EP 539: Neuroplasticity: What it is and Why it Might Matter (A lot) to You

After that heavy episode about my own trauma yesterday, it feels good to me to talk today about some good old neuroscience! Until pretty recently - like the mid-nineties - it was widely accepted in the fields of neuroscience and psychology that once our brains were fully developed (around age 25), that was the brain that we carried with us for the rest of our lives. No new brain cells could be generated. And all the synaptic connections of our brain were fixed and static for the rest of our lives. Well thankfully we now know much more about the brain and the quality of the brain called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is just a fancy word that describes the way our brains can be molded, through experience (as well as through thought and intention!) In today’s episode, I talk about how this works and how we can remodel our brains for health and well being: So what does this mean to you in your moment-to-moment experience? It means that if you’re shy and fearful in social situations, you can practice to become more bold and comfortable… If you have trouble recognizing social cues, you can become more socially aware… If you’re someone who often succumbs to road rage, you can become someone who is more patient and understanding on the road… And these changes can happen on the level of the function of your brain! So it’s not about ‘remembering’ to be patient with that jerk who cut you off this morning. Instead of having to remember anything, neuroplasticity tells us that this can become an automatic emotional response for you. All it takes is practice. To learn the specific practices required to make the changes you want to make in your life, claim your free coaching session with me here and let me help you: https://calendly.com/artburns/45-min-coaching-session