I was given the Gupta Programme as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this Gupta Programme review are my own, and I was in no way influenced by the company. This post contains affiliate links.
According to the latest research, an overactive nervous system may be an underlying trigger for fibromyalgia and ME/CFS. Based on my own symptoms, I definitely agree with that theory. I feel like my nervous system is always in overdrive. I’m hyperaware of pretty much everything – sounds, smells, lights, temperatures, visual stimuli, certain foods and of course, pain! I’ve felt keyed up and stressed out for years, and I didn’t understand why I felt this way until I started the Gupta Programme.
The Gupta Programme is a brain retraining program developed by Ashok Gupta. Ashok suffered from chronic fatigue while attending college and later created the Gupta Programme to share the techniques he used in his own recovery from ME/CFS. (Yes, I still believe it’s possible to recover!)
Here’s a very rudimentary explanation of the theory behind the program: Most of us with fibromyalgia and/or ME/CFS had a trigger for the onset of our symptoms. For me, it was the death of my mom and an extremely stressful job. In fibromyalgia and ME/CFS, the brain, particularly the amygdala and the insula, becomes stuck in a hyperreactive stress response, which causes an overstimulation of the nervous system and immune system. This defensive response ultimately leads to the symptoms we know all too well: pain, fatigue, brain fog, sleep disturbance, digestive issues and others.
Ashok does a more thorough job of explaining the entire theory in this introductory video. You can read the research behind the Gupta Programme here. During a clinical audit of the program, two-thirds of participants who committed to using the program achieved an 80-100 percent recovery.
(Read: Gupta Programme success stories)
The goal of the Gupta Programme is to calm the brain and nervous system, which in turn will lead to a reduction in symptoms. The Gupta Programme has been used to aid in recovery from fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, multiple chemical sensitivities, chronic Lyme disease, mold illness, unexplained pain syndromes and similar conditions.
My Gupta Programme review…
For the past few months, I’ve been slowly working my way through the Gupta Programme and wanted to share my experience.
The main components of the program are:
- A daily meditation and breathing practice – Ashok recommends meditating in the morning upon waking and right before dinner. There is an app that can be used for this, which I’ll talk more about later in this review.
- Brain retraining – It’s recommended to practice the brain retraining technique several times in the morning after meditating and to use it throughout the day whenever negative thoughts or anxiety arise.
- Online weekly webinars – A three-month series of webinars covers how to do the brain retraining technique, pacing, diet and other topics helpful to recovery.
- A workbook and DVD series – The material in these supplements the information shared within the webinars.
The good…
I just love Ashok! My favorite part of the program was watching his webinars. I find his personality to be very calming, and I regularly watch his Facebook Live events. He’s very wise for his years, and I suspect that he might one day become the next Deepak Chopra or Wayne Dyer. He’s a natural teacher.
Several years ago, I was a daily meditator, but then fell off the wagon while moving to a new home. I’d been looking for a program to help reestablish a meditation routine because I know it’s beneficial in reducing my overall symptoms of fibromyalgia and Lyme. The Gupta Programme gave me that structure. Having a regular meditation practice definitely helps me to feel calmer and less stressed out in my daily life.
Ashok has developed a free smartphone app called the Meaning of Life Experiment. (Anyone can download it; you don’t have to be a Gupta Programme student.) I really love the app. It contains 30 days of meditations, along with videos about – you guessed it – the meaning of life. The video cinematography is gorgeous, and again, it’s incredibly calming to listen to Ashok’s narration.
And the challenging…
I did struggle with completing all of the components of the program. Throughout the webinar series, Ashok continually reminded everyone to “do your best and leave the rest.” Despite Ashok’s reminder to not be so hard on myself, there were times when my perfectionist personality kicked in, and I felt overwhelmed by the amount of weekly homework that was assigned. In addition to the daily meditation and retraining exercises, there were worksheets to fill out, journaling to do and weekly webinars to watch.
I understood the purpose of all of these activities, but I found it difficult to get all of my assignments done each week, and I ended up falling behind early on in the program. I think the program would be more manageable for someone who isn’t employed and has more free time to devote to the exercises. I ended up starting and stopping the program several times, and that has affected my overall outcome because consistency is required for the brain retraining to work.
