Health and Well-Being
How to Augment Creativity, Productivity, and Joy in Five Powerful Steps.
I explain how pattern interruption with natural brain stimulation benefits our health and well-being.
Practical Tips to Mastering Pattern Interruption via Effective Brain Stimulation
As a result of feeling stuck in the past, I developed a method to disrupt established patterns by stimulating my brain with everyday, natural, and joyful activities.
Thanks to this acquired ability, I could get unstuck effortlessly and quickly.
I gained the theoretical framework because studies on animals and humans naturally identified pattern interruption's importance via brain stimulation.
In understanding the underlying theories, I found that results came from lifestyle habits humans have followed for centuries.
This discovery might sound abstract or trivial. Thus, I explain it with practical points to convey my key messages.
Since my writing is descriptive and not prescriptive as usual, my main goal in this story is to provide perspectives to my readers rather than to offer advice so that they are encouraged to analyze the main message transparently and research the details critically.
For me, the most significant pattern was a constant stream of pessimistic thoughts and negative emotions that adversely affected my ability to focus, think creatively, be productive, and enjoy life.
The key solution was to use pattern interruption with natural brain stimulation, which helped me design my happiness and life satisfaction.
For example, learning to stop ruminating was an excellent achievement that contributed to my life satisfaction.
Priming myself to not surrender to the recurring thoughts coming from the primitive brain and not repressing or numbing emotions coming from the limbic system gave me breathing space to permit my thinking brain to take over.
I achieved my goal by deliberately interrupting nonsense thoughts and immersing myself in all types of emotions. During the process, I didn’t need a therapist or a coach to lead me in this process as they were common sense and practical points for me.
We don’t need to know the mechanics of the brain to utilize our thinking brain, calm the amygdala, and regulate the emotional brain. Instead, we need to understand a few principles and apply proven techniques that I introduce in this story.
Even though these techniques are common, they might not work for everyone, but they can provide a framework to design our tools and techniques to break patterns and stimulate the thinking brain. The following are five easy yet effective tips for disrupting patterns and stimulating the brain when we get stuck.
1 — Ability to Live in the Moment
A mindful approach to anything gave me instant relief. When I feel down, the first thing I check is my thoughts and feelings. Then, I ask myself what I am thinking about and how I am feeling now.
I find myself either dealing with a past situation or a future concern most of the time, making me feel anxious or regretful.
As soon as I interrupt these thoughts and focus on the present moment, I see my feelings get at ease.
Then, after a few minutes of focusing on the tasks and naming them, the vicious thought cycles are naturally broken.
Making a mindful approach into a habit and lifestyle choice helped me recognize thought patterns easily and empowered me to break them.
Thoughts and emotions are tightly connected. By changing a specific one, you can also change another one.
2 — Deliberate Use of Breath, Smile, and Laughter
We need to breathe every moment to survive. However, we need to use intentional breathing to thrive. By using the breath as a tool, we can instantly change neurochemicals.
I found intentional breathing effective for breaking patterns by stimulating the brain. The most significant chemical benefit of intentional breathing is to alkalize the blood with oxygen.
As we know, excessive carbon deoxidating can increase acidity and cause inflammation. Conversely, oxygenating the blood can reduce inflammation.
As breathing makes both physical and psychological impacts on the body and the brain, we can break the thought patterns, reduce inflammation, and stimulate the brain and the body by producing pleasurable neurotransmitters and hormones. As a result, breathwork is my number one go-to tool during stressful times.
After breathing, the other two viable tools for me are smiling and laughing deliberately, without waiting for a hilarious event to occur. If practiced, anyone can smile and laugh for no reason.
The brain cannot detect whether we manufacture a smile or laugh until we start judging ourselves.
When I smile or laugh deliberately without harsh judgment, the brain creates positive emotions allowing me to break thought patterns easily by stimulating the cognitive brain regions.
Deliberate smiles and laughter can rewire the brain.
3- Moving the Body Gently and Deliberately
The body and brain need movements every day. Therefore, exercise is essential for the body and the brain to survive and thrive.
As I mentioned in an article, aerobic workouts and concise high-intensity activities can increase BDNF (Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor).
I use joyful workouts to interrupt non-serving patterns and stimulate the brain when needed, especially during stressful situations when we lose control.
As a psychosomatic activity, exercise can activate muscles to consume more energy and change brain chemistry leading to the desired mental state.
My favorite workouts to break patterns and stimulate the brain are walking, hopping on a trampoline, dancing, and calisthenic exercises such as push-ups, pullups, and planks.
In addition to breaking unhelpful patterns, studies suggest that moderate exercise and dancing might contribute to longevity and healthspan, as I discussed in this story why centenarians love dancing.
