If we think of the brain as a series of roads; some are multi-and highways with overpasses due to thee amount of use they get, some are simple, one lane, dirt roads riddled with pot holes because we rarely travel down them and some are not even made yet. One of our goals in therapy is to create new neural pathways for our thoughts, emotions and behaviors. To do that we have to start from scratch, on an open unplowed field. The first time we travel down that path the grass will have indents, by the hundredth time we travel down it there will be a dirt trail to follow, by the millionth time we drive down it, there will be a highway.

Why do we want to create new neural pathways? Because sometimes our current ones aren’t working for us anymore. That automatic self doubt that comes up when we feel the slightest bit of rejection, the overly sensitive flight or fight switch that gets flipped when we’re in a new social environment - we can work together to reprogram those responses, to provide relief from social anxiety, self doubt, negative self-talk, etc. To rewire the brain we introduce new responses that the brain can accept ie: we might not be able to replace “I hate my body” with “I love my body” because your brain wont believe it; but we may be able to convince the brain that “I might not be one hundred percent happy with my physical appearance right now, but I sure as hell am not going to let that stop me from living my life!” After time, the new phrase replaces the automatic negative one and we internalize the message; creating a new highway in our brain. Rewiring our brain takes time, practice and intentionality but creating a new road map is well worth the effort when our old one is no longer serving us.