In Nov/Dec last year, I completed a 6-week solo trip in Japan, it was a trip full of so many highs and wins that I almost don’t know where to begin. Being in a brand new environment taught me a lot, and it allowed my brain retraining and growth to be challenged in a new setting. I am so grateful for my nervous system healing as prior to this, I would not have been able to go on this trip. I’m going to share some things I learnt and some wins below:

• I keep learning this again and again, but my self-limiting thoughts are layered, and with time and being out in the world I keep discovering new and deeper layers. At the start of the trip, I was careful to pace myself, watching my step count and scheduling rest stops at cafes or back at my accommodation. Gradually as I got busier and adjusted to the travel and gained more confidence in being out and about these thought patterns dissipated. On my final few days, I was up early, meeting friends, moving about Tokyo and planning multiple things within one day without a second thought. I completed a 4 hour hike on one of my last days as well, then had a long day catching a ferry back to the mainland, without limiting thoughts or worry around it. DNRS has truly taught me how much my thoughts create my world, and how much I can get caught up in stories I tell myself, and these limit my potential. As I let them go, and dive right back into channelling my pre-illness mindset I find I can be in the world with confidence and relative ease.

• My body is STRONG! The first week I was doing 20k steps most days in Tokyo and my legs were sore, but after a week my body got used to it and by the end of the trip it was abnormal for me not to be reaching 20k steps (I was averaging 8k a day before I left). My legs weren’t sore because of illness, but because they needed to build strength! Just like any healthy person would feel with a sudden increase in activity. It is exciting knowing and feeling my body getting stronger, rather than crashing and having to recover.

• I was out in a rural spot and someone I met told me about a biking tour they had done and sent me details. I had the opportunity to book it for the next day and of course, was full of self-limiting thoughts about it. It was a 6 hour day trip with E-bikes (I had only been on a bike once in the last 8 years and it was for 10 minutes). It also included a stop at an organic farm for lunch which is something I knew I would love. I decided to book it. The night before, my brain tried to go into a worry state, but I did some breathwork and went to bed with positive images of the next day. Of course, the day went amazingly well, I felt light and energetic and had a brilliant time. I was previously a very active and sporty person, reconnecting with that side of myself was such a great experience. A few days later, I was at Mount Fuji hired a bike with no worry and with confidence that I’d have a great time. I ended up doing about 40km over two days there and had a really beautiful time. As I was riding my bike to the view of Mount Fuji I recited my proclamation to myself and truly felt it in my body, “I am glowing with health and happiness..”. It was a special moment where I could see the power of DNRS and brain retraining in action. It is also interesting to see how fear can dictate and hold me back, I had more worry around the first time with the bikes, and after being fine, that fear completely and utterly dissipated and I rode much further and longer with ease.

• Another learning is that being around new friends who know nothing about my past/illness journey is so helpful. I met new people when travelling and I wouldn’t mention my health, so then, of course, they would assume that walking instead of a bus would be fine, and staying out late then meeting early in the morning was no issue. I would go along with it and found that I was fine! A few times I went out dancing and drinking until the early hours of the morning, this isn’t something I want to bring back into my usual routine, but being able to partake in those activities whilst travelling was fun. I also ate more adventurously and ended up loosening up my diet and my body handled that well. When I was around people who didn’t have self-limiting thought patterns, weren’t planning meticulously and were travelling and eating with more spontaneity, it made me realise areas where I was holding myself back, and allowed me to recognise and redirect them. I realised when I got home this trip was the first time I felt truly free from illness in years.

