"Understanding how your
mind can heal your
brain."
Hope for brain injury.
What is "brain?"
-Chemicals and electrical signals in that lump of
meat that sits in our skulls.
-A part of the nervous system that is distributed
throughout the body.
What is "Mind?"
An
embodied
relational process
that regulates the flow of
information and energy. -Dan Seigel
Mindfulness is the mind's ability to be gently
aware of this process.
Two key ways the mind can help the
brain rewire
Neuroplasticity
Neurogenesis
What is neuroplasticity?
"Neuro" Greek for nervous system
"Plasticity" means plastic or malleable (like
clay, it can be shaped).
Thus neuroplasticity is having a malleable
nervous system (brain) - for better or worse (eg
kindling vs the dalai lama).
What is neurogenesis?
"Neuro" = Brain/Nervous system
"Genesis" = to be born
Neurogenesis is the birth of new brain cells.
Yes it's possible!
Brain Overview
Image Triune Brain
What is the job of the reptilian brain?
"The reptilian brain was the first part of the modern
brain to develop in evolution. It operates behind
the scenes, regulating our survival needs: food,
oxygen, heart rate, blood pressure and
reproduction, among many others.
The brainstem is like a bodyguard who's always
watching your back, constantly scanning the
environment for potential threats. The reptilian
brain also decides whether you will move into fight
or flight."
Source: http://www.myshrink.com/counseling-theory.php?t_id=86
What is the limbic brain?
The emotional brain or the "seat of the
unconscious" holds the amygdala and the
hippocampus.
The amygdala (size and shape of an almond)
can often be overactive in MTBI and PTSD. It
plays a role in emotional learning as well as
procedural memory.
The Hippocampus
The hippocampus regulates cortisol, a hormone
that is elevated by stress and fear/anxiety.
Too much stress leads to imbalances in cortisol
that can be related to the shrinking or lessoning
of the hippocampus (atrophy).
The Unhappy Hippocampus and the
Overactive Amygdala
The hippocampus is responsible for memory to
have a sense of past, present and future.
It is the seat of declarative/explicit memory
(factual information).
It is important in filtering what information is
important and what is irrelevant.
The Hippocampus and Neurogenesis
We once thought that the brain cells one is
born with were all that you had to work with and
that they died off as one aged.
By tagging thymadine with a dye we have
discovered that the hippocampus is where new
brain cells are first born.
Even in 90 years olds and even with brain
injury.
The Power of the Mind
By using our mind (spirit/will) to
effort calming ourselves the new
cells born in the hippocamus can
help the brain forge new pathways
(neuroplasticity).
How to help new cells not do the
same old thing.
One way in which the mind can help heal the
brain can be found in developing a strong skill
set of mindful based tools.
Mindfulness is one powerful way to help the
brain (part of the nervous system) to regulate
cortisol levels and acheive homeostasis.
The Mindful Brain: A Key
Having mastery over ways to be calm is one
way to help new brain cells being born in the
hippocampus not be drenched in cortisol so
that they do the same ole thing.
Mindfulness is a key to reverse atrophy in the
hippocampus so it can be robust and an ally.
Mindfulness assists the emotional
brain in regulating
A happy hippocampus:
-helps with working memory,
-differentiation between the past and present
-filtering important vs ineffective information
-keeps the amygdala from going bonkers
-constructs a resilient narrative
How to develop a mind that can help
heal the brain:
1. Research shows changes in the brain after
ten hours of focusing on the breath in short
sittings (fifteen minutes).
2. Being successful does not require being
focused. Rewiring happens each time we bring
the wandering mind back to the breath.
PT for the brain!
When your mind wanders come back
to the breath.
Inhale 1 2 3 4 5
Exhale 1 2 3 4 5
Being with the Breath
Inhale (count), hold, exhale (count).
Don't feel defeated everytime you
catch your mind wandering.
That's the important part. When you catch
yourself and come BACK to the breath you
strengthen the brain muscle.
Brain muscle?
Mindfulness exercises help strengthen muscles
for positive neuroplasticity like the insula which
is part of the prefrontal cortex.
The dalai lama has Arnold Shwartzeneger
muscles in the insula.
The neocortex embraces the
emotional and reptilian brain.
When the limbic brain is flooded then the
neocortex cannot be accessed.
When this happens guess what we lose?
Executive function.
Executive Function tasks include:
Planning
Working Memory
Attention
Problem Solving
Verbal Reasoning
Inhibition
Mental Flexibility
Task Switching
Executive function is sometimes
called a non-cognitive skill
This is because emotional regulation (noncognitive skill) is the balance between a happy
hippocampus and a hearty prefrontal cortex.
Multiple variables that can make
executive function difficult to use.
1. Developmental obstacles (eg SES factors)
2. Attachment (e.g. caregivers with depression,
substance abuse, a hx of trauma)
3. PTSD/dissociation
4. MTBI/TBI
These are all ways the brain can be injured
Indeed MTBI and PTSD symptoms
are often the same
Common examples of PTSD include:
AVOIDANCE
-Avoiding things that bring up memory such as
movies or tv that have images that remind you
of something
-Avoiding peole with red beards or hamburger
joints if something distressing happened
The dark side of neuroplasticity
The limbic system can kindle. Or one fear
based or avoidant thought re-enforces another.
