Berchman.com

Category: Mental Health

  • How Focus Music Helped Me in a Distracted World

    How Focus Music Helped Me in a Distracted World

    Focus Music and My Struggle With Concentration in a World Full of Noise

    Focusing on a single task has felt like trying to read in the middle of a concert. My mind darts from thought to thought—unfinished emails, buzzing notifications, ideas half-written and instantly forgotten. The world demands more of our attention than ever, and I found myself chronically depleted and deeply frustrated.

    It wasn’t just about being unproductive. It was emotional. The guilt of not finishing things, the anxiety of falling behind—it all added up. I tried apps, caffeine, even silence. Nothing seemed to bring that mental click I was searching for.

    Discovering MindAmend: A Personal Turning Point

    One day, after stumbling through another disjointed work session, I came across a YouTube recommendation: @MindAmend, created by Jason Lewis. I clicked. The screen faded into soft visuals. No ads. No voices. Just music—not music, really, but a soundscape.

    I let it play in the background while I tackled a small task. To my surprise, I didn’t check my phone once. My thoughts slowed. I completed my work, and even kept going. It wasn’t magic—it was the first moment in a long time when I felt centered, calm, and capable.

    What Makes MindAmend Focus Music Different?

    Hyperfocus, Ambient Electronic Soft Beats + 40Hz Gamma Isochronic Tones

    I’ve tried lo-fi playlists and nature sounds. They’re relaxing, sure, but MindAmend is different. Jason Lewis creates his tracks using isochronic tones, a form of brainwave entrainment where distinct beats pulse at specific frequencies. Unlike binaural beats, these don’t require headphones—and they work more directly.

    The sounds feel engineered to support a purpose—not just to sound good. Whether I’m writing, brainstorming, or decompressing, there’s a track that meets me where I am.

    The Science Behind the Calm: Brainwave Entrainment Explained

    Isochronic tones help the brain shift into desired states by using rhythmic, evenly spaced pulses. When listened to over time, these tones guide your brainwaves into frequencies associated with deep focus, relaxation, or creative flow. It’s like tuning your mental radio to the right channel—alpha for calm, beta for alert focus, gamma for peak concentration.

    This isn’t fringe science. Studies have shown isochronic tones can effectively modulate brainwaves and improve attention and memory.

    A 2024 neurophysiology study also demonstrated a significant finding. Isochronic tones showed a ~15% increase in attention-related EEG potential at the prefrontal cortex. This is in comparison to binaural beats.

    In another experiment, beta-frequency music significantly enhanced sustained attention, especially in participants with ADHD traits.

    Lastly, a 2025 integrative review in Frontiers in Digital Health positioned brainwave entrainment as a promising tool. It is valuable for cognitive rehabilitation and emotional regulation.

    Why It Works Like Magic for Me

    Subtle tones that don’t distract, but hold your attention just enough to anchor you in the moment.

    For me, it’s like flipping a switch. Within five minutes, I stop fidgeting. Within ten, I’m in flow.

    The YouTube comments say the same:

    “I just finished a three-hour study session.”
    “Haven’t felt this grounded in weeks.”
    “This literally saved my focus.”

    I couldn’t agree more.

    My Daily Ritual and the Emotional Impact of Sound

    I integrate focus music into my daily routine as a cornerstone of my productivity toolkit. I usually choose a task I’ve been putting off. This is writing, planning, or tackling a long article. Then, I press play on a track. Within minutes, the sounds create a steady pulse that anchors my attention.

    The effect is subtle but powerful. These tones help shift my mindset from scattered to centered. Over time, this has built up into a habit of returning to calm focus, even when external distractions pile up.

    From Overwhelm to Order: The Emotional Transformation

    Isochronic tones helped me transition from mental chaos to emotional clarity. When my mind spins from anxiety or fatigue, these soundscapes provide structure. They ground me, slow down racing thoughts, and make way for inner peace.

    What Jason Lewis Has Created Goes Beyond Music

    This isn’t ambient noise or white sound—it’s a deliberate, precise design for mental performance. Jason Lewis’s productions are clean and consistent, tailored to facilitate brainwave entrainment. His tracks focus on listener experience rather than catchy melodies. For me, they feel like mental architecture, helping me build focus from the inside out.

    Comments That Echo My Story

    Scrolling MindAmend videos, I frequently see comments that mirror my own:

    “I just finished writing eight pages while listening to this.”
    “This channel is the only way I can work through brain fog.”

    It’s humbling and inspiring to know others are finding clarity through the same sounds that help me.

    Practical Tips for Getting Started With Focus Music

    1. Select a track that matches your goal—beta-frequency for focus, alpha or theta for relaxation or creative work.
    2. Use moderately comfortable volume (not too loud), ideally with headphones or two-channel playback.
    3. Time your work—try 25‑minute blocks with 5‑minute pauses to assess how you feel.
    4. Pair it with a clean environment—minimal visual distractions amplify the effect.
    5. Reflect after each session—note what tasks went well, how your mood changed, and use that feedback.

