Hello friends And colleagues,
I thought of so many topics I could talk about today but thought I would start with a basic principle that relates to all of our experience as human beings. The other day I was in a hurry to work, feeling irritated with a long commute, when I turned down a two lane street where a lawn service man was cutting grass near the road on a riding lawnmower. The next thing I heard was a crack when something hit my windshield on the driver’s side and looked like it left a chip in my glass! I was really angry and felt like I did not need another thing to get irritated about since I was already cranked up. I fumed over my bad luck for several minutes but, when I stopped at a light and stuck my hand out the window to touch the place that was hit, the mark just rubbed away as there was no chip or anything! I had to laugh at how my mind, (and body), in the agitated state it was in, created what we call in the trade a “catastrophizing” story. I think how often our brain generates these kind of thoughts throughout a day or a week, and how those thoughts, images, sensations, feelings, even memories take their toll on our mind/brain/body balance.
So here’s a basic principle I will be discussing in future Newsletters. Many years ago, a man by the name of …………coined the phrase “cells that fire together, wire together”. It turns out that when a cell is activated and “infects” a cell near it, a chain reaction can start that creates a whole network of signals, like my story with my car is a mini-example of. I have witnessed many times, with someone I know or a client, who have described, after their first anxiety attack, how it just got easier and easier to generate more anxiety with accompanied fear producing thoughts. Imagine how often we create thoughts, pictures, self-talk, etc. in anticipation of something that is “going” to happen that is not happening right now or, that we think is happening, and how this reinforces the “wiring” of more networks for increased anxiety and worry.
The good news is, we can literally unwire these networks and create new, more appropriate links in the brain, since we now understand this concept called neuro-plasticity. In the future I will be talking more about that, and ways we can change our “brain maps”.
I look forward to sharing more, on how we can rewire our brain in future issues!
Lynne,
Nozicka Center for Hypnosis, Coaching and Psychotherapy
THERAPY THAT KEEPS THE BRAIN IN MIND
