A Peak Inside Neuroplasticity

Oh My Gawd, it’s so quiet I can hear myself breathe. All I had to do was close the door. The noise was outside, not inside.

Cars honking, trucks hitting their brakes, sirens going off, all that racket, and all I had to do was close the door.

Ahhh. I give all my weight to the front door. The solid flatness feels good against my tired back. Before closing the door-I could barely stay in my skin. It’s as if each car, each truck, each siren ran straight through my skin, shaking my bones. It felt like my body was their runway.

All I had to do was close the front door. Who knew my door was a silencer?

I slide down and sit on the floor with my back against the door.

Sound. I know I have choices as to how I respond to sound. Yet my first impulse is to fight it. Like sound is an assault. I’m offended. I get angry. It not only enters my ears, but it also enters my heart. The sound hits me like a big wind on windchimes. Oh. But windchimes sing. They make music.

So this sound-I don’t think I need to make sense of it. Maybe I can find a rhythm and dance to it?

I can respond like beat boxing with my mouth. Like a train-Choo! Choo! or a race car-VRRMOOM! or a helicopter-Whump! Whump! Whump!

I notice now I‘m playing with the sound. I love echolocation. It’s like call and response. I’m not making meaning, I’m shaping sound. Maybe all this sound roaring in my head is asking for a playmate. Like “knock knock, come out to play”.

This feels important. It’s participating, not ignoring it. Growl. Grunt. Thump. Twang. Between the beats. Around the beats. Stretch. Pull.

Knock Knock, Plop Plop Fizz Fizz, Ding Dong the Witch is Dead. I’m giggly inside like bubbles being released.

I got this!

You see this is how we build new neural pathways OUT of default mode.

My default mode fights, resists, and anticipates with hypervigilance. Since Microdosing Psychedelics, other options besides the default emerge. Psychedelics shed light, offer insights, and reveal openings rather than closures. Even the possibility of pausing and reflecting instead of flinching and react. The hypervigilance calms as my heart rate slows and my breathing slows. For someone who historically ran on adrenaline, this is a giant shift that is sustainable.

The research suggests a single dose of psilocybin (the psychedelic compound in ‘magic mushrooms’) that sufficiently ‘shakes up’ the brain’s tried-and-true patterns could improve a person’s mental well-being for up to a month after their trip.

Psilocybin is best known as the active compound in ‘magic mushrooms’. (Yarphoto/Getty Images)

Neuroscientist Taylor Lyons from Imperial College London says, “Psilocybin seems to loosen up sterotyped patterns of brain activity and give people the ability to revise entrenched patterns of thought.”

Most of my clients are not familiar with psychedelics. Most of my clients have been in therapy, followed strict pharmacology protocols, attended workshops, retreats, researched alternatives and have not given up. Psychedelics can be a safe option with proper preparation and guidance. I’m here if you have questions or want to explore possiblities. You are not alone.