    My Message to Anyone Struggling With Focus or Anxiety

    Sound can be a first-line tool, accessible, free via YouTube, and non-invasive. You don’t need to be an expert to benefit—just be consistent and open-minded. Even if the effect feels subtle at first, persistence helps it build and compound over time, producing calmer clarity and better focus.

    Conclusion: Healing Happens in Small, Consistent Waves of Sound

    My experience with MindAmend focus music, especially those using carefully crafted isochronic tones, has transformed how I approach work, reading, and mental rest. What began as curiosity quickly became routine, and the sense of calm, clarity, and productivity I gained motivated me to keep coming back.

    If chaos, distraction, or overwhelm rings familiar—this might help you too. Even small, incremental shifts through sound can create meaningful change. Healing and focus don’t always come in giant leaps—they often happen in steady, rhythmic waves.

  • Hello World—2025 Transparent, Fatigued Rebuild Version.

    Hello World—2025 Transparent, Fatigued Rebuild Version.

    Gratefully Working To Get My Sh×t Together After 15 Years of Depression, Hello!

    Fifteen years is a long time. Long enough for depression to rewrite every chapter of your life, twist the narrative, and leave you questioning if you’ll ever get back to the version of yourself that once felt whole.

    Even if that baseline reality was energy–consuming, hyperaware fear, and Academy-Award–worthy masking on top of functional depression.

    So, here I am, still in the cyclic nature of depression as I write these words—still trying to right the ship, still learning how to navigate after years of drifting inside and outside the “Depression Death Star, or simply The Dark Side.”

    It’s not easy. Some days, existing feels impossible—let alone living.

    But I’m still here, and for now, that’s enough.

    My last “official” full-time job ended nearly two years ago. And if I’m being honest, I haven’t felt truly content in a long, long time.

    I’ve had depression all my life. At this point, I don’t even know what life feels like without it.

    The irony? That realization is depressing in itself. Go figure.

    I won’t sugarcoat it: in 2024 alone, I had considered suicide more times than I can recall.

    It’s a dark, exhausting place to be, and the weight of it is relentless. But somehow, some way, I keep going. I create. I put things out into the world, even when it feels impossible.

    And for someone who’s spent a lifetime as a neurodivergent, MDSI, INFJ, that’s nothing short of a solar eclipse miracle on the tip of the North Pole while wearing a bathing suit in January.

    The Regret of Not Documenting the Journey

    Looking back, one of my biggest regrets is not chronicling the things I’ve worked on over the years. I’ve spent over a quarter of a century online, thirty years to be precise—creating, designing, building—and yet, I failed to document so much of it.

    I didn’t blog about it.

    Likewise, I didn’t catalog the process, the struggles, the breakthroughs.

    And now, I wish I had.

    How amazing would it be to scroll through a personal archive of projects, lessons, failures, wins—an entire career mapped out in real-time, across decades? 

    I do have the present moment. I’m alive. And as long as I am, I can share my work, my thoughts, my struggles. So, I’m doing that now. These words are proof.

    Reclaiming My Artistic Self

    For the past few years, I’ve been trying to reconnect with my roots as an artist. I won a statewide crime-fighting poster contest in 5th grade culminating in a Fine Arts degree, painting concentration—and having one of my paintings added to my college’s permanent art collection.

    Back in college, I painted like a madman, pouring everything I had into my work. Then the Internet came along the year I graduated from college—1991—and design took over my life. It consumed me, swallowed me whole.

    And before I knew it, I had gone decades without making what I would truly call art.

    That’s beginning to change. Slowly.

    It’s taken time to rewire my brain, to make space for creative ideas to return after a two-year absence.

    Time to remind myself that I’m allowed to create for the sake of creation—not just for work, not just for survival.

    And now, as I rebuild, I’m weaving everything together—a website, a YouTube channel, and a podcast.

    These aren’t just separate projects; they’re pieces of the same puzzle. They’re reflections of the larger journey I’m on.

    The Challenge of Invisible Work

    The weirdest part? I’ve been working my ass off for two years, and yet, there’s still not much to show for it online.

    But that’s the nature of building something real. Most of the work happens in the background.

    It’s the silent grind, the unseen effort, the endless trial and error.

    The results don’t always come fast. Sometimes, they don’t come at all. But that’s the gamble.

    The only thing I can do is keep showing up. Keep creating. Keep pushing toward something bigger, even if I don’t know exactly what that something is yet.

    None of us do, really.

    Every project, every idea, every dream—it’s all a leap of faith.

    The only thing that matters is having the cojones to put yourself out there and the consistency to keep delivering, keep going.

    What’s Next?

    No clue. And that’s okay.

    For now, I’m here. I’m doing the work. I’m embracing the unknown and trying my best to turn years of struggle into something meaningful.

    Here’s to whatever comes next!

    Until then, be well.