4 — Singing, Humming, Reading, Writing, and Conversing with Ourselves
Singing and humming might promote physical and psychological well-being benefits by changing the brain’s chemistry and balancing hormones. Singing and humming can increase the aerobic capacity of the lungs.
Centenarians, e.g., 105 years Algor, whom I observed, keep singing and humming when he does daily chores. When I deliberately sing or hum during stressful times, I can easily interrupt my thoughts and stimulate my brain as these activities can release endorphins.
Reading and writing can be two excellent pattern interrupters and brain stimulation tools. In addition, they allow us to learn and express our thoughts and emotions more effectively.
Writing and reading are whole-brain activities activating various brain regions. I particularly find physical books more useful for breaking patterns. Expressive writing has scientifically proven therapeutic benefits, as mentioned in this story.
The easiest way for me to use expressive writing is to carry a diary.
The next essential tool for me to break patterns and stimulate the brain is self-conversation. In addition, I like talking with myself to improve my self-compassion, self-love, and self-confidence.
Self-talk can be a creative and compassionate approach that allows us to connect with our inner selves. During stressful times, I stop and ask myself intimately what I am really thinking and feeling right now. This question brings me to the present moment.
5 — Continuously Celebrating Small Gains with Appreciation and Gratitude
Gratitude and appreciation are closely related. However, these two terms also have different meanings. The primary difference is that gratitude reflects our emotions while appreciation manifests as an action.
I define gratitude as the feeling of thankfulness and appreciation of our blessings. I define appreciation as deliberately recognizing our gifts and enjoying them.
When I acknowledge my blessed moments, I feel grateful. It is possible to interrupt non-serving thought patterns and produce positive emotions by leveraging the power of gratitude and appreciation.
We don’t need solely significant achievements to celebrate. Celebrating small achievements can have cumulative effects.
In my opinion and experience, small dopamine spikes are more effective than the big ones as the smaller and more frequent ones can be healthier in the long run.
I create and practice rituals to celebrate frequently with small festivities as a brain trick. For example, I enjoy scheduling fun.
Anyone can find ways to celebrate small gains. By celebrating minor achievements, we can harvest good feel hormones purposely.
An optimal hormonal profile can interrupt thought patterns and stimulate the brain with small serotonin and dopamine spikes. We can turn chores into fun activities that allow us to live in the moment.
Conclusions and Takeaways
The brain adores patterns as part of our survival system and processes for energy-saving purposes.
Unfortunately, when we live with deep-rooted and negative patterns, we may become pessimistic and reactive, making us uncreative and non-productive.
We can regulate our emotions and change our behavior by interrupting thought patterns intentionally with simple physical and mental activities.
The quality of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors determines the quality of our health and well-being.
By intentionally interrupting thoughts by stimulating the brain, we can produce good-feel hormones and improve our mental health. Numerous mental health problems are caused by chronic and emotional stress.
Excessive thinking in the form of rumination might significantly increase pressure, pass the stress threshold, and turn into a chronic situation.
By using these five practical approaches, we might gain instant relief and rewire the brain to serve us better in the long run. We can improve our mood and design happiness by interrupting thought patterns and stimulating the brain.
These approaches are free and natural. All of them can be done by ourselves without the help or intervention of others unless we are disabled or too sick.
Astutely, when we observe and verbalize our thoughts and emotions moment by moment, we fruitfully use the neo-cortex to calm the amygdala and regulate the limbic system.
This approach is beneficial for understanding and dealing with negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, grief, jealousy, hatred, and anger.
Without awareness of our thoughts and feelings and discovering ways to break deep-rooted patterns, we might get stuck, face amygdala hijacks, or even get paralyzed in the long run.
Therefore, pattern recognition and interruption by stimulating the brain are vital mental health tools. These tools help us enter a flow state and create productively and happily.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life. If you enjoyed this article, you might like to check out two complementary articles, one about tips for improving cognitive flexibility and another about practical aspects for regulating our emotions.
Disclaimer: Please note that this story is not health advice. I shared my research and perspectives for information and awareness purposes only. If you have mental health disease symptoms, please consult your health care professionals, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist referred by your primary healthcare practitioner.
To improve brain help, I documented my decades of experience in a recent article. I hope you find it valuable.
I share important life lessons from people in my professional and social circles, compiled in the attached collection.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
Petechiae, ALS, Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorders, Anemia, Dysautonomia, cardiac output, and urinary track disorders.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients.
Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Finally, After Burning Her House, Georgia Found Enlightenment
Hilarious Tips to Prevent Brain Atrophy and Keep the Gray Matter Giggling
8 Psychological Points I Had to Unlearn and Relearn the Opposite
Based on my writing experience and observations, I documented findings and strategies that might help you amplify your voice, engage your audience, and achieve your desired outcomes in your writing journey.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on cellular, mitochondrial, metabolic, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
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