The Gupta Program

I am beginning The Gupta Program. I briefly discussed this during my post on What I’d Like to Try in the Future. With the current situation of COVID-19, I thought the next thing I try should be at home. Enter The Gupta Program.

Note- I am not affiliated with The Gupta Program or any of the other brain retraining programs that I mention.

My hope is to provide you with realistic and balanced information, so I will shift back and forth on the topic as I discuss the positives and criticisms. I understand many people have been hurt by false promises or overinflated claims of all kinds, so I hope to steer clear of that.

What is The Gupta Program?

The Gupta Program is a brain retraining course for use in reducing the symptoms of certain chronic conditions. Instructional videos via the internet are used to teach the techniques.

Success of the program

There are personal testimonies that discuss some people experiencing remission or significant improvement. Scientifically, those are not reliable, but they can be useful for motivational purposes if you are doing the program. Personal testimonies may be truthful, but everyone is different. Just because it is true doesn’t mean it is relevant.

There is a clinical audit of The Gupta Program boasting impressive statistics such as, “two-thirds of our clients reached an 80-100% recovery within one year”. However, there are significant limitations to these claims. To quote the journal article itself, “No control group or placebo group was used, and future studies would need to incorporate this. No standardized tools were used, and randomized collection was not employed. Researcher bias, and the effects of researcher/practitioner enthusiasm, were significant confounding factors, as were participants’ possible use of concurrent therapies. Sample bias was significant in that those completing the programme may have shown more motivation and commitment.” So, take the audit for what it is worth: preliminary work that demonstrates that it is worth doing a well-designed clinical trial to actually see the effects of the Gupta Program.

How does it work?

One of the prevalent theories of certain chronic illnesses such as ME and fibromyalgia is that they are caused by the nervous system being in a constant state of fight-or-flight (sympathetic state). This is also called central sensitization. I have discussed this in my posts on Vagus Nerve Stimulation, Massage Therapy, Mestinon, Meditation, Deep Breathing, and indirectly/loosely in Mind Tricks. This overactivity of the nervous system is typically triggered by a pathogen (ex. bacterial or viral infection), toxic exposure, accident/injury, or other sort of trauma. These chronic illnesses such as ME/CFS, POTS, fibromyalgia, MCS, etc. are real physical illnesses.

Neural retraining, or brain rewiring, works upon the understanding of neuroplasticity, or that our brains can change. We can address these physical diseases via our brains where the root cause is thought to lie. Through the modalities of neural retraining, such as meditation and neuro- linguistic programming, we can teach our brains and nervous systems to function in the proper way. Now, not all forms of these chronic illnesses have their root cause in the brain or in central sensitization. For example. some people have POTS because they have the genetic connective tissue disease Ehlers-Danlos. So, what I’m saying is a NOT blanket statement.

To learn more about how brain retraining works and addresses certain chronic conditions, you can sign up for The Gupta Program’s free trial. When you do that, you have access to the first few sessions which teach the “how and why” of it all.

Does this mean my illness is “all in my head”?

No, not at all. These are real physical illnesses with real physical symptoms. This method treats them through the brain. It’s neurological, not psychological. Think of it as akin to the therapy a stroke victim must do to retrain their brains and bodies after a stroke.

What conditions can it address?

• ME/CFS
• Fibromyalgia
• Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
• Mold or electrical sensitivities
• Pain syndromes
• POTS
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Food sensitivities
• A few other related conditions

Again, this doesn’t mean that it can be impactful for all forms of these conditions. Otherwise, everyone who did The Gupta Program would be better, and that isn’t the case.

This sounds like a scam.

I hear ya. If you have had chronic illness for a while you have learned to become skeptical, and rightfully so. There’s a lot of garbage out there and it’s easy to get sucked into it because we are eager to get well.

I feel pretty confident that this isn’t garbage, though, because The Gupta Program operates on the same theory that the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN holds for ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, and related illnesses. As I am learning the techniques and lifestyle recommendations in the program, it reminds a lot of what I learned from the Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia clinic at Mayo. But, the Gupta Program is more detailed and comprehensive than the clinic at Mayo.

So, to sum it up, I don’t think it’s a scam, but its effectiveness will vary from person to person. I think The Gupta Program could be more cautious with their claims in this regard. This principle of “your mileage may vary” goes along with everything. For example, Mestinon is the pharmaceutical that works the best for me. For others, it’s useless and they prefer Florinef, etc.

What does it look like

The program is comprised of lifestyle changes, meditation, and brain retraining exercises. The lifestyle changes are actually specific and useful. That was a pleasant surprise as usually advice in that realm is eye roll inducing.

I think I will end up spending a little over an hour (broken up through the day) on the training. Some of the parts fit into the routine I already have, which is nice.

Initial thoughts

I am impressed with this program so far. There is a lot of information and Ashok (the creator) explains things very clearly. It gets a little “fluffy” or “cheesy” at times. However, I approach it with humor and it turns out fine because humor is therapeutic for me. It’s not the kind of cheesiness that turns me off, but rather the kind that makes me chuckle to myself. I feel optimistic that this will be useful for me in where I am at.

As I write this I still have a few courses to finish up. I have begun to implement some parts of the program but am holding off on starting the main retraining exercises until I finish the courses.

Cost

The program usually costs $350, but there is currently a promotion due to COVID-19 making it $300. There is a money back guarantee and and free trial including the first three sessions (where you learn the theory). Although it is not cheap, I think the value is good for all of the advice and tools you receive.

Other brain retraining programs

There are other brain retraining programs such as the Dynamic Neural Retraining System and ANS Rewire. I believe that DNRS is the most popular. They all accomplish the same thing. I recommend listening to samples of them through YouTube or their websites and see which resonates better with you.

Currently, I am doing fairly well at 65-70%. I will update on my progress with this program when it feels appropriate. However, if you have questions, feel free to reach out.

Have you tried a brain retraining program? How did it work for you?

To see my final thoughts after 6 months of using the program to varying degrees you can check out my post- Gupta Program Final Thoughts.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.