The Truth About Neuroplasticity and How to Use Your Mind to Heal Your Brain

havoc on a business through close contact, so can health and productivity. When a leader is healthy, fit, and energetic, the people around the leader will follow suit.

Jim Rohn’s quote, “you are the average of the five people you associate with the most, “ definitely applies here. We spend much of our day with our workmates and are influenced by them. As a health-conscious business leader, you can influence them through your mere presence.

Business leaders can also prioritize the health of their employees by creating a healthy work environment. This can include providing access to healthy food options, encouraging regular breaks and physical activity, and promoting a positive work culture. When employees feel supported and healthy, they are more likely to be productive and committed to the company.

Business is a Mental Game Too

In addition to the physical health benefits, prioritizing physical wellness can also have positive effects on mental health. Chronic stress and burnout are common issues among business leaders, which can lead to a range of mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. They are signs that you’re not using your mental powers efficiently.

Stress doesn’t allow you to access the higher-thinking parts of your brain. No matter how hard you work, you won’t be able to make those decisions that will move the needle in the direction you want.

Frustration can lead to poor decisions, poor decisions to poor outcomes, and poor outcomes to burnout. By prioritizing self-care and maintaining a healthy worklife balance, business leaders can reduce their risk of developing these issues or circumvent them altogether.

In conclusion, business leadership and health are not mutually exclusive. Instead, prioritizing one’s health can lead to improved performance and decisionmaking abilities, ultimately benefiting the company as well.

By incorporating regular exercise, self-care, and a healthy work-life balance into their daily routine, business leaders can prioritize their health and still be effective in their roles. Additionally, creating a healthy work environment for employees can benefit the individual and the company.

To Up Your Game Even More

Incorporating chiropractic care and massage into a business leader’s healthcare routine can have numerous benefits. Chiropractic care and massage are forms of alternative medicine that do not only focus on the treatment of neuromuscular disorders such as neck pain, back pain, and headaches. Both have been proven effective in reducing pain, improving range of motion, and reducing the need for medications. In addition, they have been shown to

About the author: effectively balance the nervous system by turning off the stress response, increasing immunity, and aiding in digestion.

Dr. Bill Janeshak is a Health and Fitness Expert, Best Selling Author, Keynote and Educational Speaker, as well as a Clinic Director of Yorba Linda Family Chiropractic. His practice is a scientifically based holistic practice focusing on root cause issues using his advanced degrees in Neurology, Nutrition, Functional Medicine, and Spinal and Sports Rehabilitation.

Taking his passion for health and fitness out of the office, Dr. Janeshak regularly participates in Triathlons, Crossfit, mountain biking, and other physical challenges to make sure that he practices what he preaches.

One of the main benefits of chiropractic care is its ability to reduce stress on the body. Business leaders often have demanding schedules and are at risk of developing musculoskeletal issues due to prolonged periods of sitting or standing, as well as physical stress from travel. Chiropractic care can help to alleviate these issues altogether and prevent them from returning.

In addition to its physical benefits, chiropractic care and massage can positively affect mental health. They are effective at reducing anxiety and depression as well as improving sleep quality. These factors can all contribute to improved overall health and well-being.

Incorporating Chiropractic care and massage can be a valuable addition to a business leader’s healthcare routine. By finding a reputable chiropractor and discussing any concerns or preexisting conditions, business leaders can effectively incorporate chiropractic care and massage into their healthcare and productivity routine.

In conclusion, business leadership and health are not mutually exclusive. Prioritizing one’s health will lead to improved performance and decisionmaking abilities, ultimately benefiting the company.

By incorporating regular exercise, self-care, and a healthy work-life balance into their daily routine, business leaders can prioritize their health and still be effective in their roles. Additionally, creating a healthy work environment for employees can benefit the individual and the company.

—Benjamin Franklin

BY HAYLEY NELSON, PHD

The other day, my childhood friend (let’s call her Jodi), who is currently going through a nasty divorce and has very low self-esteem, asked me, “What can I do if my brain is broken?”

As a neuroscientist and professor of Psychology, I will never call someone’s brain broken because one of the most beautiful things about the brain is that it is moldable and plastic. So, her question to me should have been, “How can I heal my brain from all the damage that has occurred through the years?”

Unfortunately, because of early childhood traumas and the current chaos in her life, Jodi’s brain was likely altered to accommodate the chronic and toxic stressors in her life. You may have heard of the term neuroplasticity, which is precisely what this is - our nervous system and brain changing and creating new connections through experience.

