Dharma Dr. Resource Hub

Although mild stress can help performance and focus, moderate and severe stress can hinder focus and performance. Dharma Dr. tabs can be used in moments when stress is impairing concentration.

Procrastination: Procrastination is often modulated by an unconscious signaling to avoid something uncomfortable. When these feelings arise, try using the tabs for 1-2 minutes to break through avoidance and make it easier to start a task. Many users report that using the tabs breaks down that unconscious barrier and allows them to get started.

Losing Focus Because of Stress: If you're writing a difficult paper or an important email and stress takes over, often the words stop coming, distractions grow, and writer's block can set in. Use the tabs for 1-2 minutes and return to the task. You'll likely find continuing easier and any "stuck points" resolved. When we alter the state of stress, all higher order functions work better and things that were difficult during a state of stress are no longer difficult.

Distractions from Notifications: Seeing a stressful message—like an urgent email or unexpected news—can instantly derail focus, impair performance, and compromise learning and memory. Use the tabs for at least one minute to reset. Once calm, your mind will likely shift back to focus naturally.

Stress can make studying and test-taking more difficult at any age. Whether you're tackling schoolwork, professional exams, or high-pressure work projects, Dharma Dr. Tabs can help create a more effective learning state.

Homework & Studying for Kids & Teens: Using the tabs during homework or studying is a great tool for kids, teens—and even parents. A quick 1-2 minute session before starting can help with focus, and using them during breaks can ease frustration or stress. If homework tends to cause tension, parents may also benefit from using the tabs before helping their child.

For Students of All Ages:

• Before & During Studying: Use the tabs for 1-2 minutes before starting and as needed during breaks to manage stress and improve focus.
• Homework & Test Anxiety: If frustration, procrastination, or negative thoughts interfere with studying, the tabs can help reset focus.
• Signs You May Need a Reset: If you feel time pressure, struggle to retain information, or notice frustration and worry about performance, take a moment to reset with the tabs. If stress persists and this is a chronic issue, consulting with a professional who can do EMDR therapy or another type of therapy to fix this issue may be recommended.

Intrusive Thoughts & Past Test Stress: If past negative experiences with studying or test-taking trigger stress, the tabs can help break that pattern. Use them whenever intrusive thoughts arise—over time, this can reduce their impact or even stop them entirely.

Additional Tip:

Try Visualizing Positive Results: Use the tabs while imagining a successful outcome—whether that’s completing an assignment, recalling key information, or confidently answering test questions. If you attempt this multiple times and negative, intrusive thoughts come in, a therapist may be able to help.

You can use the tabs anytime you feel stressed—even if you’re unsure of the cause. Physical signs like chest tightness, stomach discomfort, or a racing heartbeat may indicate stress, and the tabs can help calm your system in real time. While not a substitute for medical treatment, a quick 1-minute session can often reduce stress and restore focus.

For ongoing relief, use the tabs intermittently throughout the day to reset your stress response.

Research shows that tactile bilateral stimulation helps lower cortisol, a key driver of inflammation after stress. Use the tabs before, during, or after challenging moments to improve performance, prevent excessive stress, and support recovery.

Quality sleep is essential for mental and physical well-being, but stress, anxiety, and an overactive mind can interfere with rest.

Using the tabs before bed can help transition your nervous system into a more relaxed state, making it easier to fall asleep. If you tend to wake up during the night, try using the tabs for 1-2 minutes to help return to a restful state.

For best results, experiment with different frequencies to find what works best for your body at bedtime. Many users find that slower frequencies are most effective for promoting deep relaxation.

Often the barrier to meditation is that the stress switch is too high to get into a meditative state. Quieting the mind and eliminating distraction can lead to distressing thoughts and stress, which is the opposite of the intended effect!

If you have difficulty settling into meditation or experience meditation as being stressful, use the tabs for 1 minute prior to meditating and during your meditation session.

Find a frequency that works for you, and know that often a slower frequency than your normal "go-to" might be what feels best during meditation. If stressful thoughts and feelings come up during meditation, allow the tabs to help your body restore back to a calmer state.

Remember, you don't have to work hard in your mind for this. The technology gently adds an input to the brain networks associated with sensing and stress modulation. Relax and enjoy!

Tabs can be used during the course of most therapeutic modalities. Even if the therapist is not aware of how to use the technology or the science behind it, you can use the tabs during sessions to help regulate your stress switch and get additional benefits.

Gone are the days when clients simply talked through issues and waited for their nervous system to reset on its own. This process takes time, increases inflammation in the body, and slows therapeutic progress. Using the tabs in sessions can accelerate emotional processing and stress reduction.

Faster Results: Adding the tabs to therapy can improve emotional regulation, helping you access insights and process memories more efficiently. Dr. Serin’s unpublished research suggests approximately a

Using the Tabs in Couples Therapy:

During couples therapy, each partner can use the tabs throughout the session to help regulate emotions when discussing sensitive or challenging topics. The famous couples researchers John and Julie Gottman recommend couples self-soothe and state that self-soothing is one of the most important skills you can learn (How to Practice Self-Soothing)—but many self-soothing techniques fail when stress levels exceed a certain threshold. The tabs can lower stress quickly, allowing couples to communicate more effectively.

Rather than needing to step away from a difficult conversation or revisit it later, couples can use the tabs in real time to maintain emotional balance and prevent unnecessary conflict.

When stress rises, your brain shifts power from your executive network (long-term thinking) to your reward network (short-term relief). That’s why we’re more likely to reach for sugar, wine, or distractions under pressure.

