There is an interesting video you can find on YouTube that shows how a mouse’s brain reacts to a stroke. Immediately following the stroke the brain sends energy to the affected area to further protect it and begin repair. In a matter of hours, the stroke area is repaired. Significantly, the brain does not return the energy used to repair it back from where it came. Instead this new pattern of energy flow becomes the brain’s new survival pattern. The shift of energy may have helped repair the brain; however, it has left the host, in this case the mouse, unable to walk or peep.

Traumas like a stroke or a blow to the head are obvious causes of energy shifts in the brain, and the resulting symptoms experienced by the brain’s host are understandable. However, the brain experiences trauma and changes in energy patterns in a variety of ways that may not seem so obvious. Everything from the morning alarm clock to the persistent tones from a cell phone that call us to action may be perceived initially as threats to the brain and cause the brain to shift energy around to handle the persistent stress.

Modern life provides a variety of stressors that the brain has had to make adjustments to. The toll of the wars, economic crises and other world events are difficult to measure. The sheer number of stressors in our lives makes it nearly impossible to identify what symptoms are caused by what.

Psychological experiences of abandonment and/or betrayal are devastating experiences to the host and the brain, too. The brain will activate alarms to ensure a greater capacity to handle the stress. Sometimes these alarms are not turned off, and the brain remains in a heightened state of arousal that will lead to symptoms of anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping, hypervigilance, etc. These symptoms may develop slowly and become more evident as a child ages into teenage years and adulthood.

Understanding that the brain’s energy patterns are causing your symptoms is important. It is likewise important to understand that what you believe about your symptoms can help you manage the energy and reduce the symptoms. Research that focuses on the capacity to handle stress suggests that an ability to be optimistic, find humor in difficult situations, talk about your emotions and find a sense of hopefulness will assist in getting through stressful times and reducing stress-related symptoms.

Along with those traits listed in the previous paragraph, there are a myriad of other ways we can influence energy in our brain and reduce symptoms. Medication is one way to calm hyperactive areas, though some people experience intolerable side effects, making medication a poor choice. Anecdotal reports about new technologies, such as Brainwave Optimization, are favorable. The benefits of meditation and mindfulness programs have been well-documented. Meditation has been proved to create new neural patterns that take the brain from an imbalanced state to a balanced one. We are gaining more and more understanding of the benefits of certain nutrients on the brain like omega-3s and vitamin D3.

The good news is there are many ways, traditional and alternative, to get relief from our symptoms. We can choose to evolve and grow instead of staying stuck in repeating patterns.