What is Brain Rewiring?
Brain rewiring, also known as brain retraining, is the process of repairing or re-establishing connections in the brain that have been damaged due to injury, trauma, or a chronic health condition. This can be done through the use of neurocognitive tools and exercises from such modalities as cognitive rehabilitation, Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). There are many ways to repattern the brain’s neuronal circuits, but the goal is always to help the brain learn to function more efficiently and reduce inflammation.
At re-origin, we have helped thousands of people rewire their brain to overcome symptoms of chronic conditions like anxiety, depression, chronic pain and fatigue, MCS, and more. Learn more about the re-origin brain retraining program here.
Why Would Someone Want to Rewire Their Brain?
The brain is made up of billions of neurons, which are connected to each other by nerve fibers called axons. These connections allow electrical signals to pass from one neuron to another, and these signals are responsible for everything we do, from thinking and feeling to moving our muscles. When these connections are damaged, it can lead to a wide range of problems, including chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression.
There is a growing body of evidence that suggests brain rewiring programs can help people with chronic health conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), chronic pain, multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), and Lyme disease. While the brain is complex and not all mechanisms are well understood, brain rewiring programs are thought to work by retraining the limbic system to turn down a learned hyperactive response, which leads to a reduction in systemic inflammation. It does this based on principles of self-directed neuroplasticity, whereby, through a person’s own intentional actions, the brain will prune away old exaggerated pain-sensing neurons, and replace them with new healthy neuronal connections.
What Is the Limbic System and How Does it Impact Health?
The limbic system is a group of brain structures that are responsible for our emotions, memory, and stress response. When the limbic system is stuck in “fight or flight” mode, it can lead to a wide range of problems, including chronically elevated levels of inflammation, chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Once in this heightened state of sensitivity, the symptoms themselves may be misinterpreted as threats, confirming and increasing the inflammatory stress response, and creating a self-perpetuating inflammatory loop that can remain active even after the initial illness, infection, or injury has passed. The brain must then be retrained or rewired in order to allow the body to return to homeostasis.
A high-quality brain rewiring program that is based on science may help to retrain the limbic system and reduce inflammation, which can ultimately lead to improved health and well-being.
What is a Brain Rewiring Program?
A brain rewiring program can be an incredibly useful tool for retraining the limbic system, reducing stress and chronic inflammation, and helping individuals reclaim their health and wellness.
A good brain retraining program should teach you to:
- Identify when your limbic system has become hyperactive.
- Interrupt the threat reflex that leads to ongoing anxiety and exacerbation of physical symptoms.
- Replace the learned inflammatory reflex with a calming “rest & digest” response
- Redirect the threat response and induce a challenge-response, which is more advantageous to overall health and healing.
- Reinforce the new brain pattern with the science of conditioning.
re-origin’s science-based limbic retraining program has been designed by experts based on the latest neuroscience research in order to help its members achieve the best results. You can watch and read the Real Life Stories of many members that have been through our program.
And if you are trying to determine whether or not limbic retraining is the right approach for you, you can book a free call to learn more about re-origin.
How Does Brain Rewiring Work?
Brain rewiring programs are based on the principle of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to new experiences.
When you participate in a brain rewiring program, you’ll be doing things that are designed to help your brain learn new patterns that allow the nervous system to better self-regulate.
As mentioned above, brain rewiring works by stimulating the growth of new brain cells and connections. This process is known as neurogenesis. When the brain is injured or damaged, neurogenesis and neuroplasticity are what allows the brain to repair itself and better manage the body’s internal systems, such as the immune system and the endocrine system. By doing things that stimulate brain growth and improve brain function, your brain is better equipped to conduct all internal bodily resources in a healthy and orderly manner.
Fundamentally, brain rewiring teaches your brain to respond in a different way to specific stimuli. If for instance, every time you flew in a plane, you used to feel a panic response, through brain retraining, you can teach your limbic system to remain calm and stay “pleasant in the present” in the midst of the stimuli that once would throw you for a loop.
