The neuroscience of avoidance: Why we put off what matters most
There is usually something we know would move our lives forward. The difficult conversation. The doctor’s appointment. The creative project. The application. The boundary. The thing we’ve been putting off for weeks, months, or sometimes years. And despite knowing it matters, we avoid it. Why? It’s because avoidance provides immediate relief. Why avoidance feels good […]
Keeping the brain young: routine and novelty
Your brain benefits from two experiences that can seem opposite: consistency and novelty. Consistency helps you feel grounded Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to change through experience and learning. Connections between neurons can strengthen, weaken, and reorganize. Consistent, repeated practice helps reinforce useful patterns so they become easier to access. Routines create opportunities for practice: […]
Why do I feel anxious when nothing is wrong?
Anxiety is a mind-body response that prepares you for a perceived threat. It can involve crippling worry, tension, a racing heart, or general feelings of unease – even when nothing is wrong in the present moment. How your nervous system learns to anticipate danger The amygdala is part of your brain’s threat detection system. It […]
Your nervous system learns through repetition
For decades, we were taught that the brain becomes fixed after a certain age. Neuroscience has rewritten that story. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt and reorganize in response to learning and experience. Our thoughts, emotional experiences, behaviors, environments, and relationships all provide opportunities for learning. The more we repeat a way of thinking, […]