The Neurology of Change
The neurology of change is a focus on the processing that must occur in your brain to accept and achieve change…hopefully for the better. This sequence of brain activation is required for you to achieve your goals and dreams; whether that is better health, more money, or spiritual growth. By becoming aware of the processing that occurs, we can “work on” our weaknesses and accelerate the whole process of accepting and achieving our wants, desires, goals, and dreams.
Processing begins, usually, in the frontal cortex, which is the cognitive, reasoning part of our brain. This is where a goal is initiated. It may be stimulated first by dissatisfaction, and then processed into a goal; but nonetheless, you must have a goal first. How this applies to health is that we must know exactly what you want out of your treatment: more energy, less pain, longevity, golfing 18 holes, or climbing a mountain. Setting clearly defined and believable goals.
The process may, as I mentioned, start in the Amygdala, the “fear” center of the brain, where dissatisfaction and motivation are carried toward your goal. Getting disturbed or dissatisfied are often the initiators or motivators of goals and action, as with a heart attack. “That’s not ok, I better change.” If you don’t want to wait for such a disturbing event, there are techniques to stimulate your motivation and to get you moving in the direction of your goal. For instance, you may have a mild desire for good health and longevity, but your poor energy levels are not enough motivation for you to take action. You’re “OK” with the way things are going. What if we consider the path you are on…low energy at age 40 is caused by something and that something may translate into dementia at age 67…that would motivate me!
Actions are initiated by the basal ganglia and can be stimulated by a goal and motivation producing that action plan. It doesn’t have to be a perfect action plan, just an action, preferably a different action from what you’ve been doing if you desire a different outcome. In health, that is where I come in, creating action steps based upon your current health, labs, and physical exam. We evaluate what is “off” and create a plan to increase GAP, general adaptation potential, and the health and life you desire.
The follow through is dependant upon the cingulate gyrus, the area of the brain that is stimulated by “observing your feedback.” Your feedback may be a retest of a lab, a body composition analysis, blood pressure reading, or simply how you feel. If we are accurate in our assessment, we will get positive feedback: you are feeling better, losing weight, gaining strength and flexibility, and your labs look better. Occasionally, we get negative feedback: we observe a weakness persisting, a lab that doesn’t change or gets worse, or you could even feel worse. The wonderful benefit to natural health care is that the treatments we offer are not dangerous. But if we do observe poor results, we take that feedback and rule out that treatment modality, and we have narrowed down our options to achieve your desired goal!
The temporal lobes are also a part of this subconscious “circuit,” and are stimulated by teamwork and accountability. You do not have to have me as your physician for this, but that would certainly be an example of accountability and teamwork. You can also get this effect with a trainer, partner or friend that works along side you. But, it is a crucial component of change to have an accountability partner in place.
WHAT IS YOUR WEAKNESS?
FRONTAL LOBE: These people are not typically goal oriented, they often struggle with maintaining focus and attention, get distracted easily, feel spacy and make careless mistakes, feel overwhelmed and scattered, and often create conflict in their lives. Emotions include helpless, vulnerable, “stuck,” and feeling sorry for yourself or others.
AMYGDALA: These people are often “OK” with the way things are, lack motivation to change, even when others see a clear need, feel hopeless, sadness or guilt. They tend to be negative or find the negative in many situations. Emotions include low self esteem, uncertainty, grief, and often suppressed feelings.
BASAL GANGLIA: These people are frozen in IN-Action. They want something but can’t get a hold of it, tend to focus on what can go wrong, fear looking dumb or bad, or hold back for fear of being judged. They tend to predict the worst. Common emotions are shame and feeling low.
CINGULATE GYRUS: These people are worriers, and tend to avoid or fear change, as well as avoid or fear conflict. They tend to be argumentative, and see only one “right” way. They are the people who always have a plan or are starting a project, but never seem to follow through or finish. Common emotions are anger and resentment.
TEMPORAL LOBES: These people tend to be irritable, even angry and prone to fits of rage. They tend to personalize comments and interactions with others, and have a feeling that others are working against them. They often have difficulty communicating and/or working with others. They may have “dark thoughts” about death and dying. Common emotions include fear and paralyzed will.
REMEMBER, THIS IS A CIRCUIT. So, each area of the brain feeds into the other. But if you are struggling, there is probably one area that is the “most obvious” weakness. If you work on your weakness, you will most likely facilitate the whole process.
Site design and development by Function Advertising™, Asheville, NC - More Information
