The Power of Thought: How Thinking Can Change your Brain

Have we ever considered that thinking and talking about our problems will make them worse? This is called rumination. Every time you think about something negative or sad, it is literally changing your brain circuits each time, rewiring into a downward spiral.

All week I have been thinking about what my next topic will be, and on a late Sunday night, I was on TikTok just to find some neuroscience topics for research. I came across a video of a man speaking about the fact that we can change our brain just by thinking. He stated that as you begin to think about a new possibility and your brain begins to fire new sequences and new pattern combinations, you begin to plan your behaviors, you begin to review it in your mind, mentally rehearse who you are going to be in your life. The mere action of mental rehearsal begins to install the neurological circuits in your brain.

I don't want to get too deep into the science of it all, but I will give you a little. Thoughts are transmitted via neurotransmitters and other neurochemicals in our brain. These neurochemicals are also responsible for your emotions. For example, dopamine is a neurotransmitter (which we touched on last time) that is released when we do something that makes us feel pleasurable. Oxytocin is another neurotransmitter that is sometimes called the “love hormone” because it is released during activities, such as hugging or cuddling. Additionally, your thoughts can also influence the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol. If you think about something that makes you anxious, your brain releases cortisol that makes you even more anxious, and this is the same for the other neurotransmitters. There is this medical research called the placebo effect, which is when someone thinks they are getting a certain treatment for an illness, but instead they are given a fake version of the treatment or medication. According to Psychology Today, these people improve anyway because they think they are getting the real treatment. Placebos have been shown to improve physical symptoms of depression, anxiety, pain, coughs, erectile dysfunction, IBS, Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy, to name a few. On the other hand, if an individual does not think the drug will work, or expects there to be side effects, the placebo can create negative outcomes.

This shows that thinking about something is not done in vain; it actually does something to your brain. Note that this is specifically more geared towards mental illness, and it makes sense because depression, anxiety, and pain are constructions of the brain, so I think personally that these can be minimized by something that constructs the brain, which is thinking. Contrary to the belief of many, I think that medication is not always the best solution, but what is effective is a change in mindset, which is not an easy thing. However, I think it would be best for lasting results.

In today's world, we're all about quick fixes, often jumping straight to meds when we're feeling mentally off. But imagine if we put more effort into training our minds. What if, instead of just covering up symptoms, we helped people change how they think and become stronger? Healing isn't always about outside help; sometimes, the biggest changes happen from within. Our brains are super adaptable and keep changing based on what we give them. It's up to us: will we keep feeding into negative patterns, or will we use the power of our thoughts to rewire our minds for growth, healing, and a better future?

Thank you for reading.

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“Thoughts lead on to purpose, purpose leads on to actions, actions form habits, habits decide character, and character fixes our destiny.”

— Tryon Edwards

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The websites sites I used to assist me with this blog are cited below:

Harvard Health. (2024, July 22). The power of the placebo effect. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect

Vilhauer, J., PhD. (2023, April 10). Your thoughts matter because they change how your brain and body function. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/living-forward/202304/how-your-thinking-affects-your-brain-chemistry#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20over,physical%20symptoms%20in%20your%20body.