Because her stroke impaired her left brain functionality she was able to experience life without the boundaries and internal monolog the rest of the world with fully functioning left brains experience. Most striking was her ability to select how she interacted with these rebuilt left brain functions. Without the left brain informing her she could choose which thought loops she would attach to and nurture. Her training as a neuro-scientist also influenced how she percieved her recovery. For her it wasn't so much the experience of "recovering" her real self as it was of selecting what functionality to rebuild. As a result, she was able to say no to many thoughts and emotions that had been habitual parts of her life prior to the stroke.
She learned that when she experienced things that triggered feelings of fear, anger or other unpleasant emotions, the biochemical effects actually clear out very quickly--in about ninety seconds actually. Anything thinking/feeling going on beyond that ninety seconds was because of a thought arose after the initial response...the beginning of a neural pathway.
What fires together wires together. This is why some thoughts show up when certain events occur.
For example, if someone cuts you off in traffic you might feel all the hair prick up on your body, your heart rate increase, gasping for breath plus feelings of complete fear/rage. Ninety seconds later, these initial feelings will have subsided BUT a monolog will have started in your head giving it's opinion about the situation. Even though the incident has passed and the neurochemical surge subsided, your story telling brain is starting to kick in and tell you the so called truth of the matter. Over time this dynamic build a solid neural connection between the triggering event and the associated thought pattern.
What if subverting self defeating behaviors was as simple as waiting 90 seconds and changing the dialog in your own head? Simple, not necessarily easy--but also not impossible!
The secret to this is simple awareness. Here is an example from today:
I was walking through a building on campus when all of a sudden found myself thinking some very unpleasant thoughts about an incident that occurred in the past. Luckily I noticed what was happening before the thought could take over. It was then I had an Aha moment--I had an unconscious association with that building and the unpleasant incident which is why I find myself thinking some pretty dark thoughts whenever I go over there.
I made note of that and the thought was derailed. Moving forward I can let the moment (only ninety seconds!) run it's course and go on with my day. I imagine over time I will find myself less likely to experience those unwanted thoughts when I'm in that building.
The process of derailing thoughts caused by triggering events allows new neural pathways to replace the old one. This can be used to cultivate peace of mind. It also can be applied to habit building.
Dear reader, I invite you to play with the ninety second rule. The next time you find yourself captured by a trigger, let the clock run down ninety seconds and become aware of any thoughts that come up. Notice with curiosity that the triggering moment has passed and that the thought is unnecessary and let it pass away.
I'd love to hear your results. Please feel free to leave a comment to this post so we can all learn from your experience.
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