Benefits of Brain Rewiring
Brain rewiring programs offer a number of potential benefits, including:
- Reduced inflammation
- Improved brain function
- Increased energy levels
- Improved sleep quality
- Reduced pain and pain perception
- Improved mood
- Reduced anxiety and depression symptoms
How Effective Is Brain Retraining?
A recent study showed that 66 percent of participants with chronic pain were pain-free and remained so for at least one year (for as long as the participants were followed), after a self-directed brain retraining-based intervention. This particular study was even written up in the Washington Post under the heading: Chronic pain is surprisingly treatable when patients focus on the brain. In it, the author writes: “Remarkably, 66 percent of the subjects receiving PRT were nearly or fully pain-free after this purely psychological intervention, compared with just 10 percent of the control group. A whopping 98 percent had at least some improvement, and these outcomes were largely maintained a year later.”
Pain is not the only ailment for which neuroplasticity is proving to be effective. Brain retraining is increasingly being seen as a promising treatment for chronic inflammatory conditions ranging from Lyme disease to Long-COVID, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), and even anxiety and depression. A recent pilot randomized controlled trial showed a 37 percent reduction in Fibro symptoms; a 45 percent reduction in anxiety; a 43 percent reduction in depression; and a 47 percent increase in overall perceived health and well-being
Many functional medicine practitioners are even now identifying such conditions as those mentioned above in their patients, as limbic system impairment and prescribing brain retraining programs.
More research is still needed to confirm its efficacy. However, the growing body of scientific evidence suggests that brain retraining may be a helpful treatment for many people with chronic illnesses.
For What Types of Chronic Conditions Can Brain Rewiring Be Used?
Here are just a handful of conditions for which brain rewiring programs are now being prescribed:
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
- Lyme disease
- Food sensitivities
- Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
- EMF sensitivities
- Chronic pain
- Overwhelm
- Anxiety
- Depression
- ADHD
- Phobias
- Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)
- Mold illness
- Certain Mental health conditions such as chronic stress and anxiety
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Post-viral Fatigue (PVF)
- Long-COVID
- Brain Fog
What To Consider When Choosing A Good Brain Rewiring Program
1. Choose a program that has been demonstrated to be effective in treating chronic conditions
The re-origin program yields consistent results from people from all over the world struggling with a wide range of chronic conditions. If you believe that your condition may stem from overactivity in the limbic system and are looking for a program that is helping people like you, then consider choosing the re-origin program.
2. Make sure to do your research and choose a program that is right for you.
Whatever you determine is your best path forward, perhaps the most important factor is that it truly resonates with you. The number one x-factor when it comes to brain-retraining success is consistency. So choose a program that you feel aligns with your needs and unique way of learning. A supportive community can also be an important factor when staying on the road to recovery. And re-origin offers the best community.
3. Don’t go it alone. Be sure to choose a program that offers ongoing support.
Brain retraining is a participatory process. It requires ongoing practice, motivation, and support. Our program offers small group coaching to help you stay motivated and consistent with your rewiring.
4. Consider finding a program that offers a money-back guarantee.
Going through a chronic condition is stressful enough. Add to that mix, the financial cost of having tried so many things that didn’t pan out in the end. At re-origin, we want to alleviate any added anxiety around finances and provide everyone with the opportunity to benefit from our program. For this reason, we offer a money-back guarantee.
5. Who’s teaching the course? Consider the instructors.
At re-origin, all of our staff members, coaches, and instructors have been through chronic illnesses and out the other side. They’ve walked the talk and reaped the benefits and are now perfectly suited to help you do the same. In addition to this, our program has been designed with the help of a Ph.D. Neuroscientists and clinical psychologists who’ve used neuroplasticity tools in their practices for over 40 years.
Read our origin story and learn about The re-origin Brain TrustTM.
If you’re considering brain retraining, it’s important to find a program that’s right for you. There are many different brain retraining programs available, and not all of them are equally effective. Make sure to do your research and choose a program that has been demonstrated to be effective for conditions such as the one you are experiencing. L more about the re-origin brain retraining program here.