NUT SPIN. THE IMPACT OF THE UNEXPECTED.

We now know through neuroscience research that the nervous system has neuroplaticity; This means that the brain can be modified structurally and functionally during life, so when faced with brain damage from a specific area of the brain, other areas can replace the lost functionality.

With these contributions it is also known that learning processes occur throughout life, the protagonists in this topic are the neurons or cells that are in the nervous system, the communication between them forms a path that is a learning route that it has the ability to enrich itself through life; learning is strengthened over time by repetition. In summary, our brain has the possibility of always continuing to learn. This leads us to understand the great wealth that can be accessed through human experiences.

If meaningful learning can bring more plasticity to our brain, that means that thanks to them our beliefs, our ideas and our points of view can be nurtured, flexible and expanded. And with it the way we see and relate to the world and to ourselves. That is the real possibility of reinventing ourselves in the course of life, and with it being willing to find new paths of development, sometimes not contemplated in the past and therefore challenging the status quo.

The changes in life, sometimes sought and sometimes simply perceived as an immutable destiny at a certain moment, are like a twist in the life story itself; that is to say, they can definitively and forcefully change the course that was supposedly already planned for oneself.

In the beginning, just as if we were in an amusement park game, the vertigo felt when abruptly changing direction leaves us disoriented; In order to find the state of stability again, time and adaptation work will be required, which depending on the turn will be more or less strong.

The twist turns our gaze in another direction, on a path not previously considered and most likely unknown. Through a meaningful encounter with people, places, or circumstances.   That moment can be lived in various ways, however a common factor when facing it will be uncertainty, fertile ground for new learning.

At that precise moment a crisis of meaning or of several meanings may appear as a reaction; about one's life, about oneself, about relationships or about past choices. The point is that it is useless to want to return to life from before. Something is changing within the individual, something that has no turning back and that manifests itself in the outside world as life-altering events.

That unexpected demands of the person determination and courage, although at first confusion and fear seem to invade everything, change of any kind always comes with a strong sense of danger. Finding the necessary temperance will be a process.

So when faced with new challenges, the brain has nothing left to learn, since what it knew before will probably not be of much use to it in the current circumstances. And therein lies the opportunity that the crisis brings, yes or yes you have to move on.

Pain, frustration, grief, anger, or just the discomfort of the moment will bring an adequate amount of haste to the learning required to facilitate change.   And just as in a narrow neighborhood road in which there is no possibility of returning, but only of continuing, we will be doomed towards the unknown, intuitively knowing that it is impossible to go back to that now distant safe place, it is only possible to face the That is present. This is a very important moment for neuroplasticity, since what we already knew is nourished by new learning and new ways of responding to what happens are formed.

This twist turns us into a new landscape, as long as we have the strength to see our inner demons; our stagnant beliefs, our ancient family mandates, our expired social demands. Life itself has the power to transform us if we allow it and our brain has the immense potential to recreate itself as many times as we need to in this adventure called life.  

Let us not seek to stagnate in any of the moments of life, in the long run, they will all be temporary. And the only thing that will remain is the inevitable reality of change. Let us always seek that our brain is flexible and that we find learning paths of constant renewal, we are curious of the world and of ourselves. Let us renew ourselves with joy and affection to walk with dignity in our sacred way of life.

Dra. Isabel Ayala Vera

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
COMMERCIAL ENGINEER
JUNGIAN ANALYST
593996050245

The original article in Spanish has been published on July 31,2019;
found at www.paolaayalavera. jimdo.com, 
this has been translated for this publication, 
the rights to the text and the photographs are by 
Paola Ayala Vera. This article can be cited with 
the proper reference.