One of the most important aspects of healing with brain retraining and creating neuroplastic change is repetition. Unfortunately, this requires immense motivation and dedication and it’s no lie that one hour per day of practice everyday can become monotonous.

The people that I have met who have made the greatest progress with brain retraining are those who commit fully, and show up everyday. Of course, when we are healing from an impaired limbic system we are often in a dorsal freeze state which makes showing up everyday even harder. Our brains are working against us and don’t want us to change!

When I first started brain retraining with DNRS I was incredibly unmotivated and definitely in a dorsal vagal collapse/ freeze state and needed to have tools in place to keep myself dedicated to my practice (I had already dabbled in the Gupta Program on and off for a few months and hadn’t managed to complete the videos).

I have listed some of my favourite tips for keeping motivated below, I envision this will be a multi-part blog post. As I continue practicing my tactics for staying motivated have evolved. A lot of the tips below are the initial strategies I used to get myself started with brain retraining

• The moment that truly made me realise DNRS and brain retraining were what I needed was when I heard a recovery story that explained the science behind brain retraining and mentioned symptoms I was experiencing. Liz shared her story, which you can find linked here. Luckily, I got to participate in a private Zoom session my doctor hosted with Liz. That was a lightbulb moment for me and sparked an initial burst of motivation. I recommend checking out the DNRS website, community forum, or platforms like YouTube and Instagram for success stories that resonate with you.

• Understanding that low motivation can be a sign of limbic system impairment was crucial for me. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for goal-directed thoughts and actions, is affected by limbic system impairment, reducing its processing abilities. Knowing this and understanding that motivation would improve as I healed gave me a sense of empowerment. Another perspective was recognizing that my nervous system was in a freeze response, naturally resisting brain retraining. Being in this state also meant I was lacking dopamine, a key hormone for motivation. Remembering this, it’s important to be gentle with yourself, recognising that you’re doing your best while contending with a stubborn limbic system stuck in survival mode.

• One strategy that helped me was realising that when my motivation was at its lowest, that’s when my brain needed the practice the most. Some call these moments “neuroplastic gold” because the brain is more receptive to change during these times.

• I invested in the DNRS program and promptly enrolled in a group class starting the following week. This gave me a deadline to watch the videos beforehand. Investing money tends to motivate me, although I understand it’s not feasible for everyone. If you have the resources, I highly recommend these classes.

• I put a calendar up on my wall and I ticked off each day that I did my practice. I knew I had a very ‘all or nothing’ and perfectionistic personality type (something I have now worked on with my brain retraining and will have to write about soon), but I used this trait to my advantage, I knew that I couldn’t skip a day and an ongoing visual streak would keep me going.

• Know that everyone feels like this. I used to sit on my bed half an hour (or longer!) procrastinating before forcing myself into my rounds. I also used to spend the whole day at home and then at 11pm when I should have been asleep I would be sneaking in some rounds to make sure I didn’t lose my calendar streak.

• I was hugely into the DNRS forum when I first started practicing and reading as many success stories as I could helped me to keep practicing. I bookmarked my favourites and revisited them whenever I was having thoughts around whether this healing modality would work for me.

• I read the DNRS recommended reading list, reading more about the science behind brain retraining really helped reinforce why I was doing what I was doing and helped motivate me.

• Connecting with and making new friends through the programs helped immensely, if you can’t join any paid groups there are Whatsapp groups and you can reach out via Facebook groups or the DNRS forum to find others on the same path. I had multiple ‘accountability’ buddies who helped me stay in check. I also later joined a DNRS Book club which became a fortnightly chat about both books and just how our practice was going. It reminds me of a tip from the book ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear, where it’s suggested to ‘change your community’ when adopting new habits.

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