Image CreditIn my last article I went over the principles of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and how it can help the sufferers of Anxiety Disorders. We saw how it uses a combined approach of cognitive behavioral techniques with mindfulness strategies in order to help individuals better understand and manage their thoughts and emotions, in order to achieve relief from feelings of distress. Today I would like to take a different route from the more clinical psychology interventions, excluding medications, in to something that is considered alternative interventions.
you can, in fact, reframe your world and
rewire your brain so that you are more objective.
You have the power to see things as they are
so that you can respond thoughtfully, deliberately,
and effectively to everything you experience.”
-Elizabeth Thornton
Today, I will go into the Self-Directed Neuroplasticity realm that is a concept where individuals are allowed to consciously control how they want their brains to work. An example of this is, if there are individuals who want their brain to become better in social situations, they will do interventions to force themselves to become more comfortable and at ease in these situations, thereby making the brain eventually adapt. So it is believed that anytime you learn a new skill, the brain will adapt and change to this new challenge put in front of it.
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Dr. Jeffrey M. Schwartzis a M.D., Research Psychiatrist at UCLA School of Medicine, who researches in the field of self-directed neuroplasticity, wrote a book called, ”The Mind & The Brain.” Reviewers of his book found it to be a groundbreaking work of science and felt that it confirms the independent existence of the mind. They also felt that his book demonstrates the possibilities for human control over the workings of the brain. Dr. Schwartz’s work has led to this field of self-directed neuroplasticity.
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In his book, Dr. Schwartz goes into concepts of quantum mechanics where he feels that the mind is not the same as the brain. According to some reviews of his book found on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IPZDQ6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?), he was able to demonstrate that people are actually able to consciously change their brain functions by using proper and focused attention and effort. He showed empirical evidence by using brain scans to show the efficacy of self-directed neuroplasticity. Some of his subjects included OCD patients, stroke patients, musicians and others who have used this concept to change their brains in a positive way.
-Albert Einstein
According to Mental Health Daily (http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/20/self-directed-neuroplasticity-consciously-changing-your-brain-function), some people may be skeptical of the mind being separate from the brain, but Dr. Schwartz feels that “if we don’t have a mind, we are effectively automatons that shouldn’t be responsible for crimes, etc. – this is the attitude that we have no degree of self-control; we are at the mercy of our brains.” The article went on to argue that “Even if you don’t acknowledge that the “mind” controls the brain, think of higher order regions (e.g. prefrontal cortex) as responsible for controlling lower order ones; giving you self-control. The higher order areas allow you to refocus your attention and utilize willpower to alter your behavior, which in turn creates changes within your brain (i.e. neuroplasticity).”
How Self-Directed Neuroplasticity Works
The concept of self-directed Neuroplasticity involves the following according to Mental Health Daily:
- Attention: Any object can catch your attention at any given moment in time, that’s just the byproduct of exposing your brain to various stimuli. However, you have full control over the amount of attention to which you give a particular object, thought, or behavior. You could have a depressing thought and give it a lot of attention (further magnifying it), or you could choose to let it pass and refocus on something else. The goal is to pay attention to the stuff you want in order to make your brain “light up” and rewire the way you want.
- Volition (willpower): Simply paying attention is great, but attention alone won’t really change anything. You need to actually go down in the trenches and put in some work. If you are trying to change a particular behavior such as engaging in compulsive behavior, come up with a plan to refocus your attention, and partake in a different activity to change the way your brain is firing. With consistent practice, your brain will begin to fire up the circuits associated with the new activity rather than the unwanted one.
to stay with a positive experience
-even the comfort in a single breath
-you’ll help turn a passing mental state
into lasting neural structure.”
-Rick Hanson
- Brain activation: The brain activation that occurs is in part a result of how you choose to focus your attention and guide your willpower. If you choose to feel happy and focus on gratitude, a different region of your brain will light up than that of feeling depressed. With practice (not overnight), the region of your brain associated with gratitude will overpower the region associated with feeling depressed because you use it more.
- Consistency (“You Don’t Use It, You Lose It”): Regions within your brain are constantly in competition for carrying out various functions. Whichever regions that you use more often, will effectively overpower the other regions and get more neural real-estate. The regions and neural pathways that you use less frequently will get less real-estate and may get minimized and/or eventually die down. Your daily habits make a big impact on your brain functioning because the neural pathways required to carry out those habits become strengthened in time, and those used less often get weaker.
