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Neuroplasticity to Solve Racism
The brain’s ability to change may be a key to a better world
Neuroplasticity is a fancy scientific term used to explain how our brains have the ability adapt and learn.
One way therapists have used this concept to help people confront and overcome the psychological effects of trauma is through something called EMDR. It’s a type of neuroplasticity treatment that helps “re-wire” the brain. Basically, retraining how we think and react.
It’s above my pay grade to understand it all, but having suffered childhood trauma myself, I used EMDR as an adult and I was able to significantly reduce how often and how severe my childhood emotional triggers got the better of me.
EMDR isn’t the only type of neuroplasticity therapy out there.
Virtual reality can also be used to explore neuropathways.
Brain-computer interfaces, which allow a user to control devices, have been used to treat people. Cognitive rehabilitation therapy employs certain mental exercises to re-wire. There’s also sensorimotor therapy, neurointegration and physiotherapy techniques.
Additionally, a growing body of scientific research shows that music therapy can help reorganize and re-wire the brain to treat trauma and even mental disorders.
I’m no expert on these methods, or which ones are effective, but what scientists do know is that we have the ability to re-program our brains.
What scientists also are beginning to learn is that most of our decision-making and reactions are made by the unconscious parts of our brain.
In other words, we go through life acting and reacting not based on conscious well-thought-out choices, but based on the long-developed unconscious parts of our minds.
So, try this on for size.
When our brains have been fed a steady diet of racist mental food, by the time we’re adults, we’re for sure going to have deep, unconscious, negative thoughts about Black people. Not because we consciously feel that Black people are bad.
Still, we unconsciously react and think in destructive ways that we’re not even aware of. Usually pounding our hands on the table with…
