OK, so I have the coolest hair stylist. We're at opposite ends of the political spectrum and that's part of the connection & fun... he's a grandpa - part of my generational cohort... and we talk about just about everything under the sun. I suspect he's another self-motivated learner. I like him & his wife & crew a whole bunch. So yesterday, as us oldsters are wont, we started talking about neuroscience again... and he reminded me of a previous conversation we had about one of his new-age-y heroes. This guy, Neil Slade worked with some brain scientist, musician nut from our generation by the name of "Lingo".
They're pushing this practical "experiment" that people can try at home on themselves. It's called "Tickling the Amygdala"... Long story short: one is supposed to be able to retrain the brain to "feel better" with this technique... to be more creative, cooperative, even less negative; less anxious... simply by practicing this easy visualization that effectively re-orients one's neural pathways from always seeking the negative first. This overlaps with the subject of some of the books I've read, and seems to be based on the concept of neural plasticity. So there might actually be something to it - but I'm still skeptical.
My guess is that this will work better for folks that also have a high level of suggestibility, or who think in associations more often than linear, causal logic patterns. Maybe that's a description of creative types... but it's not the complete description. Anyway - here's the link to the full explanation and description for anyone who's curious or doesn't have something better to do. I'm interested in hearing from people about whether they notice any effects, whether you tried it once and walked away from it or started really noticing a difference. I'm going to try it too... because it overlaps with something my T taught me; seems very similar.
http://www.neilslade.com/Papers/viewzone/BrainMagicView.htmlThis was something she showed me how to do, to deal with my anxiety levels... get them back down to bearable, garden-variety, obsessive worrying that I could talk about. Even that last part left after awhile too. One simply sits comfortably in a chair and does a basic body relaxation technique - tensing and relaxing different parts of the body, working from the toes on up... while one holds your hands together in a loose ball - all fingers/thumbs touching, lightly as if you're holding something round, fluffy and very, very delicate in them... maybe a kitten? A giant seed puff? And breathing in a meditative, comfortable pattern, letting your hands expand and contract with your ribcage...
I don't need to do the above anymore; not unless I'm in a very stressful situation... but it worked very, very quickly for me. And I was able to reduce the initial 2 minute time limit we set on this... down to a few seconds, and still obtain the needed relaxation effect. I guess the theory is, that we disrupt the amygdala's tried & true initiation of the flight/fight/freeze effect... and redirect the attention to the frontal cortex... simply with focus, attention, and concentration - and that it doesn't require a lot of time... just enough repetition (which will vary person to person) to break the old neural pathway habit.
The other part of the theory -- and this is where I'm most skeptical I think -- is that this simple retraining can also change our emotional habits... thereby "improving our lives" by providing more pleasant emotions. (I'm know that's not enough to "improve" people's lives if they're barely making ends meet financially.) Anyone know if there is only one brain area involved in emotions? Or if it's alot more complex than that...?? I'm leaning toward the latter.
I know this sounds rediculously "airy-fairy" and like "magical thinking" almost. Absurd. But I also know that my T's exercise was an absolute life-saver for me at that time. It worked, every time... until I didn't need it. So far as I know, neuroscience hasn't figured out exactly how brain activity & thought disruption create or change emotions. I believe that our physical body has some impact on this also... but these are all parts of the same larger machine or bio-system of ourselves. My thought is that our emotional selves... our "feeling being"... is produced by and dependent on the functioning of the rest of our selves... because I know it works in reverse, via my psychosomatic symptoms.
Anyway, I thought I'd share the link... since we've touched on this a few times... and maybe a few of you will try it and let me know what you think. Hold off deciding if there's anything to it... until you've tried it... let's say 10 times. I don't think once is enough for most of us to notice anything... but I also don't want anyone to waste their time, either.
Thanks!
