In my last blog post I had a look at what affirmations are. Basically, affirmations are any repetitive thought or belief that we tell ourselves. Some are positive and some are negative. And most of us have an abundance of the negative ones!
Affirmations will change the shape of your brain.
I have to admit, I do love geeking out about science, especially neuroscience. The main reason I did a Bachelor of Science in Psychology was to learn about how the brain affects the body. (Of course that’s not taught much in a BSc Psych. Neuroscience – the science of how the brain works – would have been a better choice! Ahhh youth.)
Luckily for geeks like me there have been some stunning advancements in the study of neuroscience over the past ten years. Everything from brain plasticity, emotional intelligence and the physical manifestations of the counselling relationship! All amazing, and all confirming what us love hippies have believed for years about the huge benefits of meditation, the power of positive affirmations and how your emotions can affect your physical health. (I’m a science geek love hippy. Yep, that’s a thing now.)
Brain pathways and molecules of emotions
Neuroscience sounds like a complicated beastie but there are many ways for us to understand it and apply it to our daily lives. So, for example: thoughts travel along a pathway of neurons. As the thought travels along the pathway of neurons it repeatedly changes form. Within the neuron it travels as a tiny electrical charge and when it gets handed to the next neuron on the path it travels as a chemical transmitter. These chemical transmitters also have an emotional charge; they’ve been described as molecules of emotion. And, you guessed it, negative emotion molecules make us feel bad, sad and angry (and even sick) while positive emotion molecules give us a happy dose of endorphins.
Habitual thought patterns and hard wiring
Any thought that we think without thinking is a habitual thought pattern. An automatic response to a situation or stimulus. The saying in neuroscience (said originally by neuropsychologist Donald Hebb as far back as 1949) is that “Neurons that fire together, bond together.” This means that a habitual response to a situation gets more and more ingrained as the neurons get more and more bonded together. This works for both the negative and the positive affirmations. Every experience, thought, emotion and physical sensation triggers a neural network of thousands of neurons.
The mind you have today is not the mind you’ll have tomorrow.
The great news is that these neural networks are changing all the time. They are not fixed in time and space, they are mutable and ever evolving. Of course, if you have repeatedly told yourself that you are unlovable it takes more than a one off positive affirmation to reshape that neural network. But over time, and repetitive use of positive affirmations you are creating new thought patterns that will change the wiring of your brain. It’s called brain plasticity and it can work for you.
One simple practice, daily in front of a mirror, is to say to your reflection “I love you, I really love you.” If saying that is too challenging, change gears down and state to your reflection “I am willing to love you.” Saying this will start the process of reshaping your brain so that you can become kinder to yourself. And when you are kinder to yourself great changes will start to manifest in your life.
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At Penrith Counselling women are supported and nurtured by strengths based holistic counselling and Reiki energy healing. Click here for more information. You’re worth it
Alison Howarth is a member of the Australian Counselling Association.