Neuroplasticity is a fundamental concept in the study of chronic pain, as well as in the field of coaching. The term describes the brain’s ability to adapt to habits by forming new neuron connections, as well as changing existing neuron patterns. What this means is that the brain can be trained to behave in a manner that is desired and can also be programmed to avoid negative patterns.
Chronic pain involves the formation of a tremendous number of neuron connections in the brain that are used exclusively to experience suffering. In essence, the brain is focused on feeling pain and therefore, the person becomes increasingly affected by these nonstop signals of agony.
Likewise, all the habits that come about as a result of chronic pain and illness also wire the brain towards negative thoughts and perceptions and these translate directly into negative behaviors.
The longer a person has pain or illness, the more ingrained these neurological passageways become, until they are hardwired as the default neurological connections that fire virtually nonstop. To put it simply, chronic pain has programmed the brain to place these sufferings in the forefront of the mind, since the person has developed an ever-increasing obsession with their symptoms.
All the bad habits associated with chronic pain worsen this working process exponentially, since the conscious mind is laser-focused on the pain at all times, thereby telling the brain that this is the most important thing in life to experience. In this regard, neuroplasticity is your current enemy. The process has helped aggrandize your pain and has made it the nucleus of your world.
However, not everything about neuroplasticity is so bleak. In fact, it is this same process that can save you from chronic pain, lasting illness and the diversity of negative life factors that universally accompany the suffering.
Neuroplasticity can be harnessed as a tool for positive change. This is where coaching comes into the picture. Through coaching, we utilize techniques and practices that are specially designed and incredibly effective for rewiring the chronic pain brain. To put it simply, we utilize the same process that caused the pain to become all-consuming in order to lessen its effects on us and our lives.
Science has proven beyond doubt that we can retrain our brains to experience less pain. We can therefore prevent pain from taking control of our world. We can also build new positive habits to replace the old problematic ones that result in negative automatic reactions in our lives.
Although this topic is fascinating from a scientific perspective, there is no need to get into the technical aspects of how the biology of it actually works. We are learning coaching here, not neuroscience.
What truly matters most is that neuroplasticity does work, so any brain can be reprogrammed to decrease the importance of pain signals, while increasing the importance of positive reinforcing emotions, thoughts and behaviors. The result is decreased suffering, increased productivity, better cognitive abilities, more satisfying emotional perceptions and drastically enhanced mindbody health.
Tapping into the neuroplasticity process will allow you to live better, regardless of the pain or illness that currently dominates your life. The techniques and practices involved in my coaching programs all seek to exploit the neuroplastic process, therefore helping you to achieve your objectives through the direct implementation of proven scientific research.
