I wrote a few days ago about the brain and how it can unlearn and let go of old thoughts/feeling patterns that bring anxiety, fear, shame, panic and the like. We can rewire the brain so we think and feel something better.
Remember I wrote about Hector and his crabs in Argentina?
What he discovered was simple. He put a group of crabs together then exposed them to a moving imagine of a predator. All of the crabs responded with appropriate fear. Later, they put the crabs back into the area, one by one, and some were shown the moving image of the predator again, and some were not. The ones who were not exposed experienced a strong mismatch in expectations: “this is where the bad guy shows up… whoa! There is no bad guy here!”
Emotional circuits in the brain can become “unlocked,” and erased, when a new, powerful experience mismatches what a reactivated emotional learning leads you to expect. It almost sounds like the movie, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, but in this case, the erasure can be done and you get to keep your narrative memory of events.
So, how do you erase the feelings that tag along with your traumatic memories? You have to have a mismatch experience and you must have time to relearn the new, positive experience.
The article I am culling this information from, gave a lot of examples. You can read them yourself here: The Emotional Brain
I am going to write down on a card my expected experiences I have in withdrawal. Then I am going to write a new card and see if I can unlock my circuits and learn a new response. We shall see.
If you take the time to read the article, what do you think you can do to help yourself with this new information? I am curious if anyone else gives this a shot.
Hope everyone is holding on.
We ARE healing, one day at a time.
Jen,
This is very interesting stuff and goes to the heart of what I think is the absolute cutting edge of science — the area of neuroplasticity. What we once thought — about the brain’s limitations in cases of damage and injury (TBI or stroke, e.g.) has been demonstrated to be completely wrong. Brain cells CAN regenerate. Neurons CAN and DO form new connections and allow for rewiring of the brain. If you have not read a book called “The Brain that Changes Itself” — do yourself a favor and read it. You will be blown away.
Bottom line for those in benzo withdrawal or otherwise suffering from brain trauma, there is so much reason to believe that we WILL GET BETTER that keeping your head up and eye on the ball is absolutely critical.
Thanks for posting this.
Be well,
Andy
Andy
thanks for the comment. That is a great book, indeed. There is so much now out there about the brain changing and healing. I love reading Evy Mcdonald’s story of healing. She healed herself of ALS! And Barbara Arrowsmith Young, who healed her brain from a horrific learning disability.
Our brains will heal. We just need time. A lot of it. And we need to surround ourselves with love and compassion. To feel it for ourselves and others, and to also receive it. For me, learning to receive was a big lesson. It was far easier to give.
Withdrawal is unpleasant. But we do learn some amazing lessons while walking through the valley of the shadow of death. 🙂
Hope you are doing well Andy.