7 days to change your mind?

[bekw89]

So has anyone tried this? The theory is based on neuroplasticity, and basically for 7 days straight you challenge and cancel every negative thought you have and replace with a positive one.


I think it's essentially CBT but I suppose the 7 day focus might make this a bit more challenged based.

Anyway, I'm starting today as I have nothing to lose. It will be hard as my brain is currently set on doom but not impossible! Anyone care to join?

[xliljosiex]

Hi Bek, this sounds interesting I've not heard of it before but definitely willing to give it a go! I commented on your thread the other day actually, how are you getting on with the citalopram , I've been on it 2 yrs going through bad blip at the moment but for the most part it's been really helpful! Xxc

[bekw89]

Hello,

Sorry if I didn't get back to you! We'll had a really bad experience on the second day, a bit traumatised from it really. I am feeling a lot of pressure from friends and family to give it another go and I know two days is nothing but it was such a horrible feeling.

What was your experience with it?

Also I tried the positive thinking this morning it really seems to work it won't happen over night but worth a shot. The only thing is sometimes I struggle to actually feel positivity so it's hard in that way. How are you doing anyway??

[sial72]

Hi Bek
Sounds interesting, I always thought it would take longer...do you have more info about it? Xx

[MyNameIsTerry]

Neuroplasticity is accepted scientific theory, it's quite recent (about 1999). Prior to this they believed there was a "ceiling age" to our brains that we couldn't go beyond. Now they believe, and have proved, that the brain is capable of learning constantly until death and to also change structures and physical shape.

It's not about anxiety though, neuroplasticity governs how we learn everything.

It's not connected to things like CBT because it is far bigger than that. What CBT attempts to do is use this to change how we think which means we also create neuroplasticity changes to accomodate those new thinking patterns.

As far as I know you can make changes in 7 days but they can also change again in a quick time (might be 14 days, I think). The trouble is, your brain fights you all the way when it comes to anxiety. All those negative thinking patterns (Negative Automatic Thoughts (NAT's), Cognitive Distortions, etc) and also "learned behaviour". You put them there through neuroplasticity in the first place. You create new patterns of thinking or use/add-to old positive ones in recovering. But it's hard because your current negative ones are running the show at the moment lookin for evidence to strengthen/reinforce themselves.

It's all about neurons becoming associated to each other and connected by synapses. You are talking about things like events, thoughts, feelings, sensations, memory, etc. They get connected and re-used and become the new way of thinking. So, we dug ourselves the hole without realising and have to do the same thing back.

If you can think positive all the time, or a lot of the time, you start creating these associations and your subconscious will "mothball" those old negative ones as you are using them less & less.

You will see us OCD people on here telling people not to react with negative emotion when we get intrusive thoughts. This is because the area of the brain in question is looking for a negative response to all things because it is trying to keep us alive. It doesn't look for positive or neutral and this makes it harder to retrain from negative to positive/neutral because it will take longer to recognise a lack of negative stimilus in that feedback loop.

We also say that if you try to push a thought away, you signal to your subconscious that it did something "valid". Not "correct" merely "valid" because it doesn't see right or wrong from a moral point of view, it's looking to determine if conscious brain says "well done, that is what you should have done". It will take a strong negative emotion as confirmation of that as shown in studies.

So, if you can do positive thinking, you are really doing well and will only be digging yourself out of the hole. I find it hard and earlier on when it was just symptoms and bad thoughts, I just couldn't see anything good.

I would suggest you check out Davit's threads, especially "Words" because there are a few articles linked in there that talk about how many positive/neutrals it takes to cancel out a negative and why. It also explains the impact of negative, positive and neutral wording and how that impacts us. This is important and taught in CBT.

There is some useful stuff about this in here, but it's got a load of promotion of natural/alternative remedy in that may be less appropriate (whcih I haven't read):

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/15/neuroplasticity-brain-health.aspx

Where it talks about genes being dormant through life it is getting into how inheritence of a gene doesn't make it "activate". I've read about some of this, known as epigenetics, where the methylation process is is constantly working makes changes and can mean an inherited gene is set to "on" position but you can set it to "off" through correction of lifestyle. I read this in a few article about anxiety & depression and how inheritence works. It was interesting and given epigenetics has been studied heavily in cancer research I think it gives us some confidence that is well accepted. You may not need any of this, it's just I noticed it being discussed under "neurogenesis".

