{"id":16367,"date":"2013-09-27T20:21:04","date_gmt":"2013-09-28T04:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=16367"},"modified":"2013-09-27T20:21:04","modified_gmt":"2013-09-28T04:21:04","slug":"how-your-thoughts-create-your-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-your-thoughts-create-your-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"How Your Thoughts Create Your Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Of course you know that your thoughts are generated by your brain. But you may not have considered that in many very real ways,\u00a0your thoughts create\u00a0your brain<\/em>, too. Let’s see how this can be so.<\/p>\n

How Thoughts Change Your Brain<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every thought creates a neural connection. If you think a thought often enough the neural connection will grow strong, particularly if there’s an emotional attachment to it. Conversely, if a memory has little use, is rarely stimulated, or has no emotional attachment, eventually those neural connections will largely wither away from disuse.<\/p>\n

Thoughts also change your brain by stimulating the\u00a0production of brain chemicals\u00a0which can change the structure and function of your brain.<\/p>\n

A good example is what happens to your brain under stress. When a situation you perceive as stressful occurs, it increases your level of the\u00a0stress hormone cortisol.<\/p>\n

Prolonged exposure to cortisol literally excites some of your brain cells to death, particularly in the hippocampus where memories are stored. This alarmingly can cause measurable shrinkage in this part of the brain.<\/p>\n

Conversely, stress feeds the amygdala, your fear center, causing it to grow, leaving you more fearful and anxious.<\/p>\n

Excess cortisol halts the formation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein which acts like fertilizer to the encourage the growth of new brain cells.<\/p>\n

Research suggests that chronic stress stimulates proteins that might even be the cause of Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Thoughts That Don’t Serve You<\/strong><\/p>\n

Psychologists have labeled certain negative thought patterns as cognitive distortions. These are common ways your mind will try to convince you of something that isn\u2019t actually true.<\/p>\n

See if any of these thought patterns sound familiar to you:<\/p>\n