This can lead to isolation because men with red
beards and hamburger joints can lead to
avoiding all men with facical hair and all public
eaterys.
Thus fear and anger can wire our brains in a
way that is a disservice to our well being.
Thankfully our mind does not only exist in the
brain but just as much in the heart.
And there is a lot of of science to this statement
specific to the vagal nerve and to
neuropeptides such as oxytocin and
vassopresin but let me cut to the chase.
The Heart is an Intelligence
Processing Center
It's electromagnetic field is measured at five
times greater then that of the brain!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=1XqPhoRKPWw
One amazing tool of mindfulness practice is
cultivating heart intelligence.
For example, the heart may have a habit of
racing when introduced to a stressor. (Low
heart rate variance [HRV]).
By working with the breath and slowing down a
frantic brain the heart's intelligence can be
accessed (High HRV).
Mindfulness repatterns the heart.
Research finds the more steady and even your
attention can make the heart the more willpower rather then impulsivity can guide your
life.
Will power is intrinisic to agency (person-hood),
volition (choice). These "non-cognitive skills"
are at the "heart" of executive function.
The Reflective Self
Becoming heart centered means we are able to
feel with others in a way science calls "Flow"
that is at the heart of healthy relationships.
The mind is responsbile for flow. The brain and
heart are the minds "helpers."
Lovingkindness
Another major way the mind can
heal the brain with the heart's help is
through a practice called loving
kindness.
What is lovingkindness?
Lovingkindness is a practice in which we wish
others and ourselves well being. Practiced by
the dalai lama.
You don't have to be the dalai lama
to know this kind of happiness.
Research (Richard Davidson) shows that eight
minutes a day of loving kindness practice
rewires the brain.
Let's practice together now.
Sharing my experience of rewiring
I was first introduced to the ways the mind can
heal the brain through a neuroscientist named
Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz. Dr. Schwartz discovered,
with brain imaging, the ways in which 21 days
of mindfulness based behavioral therapy and
his own process called "The Four Steps" could
rewire the brain.
The seed was planted
I was so impacted by Dr. Schwartz I gave up a
successful career in the film industry to study
psychology, particularly the field of trauma.
Thus I came into my experience with
a deep certainty that I was not stuck.
This is the first step to share with you:
To believe in your own potential to transform
and to perservere in trying and trying and
trying.
Here are are some keys tools that helped me
rewire.
Somatic Experiencing
Created by Peter Levine, this is a form of
therapy that helps the nervous system calm
and heal. It is not talk therapy. It is a subtle
and powerful tool.
The person I worked with:
There are different styles and ways to offer S.E.
My experience was lying on a massage table
and being well nurtured by someone named
Sally Thomas, an OT who was trained in a four
year program by Peter Levine. I asked Sally to
be available today so that, if you are interested
you can connect with her. Sally, will you stand
up?
Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback is a kind of therapy in which
electrodes are put on your head. They do not
stimulate you, they read your brainwaves.
Then you listen to tones and watch a computer
screen for feedback This feedback teaches
your brain when it's in it's optimal zone.
The qEEG controversy
There are lots of ways to do neurofeedback but
if you have TBI you know your brain is not
typical. Thus it is important to take great care
before you start altering the electromagnetic
field of your brain.
It's important to have your brain
imaged with a qEEG
Although many wonderful programs exist that
are automatic, when using neurofeedback with
TBI, though it is an expense, it is not safe or
wise to work with a practitioner who is not
reviewing your qEEG and tailoring treatment to
your own unique brain's needs.
Crystal Bowl Meditation
I also utilzyed a form of sound therapy in which
someone played large bowls for one hour each
week to help me repattern my nervous system.
Crystal bowls are not just sound therapy.
Being lined with crushed quartz they have a
strong electromagnetic vibration. Not for the
faint of heart but very powerful.
Crystal Bowl Resource
I asked Kelly Maccinnis to be here today so
that you can find him as a resource.
Kelly plays weekly at Om Time and Body
Dynanmics. He has a table out in the resource
area.
So, as we conclude let's revisit
where we began.
We began by taking a moment to connect with
one another. We then talked about the ways
the brain can wire/connect in new and
constructive ways you can direct with your
mind.
Revisiting Mind
Mind
REGULATES
information and energy.
This is a
Relational
Embodied
Process.
-Dan Siegel
MINDFULNESS
By following the guidelines of
mindfulness practice (slowing down,
focusing on the breath), the brain
can learn to make new
CONNECTIONS.
LOVING KINDNESS
By becoming heart centered we get out of our
miserable egos and learn how to be more fully
and vitally connected to the world around us.
Having a "broken brain" does not
mean having a diminished heart
If anything, those who have been through the
hardship of TBI have a much bigger and more
generous heart.
Loving kindness helps us CONNECT to the
world around us in constructive and meaningful
ways.
As you can see, it is all about
CONNECTION.
Suffering comes from a sense of isolation.
As we conclude, look around you. Think back
to the beginning of this presentation when you
connected with a neighbor.
As you go into your day, connect with one
another with a generous spirit. See what new
connections might be possible.
CONNECT WITH:
ELENORE SNOW
[email protected]
720 443 2732
Slides available upon request.
Let's talk questions!