Neuroplasticity can easily be Googled for explanation, some of it can be complex.

Did you know they have observed people acheiving these changes from negative to positive through Mindfulness meditation? I think I've attached a couple of links to the studies in my thread (see my signature). It's worth a read and Mindfulness easily fits with CBT and other therapies.

[bekw89]

Hi Bek
Sounds interesting, I always thought it would take longer...do you have more info about it? Xx

http://www.tokenrock.com/blogs/rewire-your-brain-7-days-to-a-new-more-positive-you!-1012.html

Hi Sial I have this link I also think it may be a book.

---------- Post added at 07:31 ---------- Previous post was at 07:25 ----------


Neuroplasticity is accepted scientific theory, it's quite recent (about 1999). Prior to this they believed there was a "ceiling age" to our brains that we couldn't go beyond. Now they believe, and have proved, that the brain is capable of learning constantly until death and to also change structures and physical shape.

It's not about anxiety though, neuroplasticity governs how we learn everything.

It's not connected to things like CBT because it is far bigger than that. What CBT attempts to do is use this to change how we think which means we also create neuroplasticity changes to accomodate those new thinking patterns.

As far as I know you can make changes in 7 days but they can also change again in a quick time (might be 14 days, I think). The trouble is, your brain fights you all the way when it comes to anxiety. All those negative thinking patterns (Negative Automatic Thoughts (NAT's), Cognitive Distortions, etc) and also "learned behaviour". You put them there through neuroplasticity in the first place. You create new patterns of thinking or use/add-to old positive ones in recovering. But it's hard because your current negative ones are running the show at the moment lookin for evidence to strengthen/reinforce themselves.

It's all about neurons becoming associated to each other and connected by synapses. You are talking about things like events, thoughts, feelings, sensations, memory, etc. They get connected and re-used and become the new way of thinking. So, we dug ourselves the hole without realising and have to do the same thing back.

If you can think positive all the time, or a lot of the time, you start creating these associations and your subconscious will "mothball" those old negative ones as you are using them less & less.

You will see us OCD people on here telling people not to react with negative emotion when we get intrusive thoughts. This is because the area of the brain in question is looking for a negative response to all things because it is trying to keep us alive. It doesn't look for positive or neutral and this makes it harder to retrain from negative to positive/neutral because it will take longer to recognise a lack of negative stimilus in that feedback loop.

We also say that if you try to push a thought away, you signal to your subconscious that it did something "valid". Not "correct" merely "valid" because it doesn't see right or wrong from a moral point of view, it's looking to determine if conscious brain says "well done, that is what you should have done". It will take a strong negative emotion as confirmation of that as shown in studies.

So, if you can do positive thinking, you are really doing well and will only be digging yourself out of the hole. I find it hard and earlier on when it was just symptoms and bad thoughts, I just couldn't see anything good.

I would suggest you check out Davit's threads, especially "Words" because there are a few articles linked in there that talk about how many positive/neutrals it takes to cancel out a negative and why. It also explains the impact of negative, positive and neutral wording and how that impacts us. This is important and taught in CBT.

There is some useful stuff about this in here, but it's got a load of promotion of natural/alternative remedy in that may be less appropriate (whcih I haven't read):

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/15/neuroplasticity-brain-health.aspx

Where it talks about genes being dormant through life it is getting into how inheritence of a gene doesn't make it "activate". I've read about some of this, known as epigenetics, where the methylation process is is constantly working makes changes and can mean an inherited gene is set to "on" position but you can set it to "off" through correction of lifestyle. I read this in a few article about anxiety & depression and how inheritence works. It was interesting and given epigenetics has been studied heavily in cancer research I think it gives us some confidence that is well accepted. You may not need any of this, it's just I noticed it being discussed under "neurogenesis".

Neuroplasticity can easily be Googled for explanation, some of it can be complex.

