel as if it would benefit people with hppd. Don't quote me not this, but it's been said that our brains are over-excited, and it's also been said that people that deprive one of the senses, finely tunes the others, as a way to know what's going on in the world around them. Back in high school I had this substitute teacher that was blind as a bat, yet would tell people to put away their phones, because he could hear them tapping on the screens (I phones mind you, no noisy buttons). He was like some kind of superhero. Perhaps cutting off sound stimuli would better enhance vision. In contrast, perhaps cutting off visual stimuli would decrease the excitation in the visuals. Idk, it's all very confusing. Honestly, I truly want to electrocute myself, in hopes that it rewrites my brain back to normal lol. Think I've been reading too many comic books. I really want to give sensory deprivation a shot, and will probably do so if my next attempt at fasting doesn't go as smoothly as I want it too. I really like this method of combat against hppd. No pharmaceuticals, just straight up relaxation and mind over matter.

Yeah I really like your approach! Forcing your brain to adapt through its own natural mechanisms by withdrawing certain external influences seems more likely to cure HPPD than adding things.. that or things will get much more worse, hah

I would love to try the sensory deprivation but my schedule doesn't allow me at the moment. I might be able to give fasting a try though.

Yeah, we're all f'ing hippies at heart

[China]

Yeah I really like your approach! Forcing your brain to adapt through its own natural mechanisms by withdrawing certain external influences seems more likely to cure HPPD than adding things.. that or things will get much more worse, hah

I would love to try the sensory deprivation but my schedule doesn't allow me at the moment. I might be able to give fasting a try though.

Yeah, we're all f'ing hippies at heart

X) It's worth a shot! I'm in it for better of for worse.

Yeah, I have a ton of free time since my parents pay for my food and rent...I'm scum, I know, lol. I just really want to cure myself before I go back on the job hunt! Before you fast, make sure you have at least 2 weeks where you can do a whole lot of nothing, and be warned, it's extremely fucking boring lol.

We're all just grains of sand maaaan. And life, life is the beach maaaan. XD haha

[Syntheso]

X) It's worth a shot! I'm in it for better of for worse.

Yeah, I have a ton of free time since my parents pay for my food and rent...I'm scum, I know, lol. I just really want to cure myself before I go back on the job hunt! Before you fast, make sure you have at least 2 weeks where you can do a whole lot of nothing, and be warned, it's extremely fucking boring lol.

We're all just grains of sand maaaan. And life, life is the beach maaaan. XD haha

Oh, don't be fooled, I'm still mostly supported by my parents! Absolutely. Healing is your priority.. remove as many stressors as you can, whilst you can.

Thanks for the tip. I presume you cannot really live a normal day-to-day life when you are fasting, then?

 

See you on the other side, soul sister.

[China]

Exactly what I'm thinking man,

You can live normally, I would not recommend it though. You're on a limited supply of energy, and as such you kind of have to ration out what you can and can't do lol. If you're only going to fast for a few days, then you could probably keep on with what you gotta do. More than a week of fasting and you'll know what I mean, it's taxing to even walk around, or at least it was for me. I feel that you gain more benefits from fasting when you're stagnant. It's like taking a vacation from life in a sense.