Most people tend to think of brain health in terms of supplements, puzzles, or genes. However, there’s a deeper level that needs to be touched, and that’s when psychological therapy can make a difference and affect how you deal with stress, process things, and maintain your focus over time. Here are a couple of therapy options to try to help improve mental resilience and slow cognitive aging considerably.
Train Your Thinking Patterns with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is normally understood as a structured approach for anxiety and depression. Lately, there’s growing interest in what this therapy really does for the brain. Essentially, CBT is a strategy for helping people become more aware of negative thinking patterns, such as catastrophizing, black-and-white thinking, and rigid self-criticism, and then learning more balanced ways of thinking and acting.
You have to understand that these nagging negative thoughts hit your nervous system, affect sleep, and impair concentration. This constant burden also contributes to cognitive aging. CBT helps you learn skills to activate your brain naturally, allowing it to change from a constant state of threat response into more adaptive ways of thinking.
To learn more about this therapy, you can explore the sites of licensed therapists. It gives you all you need to know about CBT and other evidence-based techniques they utilize to deal with depression, anxiety, trauma, and relationship issues. They also help you learn how CBT is not limited to emergency situations, but can also be incorporated into a more general, holistic approach to boost mental wellness. To get more from CBT, think of it as a series of training sessions. For this:
- Share real-life situations with your therapist to learn how to work through triggers, thoughts, feelings, and actions.
- Practice thought-challenging and behavior experiments outside of sessions, even if you have a bad day
- Pay attention to any thoughts about aging and memory that influence your health-related decisions and motivation
These small steps can help reduce emotional swings and improve executive functions over time, which are vital for healthy thinking as you age.
Clear Trauma with EMDR Therapy to Reduce Mental Load
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy was developed as a treatment for trauma and has since been substantiated for PTSD, anxiety disorders, and similar problems. This therapy involves giving bilateral stimulation through eye movements or taps as you think about traumatic or otherwise upsetting memories in a structured way.
Unprocessed trauma keeps the brain in survival mode. This means that the amygdala is in overdrive, focus is narrowed to threats, and a tremendous amount of mental energy is focused on threat assessment only. All this can interfere with sleep, relationships, learning, and other important aspects of brain health.
EMDR isn’t sold as a solution for cognitive aging, but by reducing the constant states of arousal and freeing up the mind, this therapy may make it easier for attention, memory, and learning to improve with time. To get good results, connect with a therapist who is well-trained in EMDR and understands your individual circumstances, whether it’s a single traumatic incident, complex trauma, or ongoing stress. Be aware of changes in attention, energy, and motivation to try new things from one session to another.
Endnote
As years continue to add up, it’s important to value therapies that help your brain become more adaptable. Book a session with a therapist or start with some free guided CBT exercises and a simple five-minute mindfulness app. Remember, at the end of the day, mental agility will determine just how you’re going to live in your later years, so be sure to work on it from today.
This article was written for WHN by Catherine Park, a seasoned digital marketer with several years of experience working with non-profit organizations. She possesses extensive expertise in Education, Computer Science, and Psychology. Outside of her professional life, Catherine enjoys practicing Muay Thai and running marathons.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN neither agrees nor disagrees with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement.
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