Did you know they have observed people acheiving these changes from negative to positive through Mindfulness meditation? I think I've attached a couple of links to the studies in my thread (see my signature). It's worth a read and Mindfulness easily fits with CBT and other therapies.


Thanks for all the info, I find neuroplasticity fascinating especially when you can observe it on yourself. I am slowly believing in the power of mindfulness and positive thinking. But I have a long way to go to unlearn a negative behaviour that is keeping my anxiety alive.

How does medication work with this kind of rewiring, do you know?

[MyNameIsTerry]

I'm not very sure on meds. Really you would think a SSRI would work solely on the Serotonin receptors which once you have been on them for about 4 weeks causes the number of receptor sites to decrease. Prior to that it fills up the space inbetween the sites and where it is pumped out of.

But I know some SSRI's are more helpful with things like OCD because of their method of action so there must be some slight differences in how they work. Your Citalopram isn't one recommended for that reason so I would imagine it's role is very strong in terms of Serotonin and some of the others may have slightly more impact onto the other neurotransmitters but I can't be sure of that (whilst they are called SSRI's, they still interact slightly with the other neurotransmitters, just usually in a very week way as not to be considered a treatment)

Serotonin does play a role in learning so in increasing the amount that is there by not allowing it to be used up so quickly, it will help. But remember that these SSRI's don't create Serotonin, you need to eat to do that. Certain foods are higher in Tryptophan which can mean more Serotonin made in the brain as Trytophan crosses the Blood-Brain Barrier, but you need carbs with it or you end up seeing it loose out to the other major amino acids in protein.

It's not the only neurotransmitter involved e.g. Acetylcholine, Histamine, Glutamate, etc all have a learning role and Glutamate is a major one in the brain.

Have a read via Googling Neuroplasticity, it is interesting. Wiki gives a complex explanation along with some useful studies that show how they can see if happened that make more sense. I find it facinating too. I was especially interested in the meditation studies as we can more easily meditate than work on our thoughts. There are even studies about how being in a room of meditators helps despite not doing it! (I think the link to that study info is in my thread too)

If you can do it, go for it. Positive thinking is very important anytime and it's pushed for in humanistic therapies like CBT.

[sial72]

Thanks Bek and thanks Terry, very interesting.
My best friend recovered completely from an anxiety disorder years ago by doing something that I would assume is similar to this (but it took a lot longer than 7 days). She would ignore symptons and thoughts, no matter what they were and carried on with whatever she was doing and said to herself I will get better.
She always says to me that is what I have to do, but for some reason when I am afraid I just can't get myself to do it.

[ana]

Hi Bek,

it's an interesting idea, but I feel like I should allow myself to feel all my emotions, positive and negative. Resisting negative emotions will not make them go away. Rather, it will have the opposite effect. Trying not to think negatively can put a person under a lot of stress,as you feel pressure to stay positive all the time, and there can be no guarantee that it will create a relief from panic attacks and anxiety.
What I do is let my negative thoughts and feelings happen, I observe them, embrace them, and then let them go. I reason with myself thus: 'okay, so you're feeling annoyed/worried/angry/sad because of ____. Now, let's make ourselves feel better.' I watch a TV show that I like, I ring up a friend to get my mind off thing,or I go for a run to release excess energy.

In my opinion, negative thoughts are there for a reason. They are a signal that something has gone awry and needs dealing with. However, you shouldn't let your negative thoughts overpower you - just accept them, let them be, and before you know it, they will go away. :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Bek,

it's an interesting idea, but I feel like I should allow myself to feel all my emotions, positive and negative. Resisting negative emotions will not make them go away. Rather, it will have the opposite effect. Trying not to think negatively can put a person under a lot of stress,as you feel pressure to stay positive all the time, and there can be no guarantee that it will create a relief from panic attacks and anxiety.
What I do is let my negative thoughts and feelings happen, I observe them, embrace them, and then let them go. I reason with myself thus: 'okay, so you're feeling annoyed/worried/angry/sad because of ____. Now, let's make ourselves feel better.' I watch a TV show that I like, I ring up a friend to get my mind off thing,or I go for a run to release excess energy.

