Dear Prash:

I want to give a little more thought to your recent post. I agree with you that “neuropathways can probably never go away”, not those involving strong emotions. Strong emotion, especially fear, is  like glue that keeps the pathways strong. I think that each neuron in our body is either On or Off, One or Zero, that is, it is either connected to another neuron or not, there is no in between. No 2-9.

As we learn, emotional learning, that is, not the dry kind, we add pathways to our brain, new connections made. These new connections affect the overall three dimensional mapping of connections. In certain issues (and there are multiple pathways regarding each significant issue), the new take the power away from the old. In other issues, not so.

Every brain is a highly individual map of pathways therefore healing and learning is a highly individual and personal process. I do notice that I don’t experience fear at all in some circumstances where before I did experience fear. On the other hand, I still experience fear as before in other circumstances.

Inserting realistic thinking to replace distorted thinking when afraid helps a lot. And yet, at times, the fear emerges later on, after correcting thoughts, a result of a spontaneous activation, it seems, it just so happens.

anita

Dear Prash:

You are welcome and thank you for your valuable participation here, in communication with me and elsewhere in these Forums.

Excellent quote, regarding the space. Only humans can create and recognize such space and then pause in it. It is what mindfulness is about, awareness, healing and learning.

anita

Thank you, Prash.

anita

Hello, Prash. Good to read from you again!!! Doing fine, and you too (according to the smiley face)?

anita

Dear Prash:

You are welcome and thank you for your kind words and good wishes for me.

I didn’t understand “the not so good days are of more utilitarian value”. If and only if you would like to explain it to me, please do. I know so little about you, about your childhood, your history, you shared so little. I always wished to read more from you.

anita

Dear Prash:

Your history then, your childhood, is not only a mystery to me, but to you, not recalling it. I don’t recall much of mine because much of it was too unpleasant, to put it mildly. I spent much of it in fantasy.

I understand your weariness about sharing information in public, of course. It would be okay for you to share information that cannot harm you, that is, information that cannot possibly be used to track you. No need to share your location, or place of birth, place of residence, ethnicity, religion, education, job title or history, number of siblings, any of these things. Sharing about having been a scared child, that cannot be used to track you. And with me, sharing such thing is safe, if you were so inclined.

Regarding having been criticized, being mindful of your initial reaction, then calming yourself and rethinking, this is all in line with the title of your thread, Equanimity in action and with your overall very strong rational/ intellectual element. Your emotional insight is enough to make for a functional life, reads to me. Functional enough, anxiety manageable…?

anita

Dear Prash:

I too was trapped in that false belief/ wishful thinking that it is possible to get rid of anxiety for good. How wonderful that would have been, if it was possible.

You think well and you function well, equanimity in thinking and acting.

anita