Using the tabs lowers stress in real time—giving your executive brain a chance to take the wheel again.

How to use the tabs for cravings:

• Turn on the tabs before you act on a craving or impulse
• Keep them on while you engage in the behavior you’re trying to change
• Notice how the behavior feels less rewarding over time

This helps break the pattern of stress-driven coping. Over time, the craving itself may reduce—without relying on willpower alone.

Try this: Rate your craving on a scale from 0–10. Use the tabs for one minute, then reassess. Many users experience a significant drop in intensity—even after one session.

Example: If eating high-fat, high-sugar, or processed foods is your go-to under stress, turn the tabs on before eating and keep them on during. The next time you feel overwhelmed, your brain may not reach for food as a default—because the tabs helped regulate your stress instead.

Some habits aren’t intense cravings, but patterns we fall into automatically—often in response to boredom, discomfort, or stress. Things like nail-biting, mindless scrolling, or checking your phone constantly can become deeply ingrained over time.

Using the tabs before or during a habitual behavior helps bring awareness to the moment and break the cycle.

Try the tabs:

• Before you engage in a behavior you'd like to change
• While the habit is happening, to shift the reward processing
• As a reset tool if you're stuck in a behavior loop

Over time, your brain can associate calm—not the habit—with stress relief, making it easier to pause and choose a different action.

Pro tip: Habits often thrive in the background. Using the tabs helps you interrupt them at the source and rewire how your brain responds to discomfort.

Tabs can be used in anticipation of performance. If the thought of performing increases your stress, try this:

• Rate your stress level from 0 to 10.
• Use the tabs for 1 minute.
• Reassess your stress level and repeat if needed.

Aim for a stress level of 4 or lower—this is the optimal range where you stay motivated and engaged without feeling overwhelmed. The right balance of stress can enhance performance, while too much can hinder it.

Whether it’s a routine blood draw, dental visit, or cosmetic treatment, medical procedures can activate the nervous system and create lingering stress associations. When these experiences feel overwhelming, they can lead to long-term avoidance—even when care is necessary.

Dharma Dr. Tabs can be used before, during, and after medical experiences to support a calmer state, improve tolerance for discomfort, and help the body and brain reset more effectively.

Try the tabs when:

• Talking about an upcoming procedure
• Anticipating discomfort from needles, numbing agents, or unfamiliar settings
• Seeking a non-chemical calming alternative to reduce pre-procedure stress
• Recovering emotionally after a difficult or triggering medical visit

Using the tabs throughout the full experience can help reduce pain perception, improve cooperation, and prevent the nervous system from flagging the event as threatening. Over time, this can reduce future avoidance and promote a more regulated response to medical care.

Helpful note: For those still in developmental stages—like children and teens—these associations form even more quickly. Regulating stress in real time can go a long way in building resilience and preventing care-related fears from taking root.

When something feels stressful—like raising your hand in class, giving a presentation for work, or trying out for a team—the nervous system may signal you to avoid it. Over time, this avoidance becomes hardwired, even if the experience could be positive.

Use the tabs to:

• Help children and teens engage in growth experiences without fear
• Reduce internal resistance to beneficial but uncomfortable situations
• Support therapy clients in confronting and reprocessing stuck points

Lowering stress in the moment can help prevent the brain from associating these experiences with danger—paving the way for healthier risk-taking, resilience, and engagement.

Real-world example: Kids who use the tabs before dental appointments, school presentations, or other stressful moments are less likely to develop long-term avoidance around these events.

Stress doesn’t just affect you—it impacts how you communicate with the people you love. When partners are both dysregulated, conflict often escalates and issues become harder to resolve. Bilateral stimulation helps regulate the nervous system during emotionally charged conversations, improving connection and reducing reactivity.

Try the tabs:

• Before and during difficult conversations with a partner
• While venting about a stressful day
• In therapy or at home during sensitive discussions

BLS helps both partners stay below their “stress switch” threshold so they can stay present, grounded, and engaged—even when topics are tough.

Relationship tip: Use the tabs during venting sessions with your partner, and set a time limit on these sessions to prevent the emotional intensity from spiraling. This simple addition can help conversations become healing, not harmful.

Using the Tabs in Couples Therapy:

During couples therapy, each partner can use the tabs throughout the session to help regulate emotions when discussing sensitive or challenging topics. The famous couples researchers John and Julie Gottman recommend couples self-soothe and state that self-soothing is one of the most important skills you can learn (How to Practice Self-Soothing)—but many self-soothing techniques fail when stress levels exceed a certain threshold. The tabs can lower stress quickly, allowing couples to communicate more effectively.

Rather than needing to step away from a difficult conversation or revisit it later, couples can use the tabs in real time to maintain emotional balance and prevent unnecessary conflict.

Work stress doesn’t always stay at work. Deadlines, decision fatigue, challenging meetings, or an overflowing inbox can spike your nervous system—and when left unchecked, that stress often comes home with you.

Dharma Dr. Tabs can help regulate your stress in real time so it doesn’t build, linger, or interfere with your personal life.

Try the tabs:

• First thing in the morning, if anxious thoughts start immediately
• During stressful meetings or workday transitions
• After work, to shift into a calmer state before re-entering home life
• While debriefing or venting about your day

Using the tabs as a reset tool throughout the day helps prevent emotional overload, reduce inflammation, and preserve your bandwidth for what really matters.

Pro tip: If venting after work tends to intensify your stress rather than relieve it, try using the tabs during those conversations. The tabs help calm the nervous system while you talk—so you can process without escalating.