5 Books Your Brain Needs to Read for Its Own GoodIn the last few decades — heck in the last year — science has been churning out radical new discoveries about the human brain and mental health which have us questioning what we thought were truths or throwing them away altogether.

We’ve learned that gut bugs greatly impact our mental health, depression is most likely an epigenetic syndrome, diet drastically reduces Alzheimer’s risk, and that we are able to intentionally guide neuroplastic change in our brains. All evidence points to the fact that you have much more influence over your brain and mental health than was ever believed.

Whether you’re dealing with depression and anxiety or want to make sure you know all there is to know about lowering your risk of age-related decline, knowledge is power.

Below are five books which I highly recommend for anyone with a brain….and they just also happen to be the ones from which I have written the most blogs!  🙂

Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life

Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D., is one of the original researchers that confirmed that the brain remodels itself based on input, neuroplasticity, throughout your life. Even though he’s a brilliant scientist, Merzenich explains all the complicated science stuff in understandable ways that you can relate to your everyday life. His book,  Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life,  has been a wealth of information for me and my website readers.

In Soft-Wired, Dr. Michael Merzenich–a world authority on brain plasticity–explains how the brain rewires itself across the lifespan, and how you can take control of that process to improve your life. In addition to fascinating descriptions of how your brain has produced your unique memories, skills, quirks, and emotions, Soft-Wired offers sound advice for evaluating your brain and gives clear, specific, scientifically proven guidance for how to rejuvenate, remodel, and reshape your brain to improve it at any age.”

Blogs on this site originating from the book:

Hardwiring Happiness: The New Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence

In the book, Hardwiring Happiness: The New Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence, Rick Hanson, Ph.D., does an excellent job of explaining why our brains are naturally wired to zero in on and hang onto the negative. What was once an evolutionary advantage is now the cause of stress, anxiety, and depression. Hanson spells out simple methods to override your brain’s default programming to build happier and calmer pathways in your brain. Dr. Hanson also offers an online program, The Foundations of Well Being, for more hands-on guidance.

Why is it easier to ruminate over hurt feelings than it is to bask in the warmth of being appreciated? 

Because your brain evolved to learn quickly from bad experiences, but slowly from good ones.
 
You can change this.
 
Life isn’t easy, and having a brain wired to take in the bad and ignore the good makes us worried, irritated, and stressed, instead of confident, secure, and happy. But each day is filled with opportunities to build inner strengths and Dr. Rick Hanson, an acclaimed clinical psychologist, shows what you can do to override the brain’s default pessimism.
 
Hardwiring Happiness lays out a simple method that uses the hidden power of everyday experiences to build new neural structures full of happiness, love, confidence, and peace. You’ll learn to see through the lies your brain tells you. Dr. Hanson’s four steps build strengths into your brain—counterbalancing its ancient negativity bias—making contentment and a powerful sense of resilience the new normal. In mere minutes each day, you can transform your brain into a refuge and power center of calm and happiness. You can hardwire in happiness.”

Blogs on this site centering around content in the book:

 

The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse The Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time

Alex Korb’s, Ph.D., book, The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse The Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time is the best book explaining how depression develops, physically and chemically, in the brain that I’ve ever read. Somehow, Korb manages to explain the neuroscience behind depression in an understandable, interesting style. He details how a brain gets depressed, the specific symptoms correlating with each brain malfunction, and steps you can take to reverse the patterns.

Depression can feel like a downward spiral, pulling you into a vortex of sadness, fatigue, and apathy. In The Upward Spiral, neuroscientist Alex Korb demystifies the intricate brain processes that cause depression and offers a practical and effective approach to getting better. Based on the latest research in neuroscience, this book provides dozens of straightforward tips you can do every day to rewire your brain and create an upward spiral towards a happier, healthier life.

Whether you suffer from depression or just want a better understanding of the brain, this book offers an engaging and informative look at the neuroscience behind our emotions, thoughts, and actions. The truth is that there isn’t one big solution to depression, but there are numerous simple steps you can take to alter brain activity and chemistry. Some are as easy as relaxing certain muscles to reduce anxiety, or getting more sunlight to improve your mood. Small steps in the right direction can have profound effects—giving you the power to become your best self as you literally reshape your brain, one small change at a time.

My copy is dog-eared, highlighted, and has coffee spills all over it. Some blogs from it are:

The Brain That Changes Itself

Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science, was my Bible during my recovery from a brain injury. Doidge shares inspiring stories about a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to function normally, stroke patients regaining lost abilities, people who overcame severe emotional and learning disabilities, IQs raised, and aging brains being rejuvenated. and supports it all with science. Doidge’s new book, The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity, is just as awesome.

An astonishing new science called “neuroplasticity” is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. In this revolutionary look at the brain, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., provides an introduction to both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they’ve transformed. From stroke patients learning to speak again to the remarkable case of a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, The Brain That Changes Itself will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.”

Blogs on this site containing information from this book:

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15 Comments

    • He does a fantastic job of blending mindfulness with neuroscience. I think you will like his books – especially Buddha’s Brain. 🙂

  1. Your book list sounds amazing. Like Sandra, I haven’t read Rick Hanson’s books. They will be great to get to!

    • He does a fantastic job of blending mindfulness with neuroscience. I think you will like his books.

      • Hey Debbie!

        Just discovered your blog, it’s great! All these books seem super interesting, but which one did you like more/would you suggest reading first?

        • They are all good, but I think I would start with “The Brain that Changes Itself”.

  2. I haven’t read anything by Rick Hanson either Debbie…another one for my list. Thanks for sharing such great resources.

  3. These all look wonderful! The only one I’ve read is Buddha’s Brain! Thanks for sharing!

  4. I love this stuff. I’ve read Hanson and Doidge, and I’ve done a lot of my own re-wiring. The neurons that fire together, wire together, as the saying goes. At the moment I’m reading how “forest bathing” does that, as well as has influence on the gut microbiome.

    I got into this after my personal Perfect Storm, which lead to my finally dealing with my developmental trauma and PTSD. Hanson was one of my resources, as was Doidge, along the path of healing. Isn’t it amazing, that as I sit here, my brain can actually be creating a new neural network, even at my age. I also discovered that adding aerobic exercise makes them even stronger, and going deeper into my elder years and my preferment, I think that’s important.

    • Nice to hear, Leckey. It is amazing and is the power we all have to change our lives and brains. Aerobic exercise is the best thing you can do to promote neurogenesis…which supports neuroplasticity. You would enjoy Soft-Wired by Michael Merzenich. https://buff.ly/2Jp0J97 Great book!

  5. Steven Earle Reply

    Simply put You Rock, the resources that you provide links to are all wonderful elements of helping others to find their way out of the labyrinth and into the clear light of day and self empowerment in a healthy and loving way.

    • Thank you for your kind words, Steven. I want others to know what really helped me! 🙂

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