Learned helpness, toxic information , mindfulness and 9 irrational idea.

Learned helpessness ( this issue deserves a large article, but let´s leave it for another time. However, the experiment shows how we are lead to believe some misinformation about ourselves that are self-destructive and unhealthy. To learn more click on the link)

Unfortunately, we all have these kind of  toxic information in our brain and our experience is the outcome of this information. The brain cannot stop working and at the beginning of our lives it has a great deal of capacity to learn and memorize. Because of that ,  we were and are able to store loads of information, but, not only the amount of this information is important, quality also has a say in this.
Our brain has some preinstalled errors as a result of its own design and configuration. In this way, perception and memory mistakes are well known. Apart from that, it is unquestionable that we can learn loads of errors, that is, wrong, false, and toxic information that can be the reason of our problems. In  this issue, environment  has a really important role.  According to Michael Merzenich, our abilities and strengths are shaped in part by our environment.
Thus, some unhealthy and self-destructive behaviors are the result of patterns learnt and reinforced, for example, at school. For instance, in one hand, we might learn how to summit to authority, the unthinking adherence to certain customs, to be pessimistic, to avoid problems instead of facing them, or to think that we do not deserve anything good. On the other hand, we might have been punished on showing  some beneficial  behaviors, such us, curiosity, independence, feel worthwhile, or speak frankly.
Our culture and environment is plenty of some wrong information that do not match with real facts of observation, and that could make us feel bad.
"You cannot be independent, you have to follow the track of people who are better than you", "You cannot learn by yourself", "Your thoughts and your feelings are wrong". " Compare yourself with your sister, your mentor, your teacher, your classmate, your tutor". Can you recognize yourself in these statements?. Your brain is infected by these information by years of exposure to them. By years of exposure we did not need.
So, wherever it comes from, learning wrong information, it is the source of the majority of our emotional pain, and suffering, and it works as an inner "mobbing".

Emotions are answers of our central nerve system that are triggered by some  relevant stimulus needed to survival. There is an tight link  between emotions and memory. Emotions foster the learning as they increase the activity of the neuronal pathways and reinforce their  connections. Those information that have been impressed by an emotion, last in a deep and long term way in our memory, and to make things worse and better, it depends, they are more available.

The neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga reminds us that emotional events tend to turn into recurring memories.

Looking for control

How can we remove these information from our brain?
Some studies found that attempts to remove negative thoughts or feeling have just caused the opposite effect, or even increase its frequency and intensity.
We cannot switch off our brain, neither  erase by the force of our will these learned patterns   nor  invert the process by which we learnt them.
But we can train ourselves to avoid these information damage us anymore. We cannot stop the wages but we can surf them.
Our brain thinks in any moment that our thoughts and the content of our conscience is real. We become fuse with these contents, we identify ourselves with our thoughts and our experiences.
The fundamental change comes from hand of the out-centering strategy.
We can become aware of these automatic thoughts and they can be seem as mere temporary feelings. The practice of pay attention to these contents of the conscience is the central axis of the mindfulness During the practice of full attention we can develop a kind of new mind condition. By watching ourselves from the outside we can disconnect from this automaticity. Therefore, our brain can learn that this idea is not threatening  and do not give it any resource, and as consequence it will disappear. It works as if this information would be only an outcome of our brain instead of reality, and as this information does not disturb us, our brain  does not  register it  as a threat . As our brain is a specialist in registering menaces, if  it does not give  any importance to the idea ,  it just will  disappear. The information which is not important will not be recalled, and because of that, it will become less and less available to our memory.
It will take us a great deal of practice and time, but the reward is, without any doubt powerful.
When we feel safe  from  this misinformation, will give us more probability to address and to define our real goals. No matter how loudly our old voices and recordings can shout , we will able to  go forward in spite of their yells.