Spring Cleaning, for Your Brain
Canadian Family Health Counselling is located at 155 Hunter Street East in East City Peterborough ON. We provide counselling in Peterborough and beyond in our online services and work with kids, teens and adults.
It's that time of year again. We're all crawling out of hibernation into a bit of a frenzy as the natural world comes alive around us. Harnessing this burst of motivation can prove both practical and productive, if we know how.
Our Reptilian Brain is also known as our Caveman Brain, and it's there to respond to intensity to keep us safe from harm. Life is a wee bit intense just now. There are ways in which to soothe that Reptilian Brain back into its stand-by position, and that means for far less "Fight, Flight or Freeze" running the show. Make sense?
The modern brain is quite remarkable. It's evolved to produce creative problem-solving. In order to make efficient use of this creative edge, we must tidy up what is not necessary.
This image of the modern brain is part an exercise in our counselling approach called Neural Network Therapy®. Canadian Family Health Counselling provides an education-based treatment for anxiety, depression, anger management, grief, trauma … in our work with individuals, couples and families. We want for you to leave each session with something you did not know, coming in.
Learn a little about the brain and it’s incredible how your motivation to clear the clutter will surge. But don’t take any of it too seriously. Mental health sounds a whole lot more daunting than it is. We prefer “emotional health” for that very reason. Any which way, make room in your health regime for a little education about health and happiness.
Here’s some motivation to start clearing clutter:
The Amygdala (Fight Flight or Freeze) will appreciate the reduction of clutter. It currently recognizes your computer as INTENSE, and responds as it would to any other threat.
The Parietal Lobe processes touch and visual stimulation and less of anything means, less processing.
The Occipital Lobe is connected to object and memory. Simplifying means streamlining for the things that matter most.
The Cerebellum is responsible for judgement, problem-solving and reasoning. You see where we're going with this. Less is always going to be the best solution to maximize your efficiency.
The Prefrontal Cortex. This is our creative potential. Our personality expression, moderating our decisions and our social behaviour. When all other areas of the brain are gently soothed by a reduction in digital clutter, our ability to think clearly increases exponentially.
It goes without saying that our emotional experiences require attention from time to time and reaching out for support is always a smart decision, but there are many things you can do to maximize your health and vitality that don't require therapy. Save those places in which you find yourself really stuck for the professionals, and go about a mental spring cleaning that will do your brain some good first.
To learn more about our Personal and Professional Development part-time online studies, check out our Emotional Health Practitioner Program with a paid practicum, for those with the prerequisite education.
Kim Sargent
Clinical Director
Canadian Family Health Counselling