In my opinion, negative thoughts are there for a reason. They are a signal that something has gone awry and needs dealing with. However, you shouldn't let your negative thoughts overpower you - just accept them, let them be, and before you know it, they will go away. :)

That means you are doing it, Ana. Staying as positive as possible just means looking for the positive in things and also not seeing that negative come through and engaging with by being negative thus making it worse.

Negative thoughts & emotions need to be there, but it's the Cognitive Distortions and more constant negativity that do not. They weren't there at birth, we learned them, and they keep us anxious. What you appear to do is be neutral in observing, then accept them and then spin them to the positive. Adding a neutral and then a positive is going to retrain your brain.

Neuroplasticity is just the learning inside the brain. We do it from birth to death and it is as much a part of being human as breathing or our hearts pumping. It will happen we we like it or not or try to or not, the only question is do we teach it negative, neutral or positive things.

---------- Post added at 06:04 ---------- Previous post was at 05:59 ----------


Thanks Bek and thanks Terry, very interesting.
My best friend recovered completely from an anxiety disorder years ago by doing something that I would assume is similar to this (but it took a lot longer than 7 days). She would ignore symptons and thoughts, no matter what they were and carried on with whatever she was doing and said to herself I will get better.
She always says to me that is what I have to do, but for some reason when I am afraid I just can't get myself to do it.

That sounds very much like Claire Weekes or one of the people who created works off the back of her (there are many, aren't there?). I know I've seen you mention Weekes in a few of your posts.

Things like this are found in Buddhism too. This is why I often wonder where people like Weekes took their influences from. In Mindfulness you would observe thoughts in a neutral manner and getting on with things is also part of it. It's not easy though when all you can feel is physical sensations or your mind if racing.

Something I have found with GAD is that you can keep doing everything yet still feel anxious and it never goes away. I guess for some it does, but people like myself need more work and different routes.

But whether you use Weekes, Mindfulness, CBT or any other product the brain will learn from it and the process if neuroplasticity will occur. So, it must be about finding what workes for you and putting the work in over time. Even the most debious off internet "gurus" tend to have legitimate people recovering from their methods and it must be due to the work they put in.

[bekw89]

Hi Bek,

it's an interesting idea, but I feel like I should allow myself to feel all my emotions, positive and negative. Resisting negative emotions will not make them go away. Rather, it will have the opposite effect. Trying not to think negatively can put a person under a lot of stress,as you feel pressure to stay positive all the time, and there can be no guarantee that it will create a relief from panic attacks and anxiety.
What I do is let my negative thoughts and feelings happen, I observe them, embrace them, and then let them go. I reason with myself thus: 'okay, so you're feeling annoyed/worried/angry/sad because of ____. Now, let's make ourselves feel better.' I watch a TV show that I like, I ring up a friend to get my mind off thing,or I go for a run to release excess energy.

In my opinion, negative thoughts are there for a reason. They are a signal that something has gone awry and needs dealing with. However, you shouldn't let your negative thoughts overpower you - just accept them, let them be, and before you know it, they will go away. :)




Hi Ana

I suppose it's not trying not to be negative but countering the negative with a positive. It's ok to have negative thoughts but when they are irrational I think can easily spiral.

[ana]

Yes, I suppose it is about spinning the negative into the positive. What I wanted to emphasise in my previous post was that not allowing yourself to feel any negative emotions, i.e. resisting bad thoughts isn't productive as it will only cause more stress. Being able to transform negative thinking into positive thinking isn't easy either, but it's what's going to make a difference in the long-run. I'd like to think I'm slowly getting a hang of how to go about doing it :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, I agree with you, Ana. Negative emotions, feelings, thoughts, etc are part of us, it's just we have got them off balance, skewed away from a good healthy balance of positive & negative. I just wish it was as easy to rebalance it as it was to unbalance it in the forst place! :doh:

[ana]

Terry,

well said! I wish I could re-balance them as easily as I unbalanced them in the first place... I'm finding being back at work after a 5-week holiday really stressful at the moment, so I'm trying extra hard to not let my negative thinking overpower my positive thoughts... :wacko:

[23tana]

I have done this using my faith as a basis. Every time I think a negative thought I call on the Lord to help me rescind or retract it. This helps me, even at the worst times like now.