But, just as the constant stress and traumas altered the trajectory of Jodi’s brain development, Jodi can now regain control and change her brain to function differently because the brain is so moldable. One recommendation I gave Jodi was to practice positive affirmations, which we’ll discuss later.

First, let’s understand a bit more about neuroplasticity. I like the analogy of a stream going down the side of a mountain. This stream is not going to flow up the mountain or try to cut through trees. Instead, it will want to go along the path of least resistance.

Like this stream, our nervous system also wants to flow along the path of least resistance.

Through repetition, neural pathways are created to maximize and automate our actions and thoughts, which become the path of least resistance in our nervous system.

So if you grew up in a chaotic environment like Jodi, your nervous system is adapting to this repetition of constant chaos. The more you experience this environment, the stronger the neural connections become. Further, the emotions tied to those experiences are also being repeated.

As such, the more you experience these environments, especially if there’s an emotion tied to it, those pathways become even stronger. Your nervous system becomes primed to automate your response to these constant stressors. Consequently, those thoughts and behaviors become the automatic responses you will find yourself dealing with as a child and throughout your life.

For example, you might find yourself, just as Jodi did, falling into destructive patterns of negative self-talk, leading to lowered self-esteem, and being stuck in an abusive relationship. Or maybe you’re dealing with social anxiety, eating disorders, or substance use. Such behavior patterns are quite common in individuals with a history of trauma.

Importantly, when your nervous system is following the path of least resistance, it will mark this environment as familiar and safe. In Jodi’s case, the chaos and stress are familiar, so her actions and thoughts will work hard to continue following this path.

From an outsider’s perspective, it makes no sense: Why would you do this? Why would you make your life harder? Why can’t you just stop? Maybe consciously, you want to, but your nervous system is fighting against you, and you feel a strong resistance to this change, just like a stream trying to flow up a mountain.

Like the stream, your nervous system wants to do whatever it’s always done and follow that familiar pathway. In fact, there are regions within the brain that are impacted by chronic stress, especially trauma. Specifically, there’s an area deep in our brain called the amygdala, which is our emotion center.

When the amygdala recognizes a threat in the environment, whether it’s a gunshot or a challenging task at work, it will activate your stress response system. However, when this stress is chronic and perpetual, your amygdala takes over and “runs the show.”

As a result, your prefrontal cortex and hippocampus become underutilized and physically become smaller and less active. You can think of the hippocampus as a filing cabinet that is not emotionally charged, while your prefrontal cortex oversees our executive functioning and decision-making.

Because of these brain changes, new memories and decisions you make throughout your life are now being processed by your overactive amygdala instead of being controlled by your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex as they typically would. This can explain why emotionally charged decisions and behaviors continue to occur.

For example, maintaining our selfesteem and confidence is one of the many jobs of our prefrontal cortex. If the prefrontal cortex is not functioning properly, you may end up speaking negatively to yourself, which could lead to lowered self-esteem and mood. In turn, this now becomes the path of least resistance.

So, back to Jodi’s question: How can we stop this? How can we make that stream go up the mountain and work against the resistance we feel when we try to change?

The first step is awareness.

Once you have that, you’ll need to commit to changing things that you can control, like how you speak to yourself. By consciously choosing to stop negative self-talk and replacing it with positive selftalk, over time and through repetition, the brain will rewire itself to make this the new path of least resistance.

There are many tools to facilitate such brain changes, so I encourage

About the author: Dr. Hayley Nelson is a neuroscientist, tenured Psychology Professor, and international speaker. She is also the founder of The Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience and Be Well with Dr. Hayley, where she is passionate about making neuroscience approachable. She earned her PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences from The Johns Hopkins University and has over 20 years of teaching experience with students from diverse backgrounds. Dr. Nelson also has several peer-reviewed research publications and previous research and faculty appointments with The National Institutes of Health, The Johns Hopkins University, and The University of Pennsylvania.

By creating Certification Programs with The Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, Dr. Hayley combined her knowledge of the human mind and brain health with her passion for education, teaching, and consulting to truly make neuroscience accessible. For more information about Dr. Hayley and the Certification Programs in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, visit: https://www.academyofneuro.com/ and https://www.academyofneuro.com/ certifications people to expand their toolbelt, so to speak, and search for what is the best fit for their unique needs. One simple technique I commonly recommend is practicing gratitude journaling and positive affirmations daily, especially if you can look at yourself in the mirror and tie emotions to them.

Think about how it makes you feel knowing that you are valued and loved and that people want to be around you (or whatever your specific affirmations are). Couple that emotion with your affirmations. Over time, by changing your mindset, you can change your brain and see it rewire itself and heal what was “broken”.

