avatarJoe Gibson, Above The Middle

Summary

Understanding neuroscience is crucial for personal growth as it explains how brain functions influence behavior and emotions, and how we can modify these for self-improvement.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the importance of neuroscience in personal development, highlighting how each brain region serves a unique function that affects individual behavior and mental health. It suggests that awareness of neuroscientific principles can help individuals understand the origins of their behaviors and mental health issues, such as anxiety or ADHD. The article also posits that the brain's plasticity allows for the potential to rewire unhealthy patterns into healthier ones, citing practices like meditation as a means to alter brain structure and manage symptoms of anxiety and ADHD. By applying neuroscientific knowledge, individuals can make informed choices to improve their mental health and daily functioning, thus unlocking their full potential.

Opinions

  • The author expresses a strong passion for human biology, particularly neuroscience, and its relevance to self-improvement.
  • There is an opinion that everyone should have a basic understanding of how the brain works, as it directly impacts our ability to function and develop personally.
  • The article conveys that knowing the specific brain areas and their functions can shed light on behaviors and emotions, leading to better self-awareness and personal growth.
  • It is suggested that neuroscience not only identifies the roots of mental health issues but also provides strategies for managing and improving them.
  • The author believes in the brain's ability to change (neuroplasticity) and that individuals can proactively alter their brain's structure and functioning through practices like meditation.
  • The article encourages readers to be mindful and inquisitive about their behaviors, as this can lead to a better understanding of the neurological basis for their actions.
  • There is an underlying belief that by understanding the brain, individuals can overcome limitations and tap into their full potential in various aspects of life.

Understanding Neuroscience Is Critical to Your Personal Growth

Know your brain to know yourself

Photograph by Jeremy Perkins on Pexels

I’ve always had a love for biology, more specifically, human biology and it astounds me that others don’t share the same interest. Of course, everyone has their own passions but what can be more fascinating than how we function? After all, we’re all living our lives through a perfect mirage of matter that makes up the vessel to which we see our world through each day.

Maybe it’s simply down to the fact not all people are science nerds like I am, or that others are too busy with their day-to-day lives to feel the need to stop and question themselves. Either way, I think it’s especially important to be educated on the subject of neuroscience if you’re working within the realm of self-improvement and personal development. After all, the person you are today is the result of the specifically wired brain you possess.

Let’s take a closer look at the importance of this science.

Every Brain Area Serves A Purpose That Affects YOU

Our heart serves the important role of pumping out blood around the body. An incredibly vital process that pushes oxygen into every living cell and removes waste products such as carbon dioxide so that we can exhale them when blood meets our lungs. Without it, we’d be dead. Knowing about this function is good. It allows us to make lifestyle choices that keep our hearts healthy; like taking part in regular exercise and having a healthy diet that regulates cholesterol and other potentially hazardous markers of disease.

Our brain is no different. Each area brings with it a specialised function that directly impacts your ability to function in the world. The sheer complexity of human behavior is matched with an equally as complex brain. So much so that much of its nature is still within question today. Just as our heart deserves our undivided attention, so does our brain.

Whilst there is much to be known about how our brains work, there are many things we do know. Many things, for that matter, that are extremely beneficial to you on your personal growth journey.

For example, our Amygdala, a pair of almond-shaped (structures) nuclei are responsible for our perception and memory of fear. Our prefrontal cortex and its subdivisions are responsible for our ability to critically think and apply logic to our decisions.

The default-mode network in our brain plays a role in our ability to have wonderous thoughts and daydream. Our limbic system has functions in processing and regulating our emotions. These are but a few of the countless brain functions that all impact the way in which we show up and respond to our reality. Knowing more about these structures allows us to shed light on behaviors whose origins we’d otherwise be clueless of.

Neuroscience Tells Us What May Be Going Wrong and How To Improve It

The only thing worse than struggles with our mental health or maladaptive behaviors is being unaware of where they are coming from. It was somewhat of a comforting experience to know that my anxiety problems had an origin. To be able to feel the anxiety arise and remind myself of its whereabouts instead of cluelessly wondering what was happening. More so, as science has pinpointed key areas in human behavior, it has also been able to identify where, and how, it can go wrong.

ADHD sufferers seem to have dysfunctional activity in their default-mode networks resulting in an increased frequency and power of wonderous thoughts that may explain their tendency to be distracted. We know that increased size and activity in the amygdala can result in people feeling more anxious than those with smaller and less active amygdalae.

Addictions and other compulsive behaviors are correlated with dysregulations in the limbic system as well as connectivity problems with the prefrontal cortex. Anxiety can impact the clarity of our thoughts as the amygdala can override the functioning of our prefrontal cortex. These are only a few of the many brain alterations that can, and will, impact your daily life.

However, in shedding light on these problems, neuroscience also shows us a way of managing them. Of course, some mental health problems are not entirely curable but management is an option. Our brain is plastic, after all, and just as it can be molded into unhealthy patterns, it can be re-wired into healthier ones.

Take meditation for example. The practice of sitting down for 10 minutes or so each day can have a profound effect on the structure of our brain. Not only can it decrease the size of our Amygdala resulting in improved anxiety symptoms over time, but it can also increase the strength of cortical-amygdalae connections allowing us to better manage our anxieties when they arise.

Furthermore, it can also decrease the activity in the aforementioned default-mode network helping us better remain fixed in the present and less likely to drift into potentially negative thoughts easing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

Neuroscience Allows Us To Make Better Choices

One of the worst things we can do is remain fixed on a particular mindset that may be causing us harm. It contradicts the very nature of our brain and its ability to change. The sooner we can come to terms with the fact that we can change our brains and therefore improve our mindsets, the sooner we free ourselves to the endless potential of our lives.

“Neurons that fire together wire together” -Donald Hebb, 1949.

The above is quoted from Donald Hebb, a Canadian Neuroscientist who had a significant influence on neurophysiology in the realm of associative learning. In simpler terms, each behavior we carry out triggers a network of neurons that strengthen over time through repetition until the behavior becomes habitual.

This is but one example of where neuroscience benefits us in our daily lives. Not only does this work have significance in mental health as a whole, but also impacts the smaller behaviors that make up our day. I mean, of course it would, everything we do runs through our brains. It seems quite obvious to say, but this article is only to exemplify the importance of having an understanding of this science.

You can research the science behind motivation in order to construct better goals that you’ll feel more driven to carry out. You can investigate why creativity is hindered when we’re intensely focused on a task. You can find out why sugary foods are more appetizing when you’re stressed and how to better engage your prefrontal cortex to curb urges. You can also learn to recognize what is triggering your procrastination and how to increase your productivity.

For each thing you do, good and bad, in a relationship or on your own, there will be a neurological basis to it and due to our brains plasticity, a way to improve it.

I urge you to bring mindfulness to your behaviors throughout the day and become inquisitive of their whereabouts. You never know, you might just find the secret to why you behave the way you do.

And who doesn’t want to know that?

Thank you for reading this article. I appreciate the support so give this article a few *claps* if you enjoyed it and follow Above The Middle for more like this.

Personal Development
Psychology
Science
Neuroscience
Relationships
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