78: Ashok Gupta: Retraining the Brain to improve Mental Health and Chronic Illness

In this very personal and insightful episode of The MindHealth360 Show, Ashok Gupta – internationally renowned health practitioner and creator of the Gupta Program – joins us to discuss how brain retraining can reverse chronic illness and heal the nervous system. Gupta shares the powerful story behind the creation of his program, which he developed after suffering from ME/CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) as a student at Cambridge University. Through his own neurological research and treatment plans, Gupta achieved full recovery and has since helped thousands of others do the same. 

Kirkland Newman shares her own journey through mould toxicity, nervous system dysregulation, and severe neurological symptoms, and how the Gupta Program – recommended to her by Dr. Neil Nathan – was instrumental in her recovery. Together, they explore how chronic stress, trauma, and environmental triggers can lead to maladaptive brain responses that keep the body stuck in illness, and how brain retraining offers a path to healing. 

In this compelling episode, Gupta explains the science behind his program, its origins, and how it helps people with conditions such as ME/CFS, CIRS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, long COVID, mould illness, anxiety, and other neurological and mental health conditions. He also reflects on the broader implications of neuroplasticity and the mind-body connection in the treatment of chronic disease. 

In this episode you will learn about: 

• How Ashok Gupta developed the Gupta Program after healing from chronic fatigue syndrome during his time at Cambridge University. 

• The role of brain retraining in reversing neurological and mental health symptoms caused by an inflammatory and immune response driven initially by toxins and pathogens, and leading to a dysregulated nervous system and chronic symptoms

• Why chronic illness is often rooted in a “trauma loop” within the brain’s limbic system. 

• How the Gupta Program uses neuroplasticity to interrupt maladaptive patterns and rewire the brain toward healing. 

• Why environmental triggers like mould can activate a dysfunctional threat response in the brain. 

• How Ashok Gupta’s recovery journey led to the creation of a structured, evidence-based program that has helped thousands of people globally. 

• A firsthand account from host Kirkland Newman on how the Gupta Program helped relieve her symptoms of tremors, anxiety, fasciculations, and more. 

• The importance of viewing chronic illness through the lens of the brain-body connection, and the role of hope and empowerment in recovery.