Hope through Understanding Brain Plasticity

I recently reread Norman Doidge’s book, “The Brain That Changes Itself” about some ways to reframe ideas and influence change in our brains and in the brains of our children. Doidge explains that the environment and experiences we provide our children can affect both positive and negative changes in their brains, potentially resulting in patterns of behavior that can fill us with frustration as well as joy. 

Intrigued by what I was discovering, I reached out to Dr. Donalee Markus from Designs for Strong Minds to clarify how the brain can be impacted.  I engaged in her brain exercises to learn about brain plasticity which is our brain’s ability to reorganize its structure, functions, and connections in response to stimuli. In other words, neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to adapt to new thinking and establish new behaviors. I again felt encouraged by the idea that we can do more than just talk away the emotional undercurrent that influences our actions and emotions. 

As children, the repetition of habitual thoughts, sensory input, and body sensations hardwires our brains to embody the behaviors and emotions that define us.  These hardwired emotions and behaviors then reinforce our established neural networks. Despite our best intentions, we simply cannot predict how our children will internalize their environments. We often say to ourselves that “something has to change” but is it even possible to create a disruption in a brain big enough to override old thought patterns? We are here to say the answer is yes! But to change the brain, something new has to happen; we must interrupt and inhibit rigid patterns, and experiment with new kinds of sensory stimulation. 

Neuroplasticity and adaptive training require attentively practicing new patterns and mindfully inhibiting old responses. We know that we cannot demand our brain to change its thinking. Wishing or praying for different outcomes won’t succeed, either. Successfully securing new and desired behavioral changes requires time and some persistence.  If we hope to influence and change established patterns of behavior in our children, it isn’t through punishment. Rather, it requires focusing on one “rewiring” at a time, introducing a new pattern of continuing and repetitive conduct. Whether it’s about cleaning one’s room, participating in household chores, interacting less with technology, brushing one’s teeth, getting proper sleep, or completing school homework, our children’s behaviors can be modified by helping them develop new neuropathways.  Gratefully, their brain is highly adaptable given time, practice, and patience.