Posted on December 15th, 2009
A little knowledge goes a long way.
This is how understanding the brain recently helped me.
I moved to a new area – a state I’ve never lived in and visited only twice in my lifetime – where I didn’t know a soul and didn’t even know anyone who knew someone here and therefore could introduce me to. Everything was different.
Some people like change. I’m not one of them. My brain truly loves setting up my life and environment so that it is as predicable and consistent as possible – like a stable and firm foundation of a house. Then I can add on to that life and environment – just as I can build on that foundation by adding on new rooms, decorating them, organizing them.
If I didn’t understand that seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, experiencing so many NEW stimuli would cause NEW neural connections in my brain… if I didn’t know that the creation of those new neural connections being made in my brain would result in my experiencing physical feelings of frustration, anxiety, and distress (“F.A.D.”)… if I wasn’t able to say to myself when I was having those feelings of F.A.D. “Oh, more new neural connections!,” I probably would have had to curl up into the fetal position in the corner.
But, I didn’t have to curl up into the fetal position in the corner because I understood.
New Experiences cause F.A.D. in the beginning. Repeat those New Experiences over and over… the F.A.D. will gradually (gradually) decrease (so, don’t expect to repeat once and the F.A.D. will completely go away)… pretty soon the New Experiences are familiar, comfortable, habitual. It’s just the way the brain work!!
A little knowledge goes a long way.