Gema García Marcos
Updated Tuesday, January 30, 2024-12:12
Train your brain Train your brain to transform stress into eustress with Ana Ibáñez
They become embedded in our brains and, no matter how hard we try, we cannot get rid of them. Recurring thoughts spin through our minds without any way to 'hit pause' or, better yet, 'stop' forever and ever, making our day, but, above all, our nights bitter.
"To a greater or lesser extent, we all have
recurring thoughts
that kidnap us and that, although we try, we cannot get out of our minds," explains
Ana Ibáñez
, director of the
Mindstudio
centers .
Why do we have these obsessive thoughts even though we don't want to have them? "Because they are the result of a
brain mechanism
. Biologically, we are programmed for
our brain to get used to certain things
. These thoughts have to do with
not being able to overcome certain situations
and staying stuck to them."
This is clearly seen, for example, in separations: "Many times, when there is a
sentimental breakup,
we want to evolve and not get
trapped by recurring thoughts about the other person
, but we can't do it."
Why does this happen? "Because our brain has
automated that person being in our life
. So, in order for them not to be there, they have to
learn to do something new
, which is to remove that person from our life. This, cerebrally,
involves an effort
and our brain likes it. "
It is more to stay with what is known than to introduce new things. This is the reason why it will try to give us thoughts that make
us remember that relationship
, above all,
the positive things
. In this way, our brain 'makes sure' of We're not going to get out of there."
For this reason, Ibáñez points out, "if we want to get out of that situation, we are going to have to enter into a
process of learning and transition
in which we are going to force our mind so that, when it takes us there, we are going to mislead it,
focusing our attention on something else
."
In this way, he continues, "we will be
changing our neural connections and reprogramming our brains
so that we can leave that situation behind and, in this way, we will be able to make way for the next thing."
However, he warns us, "we must
assume that there is a phase in which we are going to have recurring thoughts
, because our brain is programmed to have them."
Ana Ibáñez
is a chemical engineer, neuroscientist, director of the Mindstudio centers and author of 'Surprise your mind' (Editorial Planeta).