Nutrition: it’s not Just what you eat
Nutrition, which is now being scrutinized by those seeking greater wellness and longevity, is too often associated solely with food and drink. However, it is our psychological state and our self-perception, which literally projects a certain version of the world, that contributes most to changing ourselves.
By paying attention to the effects of what we see, what we are told, and even what we say to others, this reality can be verified in everyday life. The way we choose to pay attention is an attitude that is not only reflected in the people around us, but more radically becomes the complex of our feelings and perceptions.
How information influence brain and body at the structural level
Today, we need only consider the important role that language has taken on in neuroscience, and consequently in psychotherapy, to better understand this reality of subjective experience. Recent findings have led psychotherapy to be considered a true biological treatment; it produces changes in the brain and thus in the body of the recipient. These changes occur not only at the molecular level, such as the production and release of neurotransmitters and hormones, but also at the structural level, such as the formation and strengthening of new neural connections, neurogenesis, and brain plasticity. These changes, in turn, affect behavior, thinking, emotions, and health.
By consensually modifying the brain functions and structures involved in the problem, psychotherapy is now recognized as an intervention that acts directly on the patient’s biology.
Images and sounds, stimuli contained in language, thus cause not only behavioral but also physical changes, crystallize moods, habits of thought, emotional associations, and mental shortcuts. It is, to all intents and purposes, a tangible influence not only on our bodies, but also on our ability to take care of ourselves, to direct our interests, and to change people and the world.
Neurogenesis is the process of forming new neurons in the brain. It occurs primarily in the hippocampus, an important region for memory and learning in adults. Emotional states are the psychological and physiological conditions that accompany emotions such as happiness, sadness, fear, anger, etc.
The relationship between neurogenesis, emotions and language
The relationship between neurogenesis and emotional states is bidirectional. That is, they influence each other. On the one hand, emotional states can modulate neurogenesis, either positively or negatively. For example, positive emotional states, such as well-being, optimism, and gratitude, can stimulate neurogenesis and promote the survival and integration of new neurons. In contrast, negative emotional states, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, can inhibit neurogenesis and impair the function of new neurons.
Neurogenesis can affect emotional states both directly and indirectly. For example, neurogenesis can help modulate emotional states, facilitate adaptation to novel or adverse situations, prevent disorders such as anxiety and depression, and mediate the effects of other factors that affect emotional states, such as exercise, sleep, social relationships, and the effects of drugs.
In summary, neurogenesis and emotional states are closely related and interdependent. If neurogenesis is a plastic and dynamic phenomenon that responds to emotional experiences and cognitive needs, related to communication and language, the most powerful nutrition source is the information we acquire during our experiences: ultimately, what we pay attention to and engage in, modifies or maintains the more or less spontaneous feelings that fuel our current state of consciousness, and thus the ability to perceive or not perceive problems and opportunities, needs or feelings of fulfillment.
