The amazing – and amazed – brain

A well-treated brain is amazing.

It gives the human being what is needed and useful.

A brain, once invited to change certain labelings of thoughts, things, and persons, will be your best friend.

It helps you to get what you need in life.

The brain works in patterns, that’s its nature

Help your brain. Use your brain. Offer your brain patterns it can work with.

Brains like to sort things into categories. This is a gift, a competence.

Why is it good for your brain to divide the world into clusters, patterns, and categories?

For economic reasons, it is a helpful core brain function to divide the world into dangerous and harmless, into enemy and friend, and into hot and cold. Of course, there ar much more categories, building a complex order system.

Psychologists may call a specific system of categories “character” or “attitude”, psychiatrists may call it “disorder”. It depends on the point of view, on the context and the intention.

Brain functions demand a high amount of energy. Executing core functions like estimations, calculations, building hypotheses – all these operations cost a certain amount of energy.

So, adding a person to the category “friend” or “enemy” will safe costs in the sense of energy.

How does basic “knowledge” affect lives and learning processes?

For energy-saving reasons, brains tend to quick conclusions and building “knowledge.”

What learning processes take place while “Falling in love”?

“I know how she is.” If she is smiling and has a friendly and warm character, she might be the best mother for my future children. The brain “falls in love”. From that moment, the brain fades out every negative aspect. To become a mother and a father, there is no room for discussions and partner adjustments. The partner is perfect. Brains flood the bodies with positivity. There is no sense in realism and criticism in the process of begetting a child. Later on, after the honeymoon, when all-day routines arise, there will be room for other realities. That’s when family therapists or divorce advocates come into the game.

What makes the brain develop an “anxiety disorder”?

Due to its core functions, the brain learns that a tiger is deadly dangerous. Period. Every other “opinion” about a tiger leads to death. So, from the brain functionality, anxiety in a loop has a life-saving function. Once you understand this, you will be more compassionate to yourself. The modern tiger can appear in the form of “getting fired”, “having divorce”, “being bulled”, “facing loss” and so on. So, it is a natural and precious brain function to remain in an anxiety loop after being affected by a threat.

Why should you treat your brain with compassion, not combat it for its nature?

Arguing with your brain will lead to trouble. Remember that your brain does good work warning you an a permanent anxiety loop. If someone calls the brain “stupid” or in an anxiety disorder, how will it react?

The brain will do everything to save its functions. For security reasons. A good brain will never discuss about the tiger (divorce, being fired, facing losses).

How can you amaze your brain?

You can amaze your brain by saying, “Thank you for your functionality.”

Then, you can politely invite your brain to some additional and helpful information. You know, my dear brain, there are some additional graduations between death and life. A crisis, for instance, can be a good time to sort out our life. If you live in fear about loosing your job, you may take some closer looks at that.

What pictures make you feel insecure, my dear brain?

Oh, I see: You have the picture of getting fired and loosing everything. That’s a bad mood, indeed. No brain, no human being wants that. So, you are warning me. Thank you.

What can we do together to make the job more safe? I see what you need: some profound additional education on the new software we use in the office. How does it feel thinking about this option? Now, the brain pictures better circumstances in the job. How close is now the dramatic picture of getting fired?

This is a small example of changing brain chemistry without pharmaceutics.

What are the main information gaps between psychotherapy and brain research?

Typical information gaps between psychotherapy and brain research are the lack of awareness that brains do not act rationally but in biological and electric functions.

The brain is at it is. It works with chemistry and electricity,

The psychotherapist does appellations to the patient’s intelligent mind.

The brain is not interested in intelligence but in survival.

Researching the brain shows what core functions are affected and involved at the very moment.

Awareness of checking the brain for its ongoing working routines makes life much easier.

Learn soon more about the information gaps between psychotherapy and brain research.