• This is something I have thought about a few times since starting DNRS, but it’s interesting how my brain responds in new environments. I find my brain can move into new pathways more easily in brand-new environments and I can do much more. I think the change in routine allows my brain to break free from its usual looping pathways, perhaps routine inadvertently encourages self-limiting thoughts and symptoms to show up automatically. For example, when travelling if Google Maps showed a 20 minute walk, and I had no choice I’d walk and enjoy myself, and since I have been home, I find myself having thoughts such as, “wait, is that too long, I have other things on in my day today, maybe I should get the bus, I don’t usually do that walk”. I have noticed this has been a pattern for me, and significant improvements have happened when I have been in new environments. Last year, I house sat for a while and that was a huge growth period as I had to walk a lot more than I was used to. Next, I moved from my parent’s place into an apartment, and that led to even more growth. I found that travel did the same thing to me. If I woke up feeling some symptoms, but it was my only day to be able to sightsee or visit somewhere cool then I always managed to do it and enjoy myself. Yesterday, when I mentioned resting because of my cycle to my housemate (I know, I know a self-limiting thought), she asked me, “What would Japan Alex do?”, it’s something I keep asking myself now. Another DNRS friend and I were chatting about this and we were trying to think of different ideas to ‘change’ our everyday environment, so it feels new to the brain. One idea that worked for me recently was wearing workout clothes and just wearing my sports crop without a shirt (I usually always cover up with a t shirt), I felt like my younger very sporty self who did athletics in that outfit and ended up doing some running. We thought maybe moving furniture around, or varying where we eat when training around food might be other ways of trying this.

• I was also chatting to some DNRS friends about how brave it is for all of us to be pushing ourselves to get back into the world after what is years of isolation for some of us. I love applying neuroplasticity in all areas to push myself. One thing I worked on when travelling was chatting to strangers, and meeting new people. I was proud of myself because I made some great friends in Japan and had a great time enjoying socialising and going out again. I feel that the trip was pivotal in regaining my confidence, a friend I recently caught up with after a few months commented that I looked really well, and she said it was my energy and confidence that made her say that. Being self-sufficient in a foreign country helped me to feel part of the world again, and reminded me to not be afraid to take up space or worry if people were looking at me (all very natural feelings after years of isolation).

• I realised quite late in the trip that I had no patches of brain fog, or zoning out whilst socialising. Even on days when I had been out late and had little sleep and then hung out with new friends for hours at a time (even when I was a little bit hungover). This was groundbreaking for me. I truly can see how my brain fog was a protective mechanism that my brain turned to when it felt threatened. Last year I had a few incidences where I caught colds/flus that were going around, and every time I did my brain fog and some other specific symptoms unrelated to cold/flus would flare. When I arrived home from Japan I had a bit of a bug that I must have picked up on the flight, this time I just had the usual infection symptoms but didn’t have any brain fog! I can see how my body’s maladapted stress response is healing and this particular symptom isn’t showing up as much now.

• Some other wins were:
  • Being able to sleep on the small Japanese futons
  • Sleeping through the night most nights
  • Staying in shared accommodation
  • Using hotel soaps and shampoos provided by the hotels
  • Eating gluten and dairy and still having the energy to enjoy my day
  • Eating the most sugar I have in years and thoroughly enjoying it
  • No guilt around the food freedom and genuinely enjoying trying varied cuisines
  • Travelling and being away from home during my cycle and being able to honour and rest those days without being hard on myself or struggling mentally
  • Multiple hikes in the mountains, my first pair of hiking boots are now dirty!
  • Meeting new friends, and feeling confident being out in the world
  • Having a very very imperfect DNRS practice (many days of skipped rounds), but being able to go with the flow and not backslide
  • Went into onsens with strong mineral and sulphur contents without any reactions
  • Challenged areas of my perfectionism with the unpredictability and ups and downs that travel brings

Overall, it was a very beautiful trip, and one I know that I will look back on for many years to come with joy and with the knowledge that it was a pivotal moment in my healing journey. I regained a lot of confidence, both in myself physically, but also socially in being out in the world. On one of my final days, I completed a beautiful hike that took me up to this rock in the sky that looked out over the island I was on. When I reached the top I was standing amongst the clouds in the rain and wind and for the first time in a long time I felt so truly free. I had a very emotional moment with some happy tears, as I realised that I have done it, I have reclaimed my life! I am so proud of myself for healing myself with brain retraining, and committing fully to regulating my nervous system. I am excited to continue on this journey, and continue taking my health and wellbeing to a higher level.

_{Note: My blog may contain some affiliate links. I will be paid a commission if you use this link to make a purchase at no extra cost to you. I only link to products or programs I have personally used}