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How To Use Self-Directed Neuroplasticity
The more we learn about Neuroplasticity, the more we realize how everything can affect our brain. What we do daily, who we interact with, what we focus on (whether it is TV, a hobby, reading a book, watching sports), what environment we are in, medication and drugs being taken, being in social activities, going to school, going to work, our sleep patterns, etc., all have influences on our brain. So by being aware of all of these influences on our brain, gives us the ability to consciously control what we expose ourselves to. We can choose to minimize those things that may be detrimental to our brain and focus on activities that will be positive. The following are some steps suggested by Mental Health Daily: (http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/20/self-directed-neuroplasticity-consciously-changing-your-brain-function), to assist you to harness the power of self-directed brain change:
the sense of feeling safe,
satisfied, or connected,
you stimulate responsive circuits
in your brain.”
-Rick Hanson
- Awareness: Become aware of what you’d like to change. You may be aware of a variety of things that you’re unhappy with and/or things in your life that you dislike. Pick one thing at a time and become aware of the particular habit, mood, etc. that you’d like to change.
- Attention: Instead of letting your attention drift to something else, focus all of your attention on implementing a healthy thought pattern and behavior. This will require effort, but whatever you focus your attention on will become reality. If you choose to attend to feeling depressed, it magnifies the feeling. If you choose to focus on gratitude, it amplifies your happiness.
- Volition: Realize that at the beginning of attempting to change your brain, it’s going to be uncomfortable. Each person is set in their ways and the neuroplasticity is not meant to be comfortable, it’s meant to be effective. Think of it like throwing yourself into water without knowing how to swim – your brain either adapts and figures something out or your drown. While the “sink or swim” example may be extreme, you’ll likely face some degree of resistance near the beginning of your change. With willpower and keeping your focus on the gratitude instead of the depression (for example), your brain will adapt.
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- Consistency: Understand that with consistency, your brain will be forced to adapt to the new neural patterns that you present. Try to engage the new neural pathways for at least 15 minutes each time the “bad” (unwanted) thoughts occur. This shifts focus away from the bad, and onto the good, leading to permanent brain changes over time. This will eventually overpower feelings of depression due to the fact that the brain will be lighting up with happiness. Consistent effort is key to making the change.
- Brain changes: With consistent focused effort (or mental force), you can change the way your brain works. Over time, the brain changes become more solidified – the more you maintain the healthy behavior, the easier it is to maintain. This is why monks who practice mindfulness or forms of meditation involving compassion tend to rarely experience depression – their brains become so “wired” to feel positive emotions after years of practice. Similarly someone who constantly thinks depressive thoughts is further enhancing the neural pathways for depression.
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The article by Mental Health Daily: strongly pointed out that when doing any activities relating to Neuroplasticity, one must be careful who they use to help teach them, because if you don’t, you may be taught the wrong pattern, technique, intervention. The point they were trying to get across is that “in order for you to get the result you really want, it’s best to work with the best. If you are trying to overcome feeling depressed, find someone or multiple people that have successfully done it and implement their tips rather than trying to blindly guide yourself.”
but active participants
in our own process of perception"
-Nancy Kanwisher
There are various types of Self-Directed Neuroplasticity activities that can include mindfulness exercises, brain/intellectual activities, physical activities, brainwave entertainment including binaural beats, memory & attention training like Lumosity. In future articles I will cover some of these activities in more detail.
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So in closing, we understand that our brains remain plastic and it re-wires itself throughout our entire lives. With self-directed neuroplasticity exercises we can use these tools to consciously control how we want our brains to work. Wouldn’t you want to give direction to our brain so we can have a full and happy life? Why not start writing a gratitude journal because your brain can quickly adapt to experiences of gratitude or learn a new skill like learning a new language or learn to play a musical instrument? You have the power to make changes so why wouldn’t you try?
You clear your mind thought by thought.
You heal yourself moment by moment.
Today I make one drop, clear one thought,
and get present to one moment.
And then I do it again.”
-Lisa Wimberger
I will continue to cover other interventions for anxiety. I hope you will continue to join me in my journey to explore the world of anxiety and to see what can help anxiety disorder sufferers do so that they can live a more fulfilled and happier life. Thank-you for reading my article on Neuroplasticity: Self-Directed Neuroplasticity Exercises If you would like to follow me, please check HERE.
These are my previous article on Neuroplasticity & Anxiety if you are interested in reading it:
Neuroplasticity: Hope For People With Anxiety?
@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-hope-for-people-with-anxiety
Neuroplasticity: How to deal with Anxiety Disorders Like Panic Attacks
@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-how-to-deal-with-anxiety-disorders-like-panic-attacks
Neuroplasticity: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-cognitive-behavior-therapy-cbt
Neuroplasticity: Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy