10/11/2025
Thank you, Frank Anderson, MD!
Most of us try to get rid of painful thoughts:
“I shouldn’t feel this way.”
“Stop overthinking.”
“Just move on.”
But here’s what neuroscience shows us—
the more you fight a thought, the louder your brain makes it.
That’s because your amygdala interprets that inner struggle as danger, and your prefrontal cortex—the part that helps you regulate—temporarily shuts down.
So instead of calming your mind, you end up reliving the same emotional loop.
Those thoughts that keep looping aren’t random.
Many were formed in moments when your brain was trying to protect you.
That’s why healing isn’t about forcing positive thoughts—it’s about changing how you relate to what arises inside you. When you meet a thought with curiosity instead of judgment, you send a powerful signal to your body: “I’m safe now.”
Your body doesn’t know the difference between an external threat and an internal one. So if you meet your thoughts with fear or frustration, your brain reads that as danger— and your amygdala, the part that scans for threat, amplifies the sense of threat.
But when you pause, breathe, and simply notice what’s happening—without trying to fix or silence it—your nervous system receives a different message.
The amygdala quiets.
The prefrontal cortex—responsible for reasoning, reflection, and choice—comes back online.
And that’s where neuroplasticity begins.
Your brain starts building new connections that link awareness with safety instead of threat. Over time, that repetition teaches your mind:
“I can think and feel difficult things without being in danger.”
That’s what true rewiring looks like—not controlling your thoughts, but creating safety inside your relationship with them.
So the next time an old thought shows up— “you’re not enough,” “something bad will happen,” “they’ll leave”— pause. Notice it. Soften your response.
You don’t have to believe it or banish it. You can simply get curious about it—maybe even listen to what it’s trying to protect.
That’s where healing begins.