Remember that these actions go against what you have always done, leading to resistance. There’s going to be a temptation to quit and go back to what’s familiar because, hey, you survived up until this point, right? However, my wish for Jodi and everyone else reading this is that we don’t just learn to survive, but we feel empowered to use neuroplasticity to allow us to thrive and become the best version of ourselves.

Why We Need to Take a Stand Against the Destructive Dieting Industry

BY MARISA PEER

I have been working as a therapist for over 30 years, and during that time, I have been dismayed by the number of clients I have worked with whose lives have been held back and dominated by weight issues and unhealthy eating habits.

There’s no specific demographic either. It’s everyone from teenage girls to menopausal moms, front-line workers to famous superstars and high achievers. It affects all areas of their lives - romantic relationships, family life, work, personal goal setting, physical health, and mental well-being.

Clients come to me with stories of how they’ve tried every diet, exercise regime, and even surgery. While some have had success for a short time, the majority struggle to keep the weight off, leaving them demoralized, anxious, and even depressed as their confidence and self-esteem plummet.

The diet industry has a lot to answer for in this respect. It makes billions from abusing people by exploiting their low self-esteem and hatred of their bodies, promising (mostly unachievable) results from diets that revolve around selfloathing and abuse, and often fueling cases of eating disorders and body dysmorphia. The diet industry has made millions by shaming us for gaining weight and promising they can sell us a solution, then blaming us when it does not work, so we feel even more shame.

airwaves, and filtered photographs fill our newsfeeds, we are continuously bombarded with images of perfect lives and bodies. These images don’t reflect reality but make us feel pressured to follow and aspire to achieve them.

Also, think about the language that is used to ‘control’ people and make them feel bad about themselves: punishing workouts, strict diets, rigid diets, controlling your eating, being good, being bad, and cheating. Living on powdered soups, shakes, and ultra-processed diet food, along with being weighed in a group, is abusive. These things hurt our selfesteem and lead to us feeling disconnected from ourselves.

Unsurprisingly 98% of diets fail and leave so many wrongly feeling like a failure. The truth is that diets alone don’t work as they don’t address the root cause of people’s relationship with food and eating and where unhealthy beliefs come from - which is, in all areas of life and overcoming problems, the key to taking control back.

A lot of the time, the issue is even belittled, made to look and seem ‘easy’. However, the reality is that food addiction is very real. Junk foods actually cause the body to release dopamine in the same way drugs do, so the more you eat, the more you crave them.

Food can be a drug, and it can be very difficult to break the cycle without tackling the heart of the problem. But sadly, diet plans, calorie-controlled pre-packaged meals, and diet pills are all big money spinners, providing a sticking plaster solution for those desperate for a cure.

So it’s no surprise that in 2018-2019, the US estimated 4.39 million cases of women and 1.09 million cases of men with eating disorders. A recent report by the Irish Journal showed that in 2020 there was a huge 66% increase in hospital admissions relating to eating disorders compared to 2019.

These figures are alarming, and as a nation, we need more thought leaders in the world of nutrition and well-being to make a stand against this. We need leaders who would challenge the destructive industry norms, normalize the struggles many have with weight issues, and acknowledge them.

Instead of promoting punishment and shame as a solution, let’s help to make a shift toward focusing on selfdevelopment and self-love. Let’s focus on strategies that tackle the emotional issues surrounding destructive eating habits and encourage healthy eating rather than promoting faddy, restrictive diets, and unrealistic images of ‘perfection’.

This is exactly why, last year, using the knowledge and learning from all of the clients I have seen over the years, I developed my own innovative approach to weight management called Dietless Life.

The program shuns endless souldestroying diets in favor of helping people reconnect with their feelings around food and hunger. We help them learn to love, respect, and care for the only body they will ever have, rather than punishing themselves, allowing them to achieve and maintain their perfect weight and a life free from diets.

Because ultimately, it’s not about what you’re eating but what’s eating you.

About the author: A world-renowned therapist and best-selling author, Marisa Peer is one of the most recognized names in the wellbeing industry and was recently awarded the Mental & Emotional Health Provider of 2022 by UK Health Radio.

Over her thirty-year career, she has helped thousands of clients reframe their issues and turn their lives around thanks to her unique approach - Rapid Transformational Therapy® (RTT®). Given its potential, Marisa took the decision in 2017 to establish the RTT® School and has helped to train over 13,000 therapists globally.

Last year saw the publication of her sixth best-selling book - Tell Yourself A Better Lie. She also launched Dietless Life, her unique weight management program, which is designed to enable people to lose weight and keep it off for a lifetime and maintain a healthy relationship with food.