Lassoing Neural Transmitters

There are innumerable reasons why understanding the science of trauma is a powerful and simple tool for improvement as you work towards your goal of spending more time in joy rather than anger, sadness, depression or apathy. Is there anyone who doesn’t want more joy + less pain in their life? Granted, there are people who have created an identity out of pain, which then becomes an addiction to pain–but as a rule–most humans want to experience joy. If you are one of those people who is stuck in a pain cycle–by choice or by chance–understanding how the science of trauma works will be useful. 

What happens to the brain when someone experiences an event that causes some part[s] of the brain to function outside of the “normal range”? Being as our brains are malleable, there are many different ways that an individual might develop trauma. While the physical components of the brain are generally the same in everyone, the way the parts of the brain work together (or don’t) is unique to every single person on the planet. Starting as a fetus in our mother’s womb, our brains start to create neural pathways that will shape our personality and way of responding/reacting to events. 

Without going into a full science class about the human brain I want to share with you a few tips to become aware of as you work on reorganizing your own brain’s electrical system. I call this, lassoing neural pathways. I do suggest you do some of your own research on brain development and function though. Some say knowledge is power and in this instance, that cliché is most definitely true. Outside of the language of brain function, images are a wonderful tool in understanding, especially if you are a visual learner.

I am one to think in pictures. I do this because as a child being sexually abused, parts of my brain became over-developed and some became under-developed. This early developmental trauma is part of the reason I am able to be so descriptive in my vocabulary and share challenging concepts with others in a way that makes sense. I have the ability to describe an experience as if I were sharing what a piece of art looks like with a blind person. OTOH, when I am agitated,  this condition makes it challenging for me to get my words out because I am blind with rage, making it hard to describe my emotions verbally. 

Allow me to share an image behind the science of trauma…

When the trauma-inducing stimuli occurs a schism is created in the brain. The younger you were and/or the more severe the incident, the deeper the schism. Imagine that schism as a skinned knee. When you were little and skinned your knee you or someone else would clean the wound, remove debris, wipe away the blood so that healing ointment could be applied. If it was deep, maybe you needed stitches. Over time, the knee scabbed over and eventually, new skin grew to replace the damaged tissue. Sometimes it left a scar; if it wasn’t too deep and got proper immediate care, maybe no scar at all.

A similar action happens in the brain. And sadly, the kind of experience which causes trauma most often is not accompanied by cleaning up the wound or receiving kisses to help in healing. So rather than the brain tissue healing back to its natural state, scar tissue develops covering the dirt that was never cleared. Neural transmitters had to carve a new pathway to travel from one place to another because scar tissue is not the best conductor of electricity.

When I learned this about the brain, I began to understand what was happening when my reaction was out of line compared to the stimuli. I began visualizing lassoing the neurotransmitter that was going to the place in my brain that caused the strong reaction and imagining it going to the place in my brain which allowed me to respond more effectively. Doing this repeatedly, I began to notice the way I responded to the stimuli change.

I suppose growing up in the country, I attended more than one rodeo. This is most likely where my visual of “lassoing” stems from. Please, use whatever imagery feels and works best for you. You dont have to know where the neural pathway is supposed to go; you need only desire a healthier response to stimuli. When you become aware of the over-response or reaction, you begin to learn how to stop it before it interferes with your day. 

I love bullet points, don’t you? Here you go… 

• Find yourself in an environment that causes a strong reaction in you. 
• As soon as you feel yourself start to become activated, visualize the way you WANT to respond. 
• Visualize pulling the neural transmitter towards a part of your brain where you will get the desired response. 
• Repeat as necessary.

The magick: the science of shifting your brain’s neural response happens at that moment when you catch the behavior you are trying to alter before exhibiting it. It is equally beneficial when you miss the chance to grab a thought before acting on it, to forgive yourself. The truth is you didn’t fuck up again, you acted in a way that is hardwired, literally into your nervous system.

Anyone you are in a relationship with can be useful to lassoing. Roommates are great for this kind of work; they don’t have to be cooperative to be useful. In fact, if they aren’t, it could bode in your favor, though it won’t likely keep the house peaceful. If you have a friend you can work with or a therapist, all the better! If you can practice this technique in a controlled + safe environment that is amazing! If not, be aware of opportunities to practice in the world but please, be safe about it. Dont go roaming in the bad part of town at 2 AM or hang out in a bar if you are an addict. Use your head, peeps!

Be patient with your progress. I promise you, with effort and awareness, one day the new behavior will become automatic. You won’t even notice at that moment it happens because it will be a part of your autonomic nervous system. When you look back at your day and realize you didn’t react in a way you normally would celebrate! Do a little dance, make a little love, get raised tonight!