How to Not Circle the Drain: Keeping it Together in the 21st Century

Become the Sculptor of Your Brain

 Your Brain is a Moving Art Installation:  Change is Possible!

As a practicing social worker and psychotherapist, I find that there are many useful concepts and revelations from the burgeoning field of neuroscience that are applicable to my practice. The most exciting and valuable information for me is quite simply, the idea that we can influence the way that our brain changes throughout the life cycle.  The past twenty years have been an explosion in the field and the previous information that the adult brain did not produce new neurons and that the structure of the brain is immutable and static is erroneous.  Clients often ask me if I really believe that people in general, and them specifically, can actually change.  Considering the advances in the fields of neuroscience and neuropsychology, I can now respond to that question with an emphatic “yes,” that people can and do change, and this is supported by scientific research and related findings.

You do not need an extensive knowledge of the brain in order to reap benefits from the knowledge that is infiltrating numerous fields, including medicine and psychology.  A neuron is a cell that serves to transmit signals in the body.  Neurons are the building blocks of the nervous system.  A Canadian psychologist named Donald Hebb observed in the mid-twentieth century that “cells that wire together, fire together.”  When neurons fire at the same time, the connection between them becomes stronger.  The firing of the first neuron raises the probability of the second one firing in turn.  Humans can essentially grow and produce new neuronal material, and new connections may be constructed between the neurons, so essentially we really are works in progress, under construction!

The term neuroplasticity refers to this capacity of the brain to change the patterns of energy and information in response to new experience (Siegel, 2006).  So, our experiences in the external world combine with our internal experience of thoughts and emotion to actually sculpt our brain in new ways.  Our current neural wiring may be quite strong in certain areas, and we can see the evidence in our habitual ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.  I encourage client’s to expect the “undertow” of the brain’s wiring to appear in a repetitive way, and not to be shocked by its sometimes seeming persistence. 

As repetition is the key to forming a pattern or neural pathway, so is repetition the route to modification.  The spirit of kindness to the self in this process is essential, as change comes in increments, and often not at the pace that we desire.  Imprints of anger, sadness, disappointment and other potentially troublesome states may be quite ingrained.  It may be helpful to reflect on the optimism that actually being able to generate a new imprint inspires.  Consistent attempts to forge a new neural imprint will indeed take significant repetition, just as establishing existing patterns was a product of repetition.  I just repeated myself, so the repetition idea is really kicking in!

When I attended a graduate program of social work, one of the first concepts to be introduced was the person-in-environment.  The concept resonated for me as I was opposed to the idea of a reductionist inner view of human problems as solely attributable to inner pathology, or problems within the individual.  The interaction of the human and the host environment resonated deeply for me and broadened the assessment of client’s strengths and challenges in a wide context.  Person-in-environment introduced me to the dynamic and interactive nature of the person and their culture, generation, surroundings, circumstances, fellow human travelers, etc.  Modern neuroscience posits the idea that our brains are impacting and impacted by the totality of our experiences and interactions with others.  This dynamic exchange serves as a sculpting force for the brain. 

Consider different periods of development in your life and how your interactions with certain individuals and environments shaped your thoughts, behavior, and world view.  Consider your current companions, coworkers, family, and  friends in the light of influencing each other’s brain activity.  That could be comforting in some instances and quite dreadful and scary in others!  In summary, your lifestyle, the company you  keep, your environment, your thoughts, and the way that you move through the world produce changes in your brain.  The capacity of the brain to produce new neurons does diminish with age, but the brain retains the capacity during the whole of life.  This presents a hopeful challenge that we may train our minds in the best interest of the self and others. 

The key in changing the brain is focusing our attention, what neuroscientist Richard Davidson calls the “gateway to plasticity.”  You can consider your own experience and see that what you pay attention to is heightened and amplified.  If I think about my boss and consistently list what I perceive to be her shortcomings, that is how I will formulate my imprint about her.  If I direct my focus to the ways that she is helpful and encouraging, that will make an imprint of a different sort.  I like the fact that I can redirect my attention to the way that I prefer to sculpt my ever-changing brain, and that I am an active participant in the process.  The activities of attention and focus are integral to the concept of neuroplasticity.  So be sure to pay close attention to what you would like to change and maintain focus while working with new ways that feel better!  Let’s proceed to implementation.  My inspiration for the following techniques is  influenced by the work of the renowned neuropsychologist Rick Hanson. 

Real Time Test Drive:  Observe yourself in a habitual mode of thought and behavior.  A current example that I am working with is scooping the litter from my cat’s litter box and/or changing it out completely.  I have noticed that I get fairly grumpy when I complete this daily, and weekly task.  I can feel a constriction in my thought process and a related tension in my body.  I redirect by superimposing an image of my cat when I first found him as a sick little stray.  I remember calling him and this little fur-ball came running like a dog.  My friends and I laughed because it was so cute and endearing.  So my signal to generate the loving image is my complaining thought process and bodily tension.  Pick a current rut that you are replaying.  Superimpose an image that produces better thoughts and feelings.  Repeat whenever the old habit emerges.  Ask yourself:  “What are you paying attention to?  Where is your focus?”  Flip the switch, fire in a new and positive direction, and be patient!

Blast From the Past Test Drive:  Pick an uncomfortable or distressing memory from childhood or your teenage years.  Feel the bodily sensations that accompany the memory and the attendant thoughts.  Superimpose an image that is pleasing and comforting.  If your memory consists of a cruel or critical person, substitute the image of a loving and supportive person.  Picture the distressing image as fading to the background, and let the positive image get stronger and move into the foreground.

I use the example of my memory of having a spinal tap as a child when I was hospitalized for pneumonia, and a particularly unkind and impatient nurse who made the situation feel more unsafe.  Previously, when I was anticipating a blood drawn or an injection, I would get a flash of the pain and terror I felt at that time.  Now I superimpose an image of a kind medical professional, a phlebotomist whose touch made the procedure barely perceptible and who made me laugh while she completed the blood draw.  I direct the negative nurse image to recede to the background and and let the pleasant image occupy front and center.  Sometimes, I counteract the feelings of that childhood helplessness with an image of me being in control of my own experience in the present day.  This helps to ground me and dilute the potency of the negative association.  Practice the repetition of switching up the images and feeling states.  Forge a new imprint and sculpt the living human artwork that is you!