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The Brain Has an Ability to Rewire Itself

Knowing how we can utilize this will lead us to a more balanced life.

Our brains work with our environments to create behaviour patterns and states of consciousness, what is known as the true self does not exist, it depends a lot on the environments we were raised in as children or where we currently find ourselves.

You must be wondering how this works

When continuously in an environment that is busy and constantly on the move, the pattern of keeping up becomes registered in the brain as a normal state of being. When in an environment that requires us to always be in survival mode – thinking that anything bad can happen at any given moment, our patterns of behaviour and thinking act in accordance with that and the brain registers it as a normal state of being. When our environment is relaxed, loving and supportive, then our brains will also register it as a normal state of being. Our environment influences our thinking and brain.

In these moments, new brain/nervous system cells (neurons) are being formed during neurogenesis and they spark and make new connections in neuroplasticity- when the brain makes new connections in response to our lifestyle, thoughts and environment. These connections can last a long time – for as long as we reinforce them through our patterns of thoughts and behaviour.  Neuroplasticity happens throughout our lifetime.

This is always ongoing because we are producing new brain cells, making new connections and creating new patterns every day.

There are levels to this

Neuroplasticity happens on three levels.

It starts with the changes in the concentration of chemicals (neurotransmitters) in our brains. Such as, adrenaline which activates the stress hormone cortisol or serotonin, that is responsible for our wellbeing. The chemicals act as a “to-do” list for the brain cells – telling them what to do. The next level is structural, this sees the growth of new cells (neurons) and connections between themselves, activating new brain regions – leading us to the functional level, where they become accessible from repeated use.

Stress and anxiety change the brain

The brain is affected on all three levels by chronic stress and anxiety. The chemicals in the thinking/decision-making and memory part of the brain reduce, causing the cells to lose their original form, weakening the connectivity between the cells in those regions. At the same time the cells in the part of the brain associated with anxiety and fear become stronger, connect better and there is an increase in their communication – this has negative impacts on our mental health. This article explains what happens when we are always on edge because of anxiety.

What does this mean for our well-being?

Hundreds of thousands of connections are made in a day with some neurons forming complicated networks and others dying when not stimulated or used. Following these connections, is the creation of many different patterns that our minds will work with. When we activate a pattern, it will make another pattern less easy to generate. For example, a pattern of anxiety will block patterns of feeling calm; being very angry can block patterns of kindness. We cannot feel relaxed or angry at the same time. Yes, we can switch patterns, but we cannot feel them simultaneously – one pattern will negate the other.

And with constant focus and practice on a particular pattern, our brains go on “auto-pilot” since the patterns have become familiar to us and comfortable. So, when we hold on to negative emotions or indulge our stresses and anxieties, we are reinforcing them, welcoming and making them comfortable in our minds – giving them a home.

Our minds, bodies and relationships end up suffering because of these patterns. We may experience impairment in our immune functioning, chronic fatigue, feelings of loneliness or as if no one understands us, fear of things and situations not dangerous to us, depression and anxiety, the list is endless.

To summarize in a sentence: what we focus on, aspire to and practice will make a difference to our brains.

But there is hope, we can create and strengthen the patterns that can help us grow and flourish

We can utilize plasticity in our brain to rewire the old route that fed the negative habit or thinking pattern to a new route that will lead to a healthier pattern. Some patterns are deeply rooted and will require some more effort and time to lift. DO NOT GIVE UP.

The journey will start with willingness – accepting what we are going through in this present moment. It is allowing ourselves to do things that make us uncomfortable. Yes, it does feels very uncomfortable, but it is not dangerous. We have to remind ourselves that it is ok to feel anxious, we do not like it, but it will not injure us.

Accepting will allow us to make physical space of our anxieties, through stillness, we can sit with our experiences – this is not a one-time thing and the first time you practice it, you may only be able to do it for a few seconds/minutes. That is okay. In stillness, we can also ground ourselves, focus on ourselves and what is happening within us. Bringing it all into the present.

Coming into the present moment means we can think, focus and sit with our fears. We will identify them and that’ll let us create a hierarchy – from the smallest to the biggest fear.

Here is an experiment to test:

Take one thing that scares you and break it down into tiny bits. Now, start facing them starting with the easiest one. As you face these fears, your brain will start making new connections and patterns. Anxiety avoidance gives more power to our anxiety and what we want is to make the brain more conducive to wellbeing and acceptance. The neural pathways will be rewired, limiting the release of stress hormones.

We are building our emotional muscles here. So, the more we practice, the stronger these brain connections will become – it will take time but what matters is consistency. We can do hard things; they will not always be hard. We have to let go of perfectionism and saying to ourselves – I cannot handle it.

Do not forget to write down your accomplishments, practice patience and gentleness and give yourself credit for every hard thing that you do. Whether seemingly big or small. Anxiety is not a lack of caring, it is being paralyzed by caring too much.

It has been a blessing, to be able to write this and to be given your audience.

Thank you

 

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