Our tool for change – DB-System®
In today’s society, those who want to help are often faced with complex situations and tasks that must be solved and handled. This means that those who work in the fields of healthcare, education and upbringing must be good and secure professionals.
The foundation will contribute to changing the current treatment offered and educational system, by making DB-System® more accessible. The system deals with the brain, body and mind – the whole human, and it is built upon a philosophy of change from treating symptoms to treating the root cause.
We contribute with knowledge about how we function as human beings, and tools to deal with and master everyday challenges as well as the most complex situations.
DB-System® was established in 2010 and is already in use by tens of thousands of people – both in Norway and internationally.
The most important discovery in modern times
As late as 1998, research established that the brain continues to reorganize itself by creating new neural connections throughout life. This is called neuroplasticity. This is perhaps the most important discovery made in modern times?
Most people know that the brain can reorganize itself in order to regain functions in the body, for example after a stroke.
What we haven’t yet realized from this discovery, is that we can change what we have previously learned, experiences and incidents, and that we don’t need to be a victim of our experiences and our lives.
In the same that way we can reorganize and affect our physical health after a stroke, we can also reorganize our brain in regard to our mental health. We can reorganize and change our emotional baggage to attain good and lasting changes.
Deborah Borgens Foundation wants to contribute to this knowledge becoming securely established, since it is so important for how each individual can learn to master their own lives and create lasting changes.
Symptom versus the root cause
When we realize that it is possible to reorganize our emotional baggage, we need a system that explains how we can do this. A simple explanation is the difference between looking into symptoms versus looking for the root cause. We must talk about an outer and an inner realm in humans.
The outer realm is our daily consciousness, what we see and what we experience. It is here we feel symptoms in our body when something is wrong, and it is here we have our learned and automatic behaviour and actions.
Within our inner realm is our library of archived experiences is found, and these often appear as memories in our thoughts. Every memory is connected to an emotion, and the inner realm must be well balanced so it doesn’t lead to chaotic, distracting thoughts. In the inner realm, we use imagery and our imagination.
Symptom treatment
When memories and experiences are stored in the inner realm, it means that we cannot change them in the outer realm. As adults, we must be able to enter the inner realm, where memories and experiences are stored, in order to create changes.
It doesn't matter how much we do in the outer realm, what aids we use or what treatment and pills we take - this will only sooth and shift the problem, but not solve it.
In other words, we can say that in the outer realm we only treat the symptom.
Treating root cause
In order to get lasting changes, we must enter the inner realm where we can treat the root cause.
For example, Deborah Borgen says that in early adulthood she struggled with eating disorders, where treatment in the outer realm was initiated. A team of specialists provided medical help, eating practices, group therapy and individual therapy.
Many people may experience an improvement in symptoms, learn strategies and find solutions to help them feel better after symptom treatment. Deborah found that this didn’t give the lasting changes she was looking for, but noticed that it temporarily eased the symptoms. She understood that she had to look at the underlying causes and go deeper into the inner realm to get the lasting changes.
Foundation for lasting changes
The reason why it is difficult to understand the inner realm is that much of what is stored lies in the subconscious. It wasn’t until Deborah could go to the root of the cause within and change the brain so that other emotions became associated with difficult memories, that the lasting changes occurred. This became an important element in the development of DB-System®.
The same also applies for all other treatment such as depression, anxiety or addiction, there is always an underlying learning/experience (cause) in the inner realm that needs to be changed. This is what we call treating the root cause, and which we believe is one of the solutions needed to change the biggest challenge of our time - mental disorders and ill health.
The brain – an aid to understanding
There are three important main areas of the brain that require good cooperation between them. One of these is the amygdala. In short we can say that it opens for emotions. This means that when we experience something with good or bad feelings, this area is active. The next area is the hippocampus, which we can briefly describe as a door to memory and the library. The last area is the prefrontal cortex, which is the part that opens for planning. It plans, systematizes and organizes in a logical way and creates strategies for action. It is absolutely necessary to have good connections and a good network between these three areas in order to create balance between emotions and reason and for good self-regulation.
For example, good experiences will fill the amygdala, where the emotions are stored in the library (hippocampus). This becomes our experience and reference, and is brought to the prefrontal cortex, which in turn organizes and understands that this is something good. The same thing happens with all our experiences, even those that are bad. This is something that is important to be aware of, so that children can grow up in a safe environment and develop in a good way.
We know, based on the discovery that the brain can reorganize and change throughout life, that we still can get help as adults. New connections in the brain can be created, connections that are undesirable can be deleted, and a stronger and broader network can be built.
With training of the brain and techniques for lasting changes, individuals can themselves get to the root cause and influence learning, experiences and behaviour. (Nord Universitet).
Self-Guided Imagery in Meditation (SIM)
Society needs good and secure professionals with good people skills, who will look after all those who need help and those who will grow up to become secure and independent individuals.
For everyone who works to help others, it is important to spend time and create opportunities for self-care and their own reflection practice - whether it is as a therapist or other health personnel, or those who work with children and youth within the fields of education and upbringing.
Self-guided Imagery in Meditation (SIM) is a good system for self-care and one’s own reflection practice, while there are techniques for treating root causes and changing undesired baggage that is disruptive when dealing with others.
Significance for treatment and education
En god relasjon mellom helsepersonell/hjelper og pasient/bruker eller lærer og elev, vil ha stor betydning for utfallet av behandling og læringsutbytte. Det betyr at helsepersonell/hjelper/lærer selv har et verktøy for å håndtere personlig sårbarhet, sette klare grenser og praktisere egenomsorg, samt et godt verktøy for refleksjon og endring av egne uløste indre konflikter.
It is known that children scan and read what happens in their surroundings easily, but not just children. We do it quite naturally based on everything we bring with us from our childhood. This happens automatically when we deal with others, when we "size somebody up" before we can feel safe.
We can compare this with countertransference. Both consciously and subconsciously, we project and transfer our emotions and thoughts to others. Therefore it’s so important to be able to relate to our own reactions, and be able to change them. Countertransference is often talked about among healthcare personnel, but it is equally relevant for those who work in kindergartens and schools.
Research carried out on SIM shows that it is a promising tool for promoting good relationships and skills to deal with countertransference. A particularly interesting finding was that professionals were able to identify and process complex root cause connections on their own, without guidance from others. They could break undesired patterns of action.
Society cannot afford to send all professionals to therapy every time they experience difficult emotions when dealing with patients, students and their relatives. Nor can society afford to cut back on treating patients in order to "save" the professionals.
SIM can therefore contribute to more sustainability in the healthcare and educational systems and contribute to cost reduction.
Helsevesenet, brukerorganisasjoner og utdanningssystemet er nøkkelinstitusjoner når det gjelder endring og utvikling mot et samfunn der mennesker har en god psykisk helse og gode liv.
When those who work in these institutions master this task in a good way, we will be able to prevent ill-health, adopt treatment of root causes, create lasting changes, promote good mental health and mastering of life, and contribute to people working together to create good solutions.
With the philosophy of change in DB-System® , we can provide people with techniques for treating root causes in an effective way. This is how the foundation can contribute to changing the treatments offered and the educational system.