Want to know simple ways to rewire the trauma brain? Read these 7 tips that can help. Rewiring your brain may sound complex, but it is possible. Keep reading!
7 Ways To Rewire Your Trauma Brain
1. Meditation
Before you start scrolling to the next tip, give this tip a chance. Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, shares how meditation can change your brain. She started with yoga when she had some running injuries and witnessed the impact yoga had on her physical and emotional health. Further research led her to find literature showing how meditation reduces stress levels, depression, insomnia, and just overall better life.
Listen to her Ted Talk, where she talks about how meditation can change your brain. Just like we go to the gym for our physical health, we must be doing things to fuel our mental health. When you think of meditation, most people think about sitting up straight for hours and chanting something. This could not be further from the truth. Meditation is about connecting yourself with the present moment. It teaches you how to quiet your mind.
When you think about the trauma brain and just dissociation, it is a way to cope for many. You avoid your uncomfortable emotions that are related to the traumatic event, disconnecting from the present surroundings. This helps in lowering your anxiety, shame, etc. This is why I recommend practicing this in conjunction with therapy. Meditation can surface the suppressed memories out of nowhere which could lead to further distress.
2. Gratitude
Take the time to count your blessings. We take so much for granted in our lives, and there are things we do not think about at all that takes us through our journey of life. For example, when was the last time you were thankful for your legs that take you everywhere? Or for your eyes, that allow you to see this beautiful world.
Thinking of what you are thankful for every day helps rewire your brain when faced with difficult situations. You want to train your brain to scan for positive things too. When you have a trauma brain, you may have trouble finding something to be thankful for. Notice your patterns next time. Are you immediately pointing out the negatives in situations?
3. Journaling
Journaling is an extremely powerful- yet underutilized- therapy tool. When rewiring our brains, we need more than just thinking positive and breathing exercises. While it most certainly helps to think good thoughts and focus on our breathing, the automatic thoughts we get don’t just go away because you voice our things you are thankful for.
Our thoughts determine how we feel, and if we can change our thoughts, we can change how we feel. Our brains recognize patterns, and it tends to pick up on things that make us uncomfortable. It does everything to avoid that discomfort, and it does this by creating ‘rules.’
Some example of rules-
- My worth is determined by the sacrifices I make.
- Anything less than perfect is not acceptable.
- I must be accepted by everyone all the time to be happy.
So what do you do about this? You journal. Journal and start noticing these automatic thoughts that come up. When you catch them early, they will lose their power to dictate how you will feel.
4. Setting Realistic Goals Everyday
Setting small goals that you can achieve on the same day or week is essential. It gives you a sense of purpose as you go through your day. For example, you are stretching every day for 20 minutes or journaling every night. When you reach the goal, you will feel accomplished about your day.
Most of us overwhelm ourselves with yearly or six-month goals and often forget about the small daily habits that create significant changes in our life. For example, instead of saying I will journal every day this year, break it down and get detailed. A better goal is ‘I will journal 3x a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 p.m.’
Also, figure out a way to track it. What is the point of doing all the work only, not reflecting on it? Tracking your goals will give you a realistic idea of what works and what does not work FOR YOU. Find that consistency and
5. Spend time in nature
This is another healing tip that is highly underutilized. Nature is a powerful healer. Nature therapy is a newer concept that is beneficial for your mind and body. In the world of technology, spending time in nature is a powerful way to reduce stress, anxiety, and just overall slowing down. Go for a walk, check out a new hiking site, touch the trees, flowers, feel the mud on your feet- CONNECT WITH NATURE. The goal is to be deeply aware of the present moment as you spend time in nature.
Connecting with nature is another way to rewire your brain. Of course, like anything, it takes time and practice. This sounds silly, and when thinking of trauma brain, you may think, does this work? I like to believe that the space that created us also has the space to heal us.
6. Learn about the power of Neuroplasticity
Childhood trauma can lead to changes in the brain. This newer concept of Neuroplasticity is what is extremely exciting and interesting. Research is showing that the brain under certain circumstances, is able to rewire itself.
Read What is Neuroplasticity. A Psychologist Explains to learn more.
7. Therapy
Last but not least, therapy. When paired with the rest of the 6 steps, therapy can lead you towards a journey of healing yourself. The amazing thing about therapy is it helps you separate the strings. What do I mean by that? Well, when you grow up in a toxic environment (and if you are anything like me), being confused about your experiences is extremely normal. It feels like there are so many thoughts and emotions going through your head that you don’t know how to connect them or make sense of things.
A therapist (a good therapist) will help you separate the strings and help you connect your current behaviors to your past experiences in an easier way to understand. When we think of rewiring our brains, having a safe space and professional help is so important.
Healing from childhood trauma can feel like a lifelong process. Learning more about the trauma brain and knowing there are ways to reverse some of the damage gave me hope. I had a lot of questions about starting this ‘healing journey.’ In the post 10 Things I knew Before I Started My Healing Journey, I share with you some tips.
