Subscribe to My blog

Your email:

Hot Links and Psychotherapy Resources

Harbor Area Counseling Services provides affordable counseling and psychotherapy in San Pedro CA. Wichita Counseling and Coaching Center provides experienced, private counseling in Wichita KS. Health Care Web Design Medical web design and health care development for medical groups, doctors and healthcare professionals. ePsyQ.com Top Ψ Psych Sites Complete directory of drug rehab centers, drug treatment programs and alcohol rehabilitation. Bloggapedia, Blog Directory - Find It! Superblog Directory Add to Technorati Favorites

DAILY CARTOON click to enlarge
ANDERTOONS.COM PSYCHIATRY CARTOONS

San Diego Therapist Blog: Regina Huelsenbeck, PhD

Current Articles | RSS Feed RSS Feed

Depression? Depressed again!!???? Can you rewire your brain?

Posted by Regina Huelsenbeck on Wed, May 07, 2008
 | Digg digg it | Reddit reddit | del.icio.us del.icio.us | StumbleUpon StumbleUpon 

Once depressed, you are fairly likely to experience depression again. The first depressive episode often surfaces in response to a trauma or loss of some sort. However, the negative feeling states and thought patterns seem to get wired together and can recreate depressive states more easily the next time, and easier the next time...and so on and so on.

Researchers have found that regular mindfulness practice significantly decreases the relapse/recurrence of depression (Teasedale et al., 2000).

How does this happen? Why do mindfulness practice help someone who suffers from depression?

The brain is filled with billions of neurons- These billions of neurons are connected to each other via synapses- specifically about 10,000 different synapses connect 100 billion neurons. A neuron fires whenever we have an experience.

IF you begin to practice mindfulness REGULARLY- you could, over time, by repeating this mindfulness experience INCREASE "synaptic densities in those regions that were activated with mindful practice" (Siegal, 2007). In essence, re wire your brain....making it more likely that you will be in the mindfulness territory of your brain when new stresses or potentials for depression arises.  

In fact, "mindful awareness is a form of experience that seems to promote neural plasticity". Neuroplasticity is essentially brain rewiring- "neuroplasticity is the term used when connections in the brain change in response to experience" (Siegal, 2007).

If you are interested in more information on mindfulness and neuroplasticity get David Siegal The Mindful Brain. Siegal is an MD out of UCLA who has been researching this brain stuff for years. He's also a great speaker and writer- who takes tricky brain concepts and puts them into digestible terms----and soooooo interesting.


Love & Light,

Regina 

Tags: ,

COMMENTS

Currently, there are no comments. Be the first to post one!
Post Comment
Name
 *
Email
 *
Website (optional)
Comment
 *

Allowed tags: <a> link, <b> bold, <i> italics

Receive email when someone replies.