The final outcome …
I do think the theory behind the Gupta Programme makes sense, and I’ve found meditation and the brain retraining technique to be helpful tools in calming my overactive nervous system. I’m far from recovered at this point, but I feel like the Gupta Programme is a positive step in that direction.
The Gupta Programme is not an easy fix. It requires discipline and a commitment to using the retraining technique to feel better. It’s definitely one of those situations where you get out of it what you put into it.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Gupta Programme, you can sign up for a free trial here (see link at the top of the page). There is a six-month, money-back guarantee on the program.
Now, it’s your turn… Have you used the Gupta Programme or another brain retraining program? Did it help? Please share your experiences in the comments section below!
I’m Donna, a longtime newspaper reporter, health writer and chronic illness thriver! Fed Up with Fatigue provides weekly news, research, treatments and more to help you live better with fibromyalgia and/or Lyme.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I so appreciate your research and sharing! My question is, how much time daily do you think this program requires to really be of benefit? I’m just starting a nine month to one year DBT Therapy Program to support our daughter (which I know will actually be of benefit to myself too,as well as the rest of our famiy anyway), so I’m thinking I should definitely wait until we’ve completed this. But definitely putting this Gupta Program on the list for “next!” The money commitment is straight forward but would be helpful to have better knowledge of the time commitment in advance, thank you!
He asks that we meditate 20-30 minutes x twice a day and practice the retraining the exercises in the morning, which usually takes me about 10 minutes. Then you use the retraining exercises throughout the day any time you have negative thoughts regarding your condition. There are short versions of the retraining exercises so it doesn’t take much time during the day for that part of the retraining … just more or less being aware of your thoughts and changing them. It is a time commitment but seems to be helping me so far.
Thanks for your article Donna (I was looking for Gupta reviews). If you haven’t, look into TRE (Tension Release Exercises, David Berceli) – I’ve just come across it and it also seems a good thing to add to our tools. All the best!
Hi Donna
I am sorry to hear you have another struggle with your health.
I’very started with LDN in Dec. 2016. All I can say is that it was the best thing ever. I have a flare up at the moment after a very stressful happening in my life. And this made me realized how much better was my life the past 3 months. I still have pain and fatigue, but not nearly as severely as I had before. I’ve read about LDN on your blog and started to do some research on it. I was lost in pain and fatigue at that stage.
Thank you so much for all your effort to help others as well.
That’s great news! I’m so glad you’re finding some relief w/ LDN, and hopefully your flare will be short lived.
I have had Fibromyalgia since 2000. My life turned a 180. Pain so bad and chronic I had to go on Fentanyl 150m.
I just recently found Quell. Like everyone else I thought there is no way this will work. I am one that tries anything that comes out, desperate to have my life back. I love the Quell. I am now on 75m. It didn’t take long. You have to be careful when lowering your dose. I just cannot believe how well this machine works. Hope it keeps working. Been
Using this for a couple months.
I have a very good friend in the early stages of MS, she got one and it is really helping her.
I still have chronic fatigue but am able to exercise more.
I also have Adult Growth Hormone which doctor said could be part of fybromyalgia. Take shots in stomach for rest of life. I never see anyone else talk about this. Just wondering. Also have trouble controlling body heat. Crazy.
Hope this helps someone.
Hi Mary, I’m so glad the Quell pain relief device is helping you! As you probably know, I’ve been using the Quell now for almost a year now, and it’s the best thing I’ve found to help w/ fibro pain.
How much does it cost to do the program? Thanks for the review! I really appreciate your blog.
You can find the prices at this link: http://www.guptaprogramme.com/products/
I ordered the Quell unit and started using it on March 17. I have become very suspicious of items advertised to help with pain but have been pleasantly surprised with this. I am using it 4 hrs per day and received immediate relief with my back pain. I am using it daily to this point as the literature suggests. I am not totally pain free but it is a big improvement from where I have been. I am still taking my Tramadol, requip and gabapentin. Haven’t been able to give them up yet.
Hi Linda, I’m so glad you’re getting some relief w/ Quell. I love my Quell and wouldn’t be without it!