If you have been dealing with chronic health conditions, chronic stress, or lifelong limiting beliefs that you haven’t been able to resolve through other approaches, neuroplasticity-based brain rewiring may be worth exploring. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself and form new neural pathways throughout life. Our experiences, behaviors, attention, and repeated practices can all influence this process.
Some of the most common questions when starting on this journey are: How do I get started? Can I do this on my own? Should I use a brain rewiring program? Or should I follow the guidance of a coach? The good news is that there are many ways to approach brain rewiring, but there are benefits and tradeoffs to each. I’m going to go over these options to help you decide which approach might be right for you.
Before doing so, it’s important to mention that regardless of which method you use, the brain rewiring work can only be done by you. Books, blog posts, programs, and coaches can guide you on how to do this work, but ultimately you will need to develop an insightful relationship with your mind to change the way you view yourself and the world around you. This in turn can have a life-changing positive impact on your emotional resiliency, your physical health, and on the general outlook of your life going forward.
Trying brain rewiring on your own
If you have no funds to purchase a program or to pay for coaching, this is your best option. This approach requires a significant time commitment for doing your own research. This option can work well if you are a resourceful person without a lot of cognitive difficulties. You can piece together your own brain rewiring routine from various free resources. There are several ways you can go about it. I’m going to list a few here:
Books – If you don’t have funds to purchase books, the library is a great option. They offer both in-person and online titles as well. Some well known industry experts who have written books on this topic are Dr. Rick Hanson, Annie Hopper, John Sarno, and Norman Doidge.
Podcasts: – there are some wonderful podcasts on this topic. One that I found particularly helpful was Our Power Is Within hosted by Chazmith. Each episode features a guest sharing their experience with chronic illness and different brain rewiring approaches. I also enjoyed The Happiness Lab by Dr. Laurie Santos as a supportive podcast.
Other free resources: Dr. Cathleen King has free resources on the Primal Trust website. Brain rewiring coaches often have websites, blogs, and social media accounts, where they share free resources and insights with retrainers. Signing up to their newsletter, following their YouTube channel, or reading their blog posts can provide a wealth of information at no cost to you.
AI Help: AI tools can also be extremely helpful when exploring brain rewiring and nervous system healing. They can assist with journaling prompts, guided visualizations, personalized routines, learning new concepts, organizing information, and building supportive daily practices. While AI should never replace professional medical or mental health care, it can be a useful tool for self reflection, education, and encouragement.
The benefits of this approach:
- The most obvious benefit here is the cost. If you have little to no resources to spend on a brain rewiring program, this is a good way to go.
- You get exposed to different paradigms and you can piece together a routine what works best for you
The disadvantage of this approach:
- It can be a time consuming process to find what works and doesn’t work for you.
- It requires a moderate amount of cognitive ability, which can be difficult if you’re dealing with brain fog or distracting symptoms.
- When you try methods that won’t work for you, it’s easy to get discouraged.
- If you get stuck or have questions, it’s more difficult to find the help you need to continue because there is no structured guidance or support.
In conclusion:
If you have no funds to spend on a program but you have time and capacity to do some research, you could piece together your own brain rewiring routine. There is no structured guidance or support, however, you can always seek out online brain-rewiring support groups where you can ask questions and seek support. Just know that in unmoderated social media groups not every well-intended comment will be good advice.
Using a brain rewiring program
I started with this approach because I wanted the structure and guidance of an established program rather than trying to piece everything together on my own. I was motivated to get started right away, and a DNRS success story that resonated with me gave me a lot of encouragement to begin.
The three most popular brain rewiring programs are DNRS, Primal Trust, and The Gupta Program.
The benefits of using a brain rewiring program:
- Everything you need to do is packaged together into one bundle. All you need to do is watch the videos or follow a workbook and do the program as it is laid out – to the best of your abilities.
- Community support: the most popular brain rewiring programs that have been around for many years have large global community forums. These forums are full of resources, advice, guidance on how to implement the program correctly, ongoing encouragement, and a sense of belonging.
- Access to both group coaching and individual coaching within the bounds of your specific program
- A large collection of success stories from other retrainers who experienced significant health improvements using the same program
- While there is cost associated with purchasing a program, there are several programs that offer both a free trial and a money back guarantee if the program is not working for you, such as DNRS and The Gupta Program.
The disadvantages of using a specific brain rewiring program:
- Brain rewiring programs cost money, on average about $300 – $600.
- The program you initially chose might not be the right one for your needs, thus choosing the right program is an important decision.
- While these programs are very helpful, there might be parts you need to figure out on your own, as these programs are designed with a broad but common situations mind. If the program community support isn’t enough help for you, coaching can help. More on this in the next section.
In conclusion:
Using a brain rewiring program takes a lot of guesswork out of the brain rewiring process. When you have questions or feeling stuck, you can ask for help on their community forum, search previous posts, or purchase a coaching session. Working with a brain rewiring program that fits your needs can propel your healing journey and make it easier for you to overcome obstacles during your rewiring process.
Utilizing individual coaching
Coaching can be used instead of purchasing a brain rewiring program or to supplement the brain rewiring program with which you are working. Having a baseline familiarity with a program and their global support forum can greatly reduce the amount of money you might need to spend on coaching. Sometimes a couple of sessions is all you need to get you back on the right track if you’re utilizing a program.
However, some people prefer a coach’s guidance from the beginning. In these situations, a coach can help you look at your current challenges and goals and develop a personalized approach to your brain rewiring practice. This can be helpful if structured programs feel too rigid or if you would prefer more individualized guidance.
The benefits of using a coach for rewiring work:
- Individualized attention and support tailored to your particular challenges, goals, and circumstances
- Help identifying obstacles, staying consistent, and adjusting your approach when something isn’t working for you
- Personalized practices and strategies that can evolve as your needs change
The disadvantages of using a coach for rewiring work:
- This can be a pricey option, depending on how much time you need with a coach. Individual coaching typically costs between $100 – $250 per hour.
- Some coaches don’t offer single sessions, so you need to buy a package at a high upfront cost. These packages are typically not refundable, even if you are not getting the help you need.
- Not every coach is the right fit for your needs. It might take some time and money to find the right coach for you. You can mitigate this risk by only purchasing a single session or two at first with any given coach.
- Lack of community which you would get with any popular brain rewiring program
In conclusion
If you have the funds and prefer individualized guidance, coaching may be worth exploring. Not every coach will be the right fit, and working with a coach doesn’t guarantee a particular outcome. If one approach or coaching relationship isn’t helpful, it’s okay to reassess what you need and try something different. Personally, I’ve found that the coaches I’ve worked with have each helped me in some way, even when they weren’t ultimately the right fit for me.
I hope this guide provides some clarity in choosing the right path for you. In closing, I have one last word of advice for you. Don’t give up on your healing journey. Change course if you need to, take a break if you need to, but life is waiting for you to live it. Regardless of your age and your circumstances, you have a heartbeat, therefore, you have a reason to be here. Even if you can’t see it now, you have a purpose. This rewiring journey will help you find that purpose.