If you want to heal your body, take care of your brain.

Mindset and healing go hand-in-hand.

“Mind over matter” is…nice. It’s catchy. And while it doesn’t take into account socioeconomic pressures, trauma and personal history, at its core, the basic idea of caring for your thoughts goes a long, long way in caring for your overall well-being.

When you have a willing and open mindset, it becomes possible to rewire how your brain interprets pain, your thoughts and behaviors, and your relationship with your own healing.

A willingness to change doesn’t just foster emotional resilience. You’re also actively creating an environment where your brain can adapt.

This very shift enables the brain to form new pathways, fostering recovery and improving how you feel.?

Let’s look at brain patterns, chronic illness, and stress–and how they all work in tandem.

Our brains are incredibly complex, managing everything from basic motor functions to intricate emotional responses. When we talk about brain patterns, we're referring to the neural pathways that dictate how we think, feel, and act. These patterns can become particularly significant and difficult to adjust when dealing with chronic illness and stress at the same time.

Chronic Illness and the Brain: Researchers have discovered that chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders, leave identifiable "signatures" in the brain. These changes are visible on functional MRIs (fMRIs) and suggest that brain adaptations may precede or result from the illness itself.?

So what does this mean?

People going through chronic illness experience more stress–and stress affects your ability to heal through chronic illness.

For instance, diabetes affects not only the pancreas but also shows distinct brain changes related to memory and cognitive function. These brain patterns can contribute to the persistence and severity of symptoms.

And what does stress have to do with it?

Chronic stress is another major player in how our brain functions. Prolonged stress can lead to structural changes in the brain, particularly in areas like the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory and learning, and the amygdala, which processes emotions, especially fear and anxiety.?

Changed brain patterns here often involve heightened anxiety, reduced ability to cope with stress, and even increased susceptibility to illness.

But that also means these patterns can be reversed, and new patterns can be formed in their place.

Enter neuroplasticity — the brain’s remarkable ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. This inherent flexibility allows the brain to adjust in response to learning, experience, and even injury or illness.

Next week, The Permission to Start Over Kitty is coming your way with practical tips, insights, and resources for taking control of your own healing. You won’t want to miss our daily nuggets of wisdom and our weekly newsletter!?

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Wishing you wellness, healing, and hope!

Emily