You can HEAL your Brain
I really enjoy my morning routine of sitting in the early sunshine in my backyard doing my favorite grounding mediation where I gently notice what I can take in with each of my five senses.
It’s a simple, but potent, practice of naming what I can see, hear, feel, smell and taste. I especially love basking in the stark contrast of the brilliant blue sky with my deep kelly-green lawn.
This mindfulness practice is a way for me to calm my mind and to focus on the day ahead with intention and peace. And we often need strategies to calm and focus our minds when we struggle with fibromyalgia, am I right?
I am always on the lookout for ways to calm my overactive nervous system, aren’t you?
That’s why I’m so excited to share with you information I learned this summer in two continuing education courses I completed, taught by psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson on the topic of positive neuroplasticity.
What is Positive Neuroplasticity?
Positive neuroplasticity is basically the brain’s superpower. Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to continue to adapt and develop throughout the lifespan. For example, the ability of the neural networks of the brain to change through growth and reorganization, is well known in the treatment of stroke victims and those with traumatic brain injuries. We can also utilize the knowledge of neuroplasticity as a tool to help manage our fibromyalgia and chronic pain and thus see a significant improvement in our sleep, fatigue, pain and brain fog.
“Dr. Andrew Weil, wellknown integrative physician, teacher and speaker says it so well, “Among other things, neuroplasticity means that emotions such as happiness and compassion can be cultivated in much the same way that a person can learn through repetition to play golf and basketball or master a musical instrument, and that such practice changes the activity and physical aspects of specific brain areas.”
And as Elizabeth Thornton, Professor of Management Practice and CEO of Global Initiative of Objective Leadership notes, “Because of the power of neuroplasticity, you can, if 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 your experience.”
Positive neuroplasticity is a superpower indeed!
So, how can we harness this power to better manage our health and well-being?
Dr. Hanson has organized the principles of positive neuroplasticity into a program called “Taking in the Good” as described below. Rather than feeling helpless and victimized in the face of our distressing symptoms we can develop a better understanding of what we can do to help ourselves feel better. This gives a us a greater sense of control and optimism.
His book, based on the latest findings in neuroscience, Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence is an excellent resource and would be a valuable addition to your home library. [1]
The Four Steps of Taking in the Good
You know the expression, “you are what you eat”? It’s also true that “we are what we remember and think about”. Negative experiences register immediately because they are related to our very survival. But positive experiences generally have to be held in awareness for 5-10-20 seconds for them to register in emotional memory.
“Taking in the good” is the deliberate internalization of positive experiences in implicit memory. Explicit memory is the recollection of specific events. Implicit memory is in your ‘gut’. It is visceral, felt, powerful and rooted in the fundamental structures of your brain. It involves four simple steps:
1. Have a positive experience.
2. Enrich it.
3. Absorb it.
4. Link positive and negative material. This step is optional.
When you focus on the good, you’re not denying or resisting the bad. You’re simply acknowledging, enjoying, and using the good. You’re aware of the whole truth, all the tiles of the mosaic of life, not only the negative ones. You recognize the good in yourself, in others, in the world, and in the future we can make together. And when you choose to, you take it in. [2]
Psychotherapist, Dr. Lois Horowitz provides a great summary of the HEAL process adapted from the book Hardwiring Happiness. [3]
When you’re actually taking in the good, the three or four steps tend to blend together, but when you’re first learning this practice, it helps to be clear about what is specifically happening within each one.
STEP 1. Have a positive experience. Notice a positive experience that’s already present in the foreground or background of your awareness, such as a physical pleasure, a sense of determination, or feeling close to someone. Or create a positive experience for yourself. For example, you could think about things for which you’re grateful, bring to mind a friend, or recognize a task you’ve completed. As much as you can, help ideas like this become emotionally rewarding experiences; otherwise, it’s merely positive thinking.
STEP 2. Enrich it. Stay with the positive experience for five to ten seconds or longer. Open to the feelings in it and try to sense it in your body; let it fill your mind. Enjoy it. Gently encourage the experience to be more intense. Find something fresh or novel about it. Recognize how it’s personally relevant, how it could nourish or help you, or make a difference in your life. Get those neurons really firing together, so they’ll really wire together.
STEP 3. Absorb it. Intend and sense that the experience is sinking into you as you sink into it. Let it really land in your mind. Perhaps visualize it sifting down into you like golden dust, or feel it easing you like a soothing balm. Or place it like a jewel in the treasure chest of your heart. Know that the experience is becoming part of you, a resource inside that you can take with you wherever you go.
STEP 4. Link positive and negative material (optional). While having a vivid and stable sense of a positive experience in the foreground of awareness, also be aware of something negative in the background. For example, when you feel included and liked these days, you could sense this experience making contact with feelings of loneliness from your past.
If the negative material hijacks your attention, drop it and only focus on the positive; when you feel recentered in the positive, you can let the negative also be present in awareness if you like.
Whenever you want, let go of all negative material and rest only in the positive. Then, to continue uprooting the negative material, a few times over the next hour be aware of only neutral or positive material while also bringing to mind neutral things (e.g., people, situations, ideas) that have become associated with the negative material.
You Can HEAL Your Brain: An Example
My client, Kelly, from Denver, Colorado learned first-hand about the power of positive neuroplasticity and the HEAL framework.
As she was in long drawn out process of retiring from her high profile and very demanding job in academia, she struggled to accept the concern and support of several of her female colleagues. She found herself stuck in old patterns of finding something to be anxious about which only aggravated her symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Instead, one day during a coaching session we went through the HEAL process together. I asked her to take a few moments to have the positive experience, to accept and acknowledge how lovely it is to receive care and support from her colleagues.
Then, I guided her to enrich the experience by opening up to the gratitude she felt for being supported and to let that felt experience register in her body.
Next, I encouraged her to absorb and savor the calming, solid confidence that flows from letting the support of her friends and colleagues sink into her mind and body.
Finally, we talked about how she can link this positive experience of being supported with negative childhood memories of not feeling supported by her mother. This allows her to gradually uproot and heal hurtful memories from growing up.
The HEAL process was instrumental in helping her acknowledge and take in the good things that were happening in the midst of a tumultuous retirement process.
As Kelly was able to take in more feelings of calm, confidence and contentment her body was not so tense, she was able to relax more easily which improved the quality and quantity of her sleep, which in turn caused a positive spiral of greater health and overall well-being.
Kelly recently completed nearly 2 1/2 years in my Flourishing with Fibromyalgia Wellness Coaching program and she had this to say about her experience:
“Despite being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2008, I struggled to make my health a priority. My identity was wrapped up in my high-stress job and in serving others, and those situations always came first. I found Robin after a health episode that left me feeling especially alarmed – I knew I would have a hard time making real changes without help. In my work with Robin, she provided me with an essential combination of empathy, insight, humor, and occasionally tough love.
I felt understood and supported, while also challenged to consider my most deeply held beliefs about my responsibilities and obligations. Robin guided me through a process that led to a part-time schedule and ultimately to retirement on my terms so I could focus on my health. This was completely the right decision for me, and I would not have made it without Robin’s support. Robin, thank you for meeting me where I was and walking with me to where I needed to be!”
With love and appreciation – Kelly
Are you, like Kelly, struggling to make your health your true priority?
Are you wondering if working with me could make a difference in the quality of your life?
I would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about your journey with fibromyalgia to see if I could be of help. You can schedule a Free Breakthrough Session HERE.
References:
[1] Rewiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence by Rick Hanson, PhD (Harmony, 2013).
[2] https://www.rickhanson.net
[3] https://www.lhorowitz.com/rick-hanson-heal-yourself/