The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D., is an enlightening book about the brain's plasticity and ability to change. It challenges the notion that the brain's workings are fixed and permanent, showing how thinking differently and taking actions can reshape and rewire neural pathways. The book offers practical advice on stopping worries, obsessions, compulsions, and bad habits, emphasizing the importance of intense training and practice to develop new, strong neural pathways.
The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D., is a fascinating exploration of the brain's ability to change and adapt. The book challenges the traditional view that the brain's workings are fixed and permanent, demonstrating how thinking differently and taking actions can reshape and rewire neural pathways. One of the most relevant chapters in the book is devoted to stopping worries, obsessions, compulsions, and bad habits. Doidge explains that the brain encodes behavior automatically, and repeat actions often enough become habit. However, we can unwire these habits by engaging in intense training and practice to develop new, strong neural pathways. The book offers practical advice on how to achieve this, emphasizing the importance of commitment and consistency in developing new behaviors.
Quick quotes
When a person tries to resist a compulsion, his tension mounts to a fever pitch. If he acts on it, he gets temporary relief, but this makes it more likely that the obsessive thought and compulsive urge will only be worse when it strikes again.
Sound familiar? Agonize about eating a piece of cake, cave in and eat it, and, voilá, that inner tension disappears — but that action in response to your obsession makes it more likely you’ll binge again in the future.
Doidge reminds us that the brain encodes behavior automatically. Repeat actions often enough and they become habit whether you want them to or not.