07 Sep The Brain Reframe

Lifting Oneself above Stressful & Traumatic Pasts

How do you handle stress? Slow burn?  Freak out?  Chill and composed?  Perhaps all three depending on the context and intervening forces.  Our brains are a remarkable thing, particularly because they can heal themselves with the right intervention.  This is the beautiful effect of emotional “Resilience.”  And yes, our personal genetic predispositions do influence how we manage stress and traumatic memories, but genetics tells only a small part of the story.

Enter the “Prefrontal Cortex” the single most heroic part of the brain.  Heroic because it has evolved to be what is perhaps the most practical, quick-learning and effective mediator of what we think and feel.  Moreover, it is flexible and adaptive, and through our harnessing of its capabilities, we can reprogram what seemed to be an emotional autopilot – relentlessly keeping us stuck on old, poorly formed beliefs and reactions.

All information from our body from limbs to our multiple senses are integrated and with our two brain hemispheres and our other lobes to essentially tell us what we are experiencing at any given time.  Interestingly, all our past and present information provides us with a “story” or explanation about how to feel and behave in any situation.  Some of this information was wired in as we grew up, some of our actions and response were wired in as we grew up – and so it is that we respond to life events, trauma, challenges or disappointments in a “Canned” and predictable way.  Not all is lost, though.  These responses we wired in over time help us to understand what we think we are experiencing, and it helps us to have an actual narrative about any given event, or even more so about any highly-charged event.  

Here comes the truly wonderful part: What was once wired can be rewired.  There are multiple therapies, technologies, activities and brain exercises, that are highly effective at doing the re-wiring.  There was a time when telephone used a switchboard operator to connect various parties to each other.  A cable would be plugged into the line for Joe Schmoe, and viola a connection was made and a conversation took place.  But if the incorrect connection was made, well, you know what happened.  New therapies can help unplug those misdirected, incorrect or faulty connections so that we have a new and more accurate understanding and reaction.  I’d like to share a few with you:

• Trauma and Body-Based therapies and techniques are some example we use at the Center to help redefine the range or zones of personal reaction to a given circumstance, memory or experience.  This way you can maintain a balanced and more appropriate set of behaviors.  In other words, you can respond in a less agitated or aggressive way.  Perhaps it means you are less likely to panic or become depressed or become emotionally shut down.

• Relational and Attachment therapies and techniques can be very effective in helping to more regularly generate oxytocin, a powerful hormone that keeps us calm and brings a sense of positive emotional connection.  This counteracts the stress hormones we generate for ourselves when we react to stressful memories or emotionally charged interactions in the present.

• Mindfulness Therapies help us to become better aligned and aware our own perspectives and the perspectives of others. This keeps us more attuned throughout our day so that we may be more balanced and response in our relationships. 

• Neuro-informed therapies are effective in teaching us how to use skills to engage effectively and comfortably for find meaningful support from others.  These technique are extremely valuable because they help us to “unlock” and use innate strengths to build our resilience.

At the risk of oversimplifying, let me say that these therapies we use at the Center are available for anyone who seeks to bring unexplained, harsh, or depressive behaviors and feelings under control.  What’s more, we can release these wired-in reactions and feel better about how we operate daily with others.  We often hybridize and combine these therapies to multiply the effect and outcomes, and we do this based upon each client’s individual needs.  We want you to get the Healthy Change you deserve.