My experience with QEC - A Staple Practice
Quantum Energy Coaching was recommended to me by my functional GP. And unless she had recommended it I would NEVER have found it on my own. So in the spirit of sharing for a new perspective, here is my experience with QEC.
First, Quantum Energy Coaching (QEC) is a therapy type that combines psychotherapy methods with neuroscience, to literally help you rewrite and change the self limiting beliefs that have caused barriers in your behaviours, at a subconscious level, in your brain. And it can help with a lot of different kinds of challenges from, relationship challenges, pain and chronic inflammation in the body, sleep challenges, phobias, fears and even depressive episodes, guilt, shame, trauma and addictions.
The reason it is so powerful for all kinds of challenges, is because it encourages us to first unpack the self limiting beliefs that have caused us to enact a certain behavioural or thought pattern for so long. Then, the QEC therapist helps us define more positive and affirming beliefs to replace the limiting ones with. And then we literally do some brain exercises to embed those beliefs in the brain by triggering the formation of new neural pathways connected to the new, positive and affirming beliefs.
I promise, it’s not magic. It’s science.
And part of the reason I was so keen to try this, was because I was super skeptical at first. I was aware of the unpacking of the positive more affirming beliefs. And to me, that sounded a lot like affirmation statements. And, if you’ve been around these parts for a while, you’ll know that I have not found the use of affirmations to be effective in my own selfcare & self-development practice.
The biggest reason for this, is because if change was a simple as repeating phrases to ourselves over and over, would change not be as easy as that for all of us? The science behind it has never fully made sense to me. Of course not everything that works requires science to validate it (yes, I said that!). But when it comes to our brain… and ESPECIALLY with regards to changes in our brain, I am a huge science nerd.
So…
When meeting with my QEC therapist for the first time, I came with ALL my questions, and she gave me answers that made it hard for me to refute, and in the least, sparked my curiosity even more
My therapist explained that the statements that are used in QEC are different to affirmations for a few reasons:
You are defining the statements yourself. Using your own words & phrases, words and phrases that mean something to you & therefore are fully understood by your brain. Often with affirmations, they are dictated by someone else - on cards, in journals, as quotes, etc, that can make them less familiar to your brain.
In QEC, we are using a combination of breathing, parasympathetic nervous system activation and neural trigger points while we repeat these self-defined new belief statements. So our brains is primed to not only receive them, but also remember them as a new way to think.
This was just the right kind of nerd, to make me go, “Ok Cool. Let’s try this shit.” :)
So what reason would I have for needing this kind of therapy anyway?
As the year began, I had taken the step to work for myself & left behind a work environment that had wreacked havoc on my mental health & physical body. And even after 2 years of trying other kind of therapy, being on and off supplements, even taking time off etc, my physical body is still in burn out. So, I was ready to try some alternative things to help me. And this felt like a great solution because it very specifically brings the physical body into the therapy - not just relying on talking & our conscious rationalisations & justifications but tapping into the sub conscious too AND using techniques that create change at THAT level.
Because, even though I had left that toxic work environment - the behaviours that helped me cope with it, were still very much alive and well in my new routines, now. I was not processing stress well in my body, I was ignoring my physical needs and I was numbing out with the usual suspects, TV, Instagram, wine…you know the drill.
And the result that I’ve been most surprised by, post my QEC sessions, is the mental space that’s been freed up in my brain as I’ve “cleaned up” those limiting beliefs. The metaphor that I used throughout the therapy process was that it felt like I walked into a room that was chock-a-block with cardboard boxes of stuff, heavy stuff; items that I couldn't carry and couldn't move. And QEC therapy really helped me to carry some of those boxes out and dispose of those boxes. Completely. And now the room feels like I can see the floor, ceiling & the light streaming in through the windows. It doesn't feel dusty anymore because there's finally space for the air to move around. And I can move around in that space more freely.
So the process in each QEC session went something like this:
We’d begin by checking in with how the last few weeks went. Each session was scheduled around 7-10days apart, to make sure my brain had time to rest & integrate the work
We’d then chat about what’s come up in that time. And there would ALWAYS be something that felt like it was resolving because of the new beliefs we’d installed in the previous session and there would ALWAYS be something new that was coming to light, because we’d created space to see it and feel it and better understand it.
We’d unpack those new challenges & get to the heart of them - the emotions attached, the thoughts & behaviours that they manifest in. This was usually in relation to my relationship with work, productivity, duty, responsibility and priorities, i.e. work vs myself vs my family/ friends/ relationships
Then we’d spend lots of time talking about what I’d want to feel, think & do instead. And I would come up with actual, present tense statements to make these real. Some of my statements were:
I commit to moving my body regularly and allowing myself meaning rest to renew and re-energise myself
I know that I am strong, beautiful, smart, gentle and feminine
I have the conviction to know that taking care of myself well is the way for me to maintain and renew my vitality
Then we’d begin to calm my mind & body with breathing exercises. Essentially, turning on the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of our NS that controls the rest & digest functions, i.e. helping calm us, helping us digest out food, breath optimally & maintain a sense of relaxation in the body. The unfortunate thing about modern life however, is that we are consistently operating in the sympathetic nervous system. i.e the parts of our bodies that rule alertness, fight or flight responses and being “on”. Our phones (and all the other devices we use, airpods, fitness watches etc) as well as just living in high demand and not getting optimal nutrition, exercise and rest - can put extreme pressure on our sympathetic nervous system. And an over stimulation & extended stimulation of this, can cause burn out. And burn out can look different on people, but for me it has affected my hormonal function and adrenal function most.
In this state of high alert, we cannot actually engage the part of our brain that can restore itself, make change real and heal. So allowing our parasympathetic nervous system to come online is very important.
Once I was in a state of more calm, we’d begin to “install” the statements. This involves creating a open “path” between you left & right brain & the best way to do that is crossing your arms & ankles to. This action causes our brain to function optimally. It can reduce stress and help us to take in information more clearly because it synchronizes the left & right hemispheres of the brain and the body simultaneously. Once my limbs were crossed & I reactivated the calm mindset, I’d begin to say one of the statements that I’d defined, out loud.
Once I’d finished saying the statement & felt it had sunk in sufficiently, I would uncross my arms and press my finger tips together while counting to 10. This action further embeds the new statements by helping our brain ground them in a literal tangible action
We’d repeat the process for as many new statements as I’d come up with to install for that session. Sometimes there were 5, sometimes, 10. I did 6-7 session, about 10days apart.
This work is, literally, brain exercise and the most profound experience I had in therapy was how thirsty I’d get - I’d need to fill up my 750ml glass at least twice per session. And I was also so surprised by how tired Id be after sessions. Especially, if we’d installed a lot of new statements.
I’d sleep soooo well, the night after a session. And the effects were almost immediate - a physical alertness, more calm & order in my thoughts.
And even now, a month of so after closing my sessions - I feel that spaciousness, still very literally. I sleep better. And most of all, I feel like I know my mind. The doubt and fog & frustration about why I was doing something vs not, is minimal.
To get in contact with a QEC specialist, contact: www.wendyscurr.com
For a functional doctor, contact: drdrewes.com
Note:
This blog post is not a therapy recommendation, it is simply meant to provide you with information. Please consult your current therapist, functional doctor or practitioner for more advice.
