Hey, friendlings!
A little while back, I did an Ask Joy about being heartbroken and angry and how we can actually retrain our brains to combat these feelings, reshaping our future experiences.
Seriously, our little brains are even smarter than we think!
Photo Credit: Branden Harvey
This past year I’ve been taking an improv class and, in addition to gaining a bunch of great stories, I’ve actually learned a lot about how our brains operate to influence our actions and feelings. My improv teacher says:
“The more amygdala triggers (fight/flight/freeze response) a brain experiences, the deeper ingrained the neural pathway becomes and the more likely/often the triggers will occur. Emotionally fueled behaviors can only be retrained with new emotional experiences. If the behavior is fueled by negative emotions, it will take four times as many positive experiences to change the behavior.“
FOUR TIMES.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
In an effort to understand our noggins more and keep our rep as a generation of efficiency, I’ve gathered some more resources about the brain. Some of these books are already listed on the LRN Recommended Resources page, and others have been recommended to me by all of the cool people I know.
Check ’em out!
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Hooked—Joe S. Mcilhaney Jr. M.D. and Freda Mckissic Bush M.D.
The Female Brain—Louann Brizendine M.D.
Who switched My Brain Off?—Dr. Caroline Leaf
Wired for intimacy—William M. Struthers
Brain Rules—John Medina
Switch—Chip Heath and Dan Heath
How We Decide—Jonah Lehrer
The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers—Malcolm Gladwell
For American’s, I just read this article from TIME which has some insight on our happiness and the brain.
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Let me know if you have any other resources you would add in the comments below.
Also, you might not have known but there’s a resource page on this site…as well as a Unicorn page.
Love and Respect (Now) is a division of Love and Respect. Please be considerate.
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All of the Love and Respect Now Posts…In One Place!
Emerson & Sarah Eggerichs on Marriage, Parenting, Family of Origin, Work & Death
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I’d highly, highly recommend Dr. Bruce Perry’s ‘The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook—What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing’ (http://bit.ly/TBWWRaaD). I read it (technically listened to it on CD) for a book club and we had the best discussion afterwards. My empathy deepened because of this book.
A. Darling (@AronDarling) thinks...
Amy K. Hutchens wrote a couple good books; one called Brain Brilliant and another called Brain Brilliant dating. Brain Brilliant Dating was a fascinating read which fostered some really good discussion with my 30:40 Singles Ministry friends. I have not yet completed Brain Brilliant, but do look forward to it when I get the chance.
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