How the Brain Builds Pathways (And Why Symptoms Get Louder)

When you learn to do something for the first time, new neuro pathways are formed in your brain.

For ease of explanation, imagine threads of cotton in your mind - one for walking, one for talking, one for picking up a toy, one for brushing your teeth… you get the idea.

A lot of these pathways are developed when we’re children, but as the saying goes…

“Every day is a school day.”

We never stop learning.

As we grow into adulthood, we learn about finances, relationships, how to be parents… but we also learn stress, worry, pressure, and self-doubt. And if you’ve ever noticed that your brain finds it easier to think negatively than positively - you’re not imagining it.

Our brains are brilliant at being negative.

It’s part of our fight or flight response. Our brain is constantly scanning for danger so it can protect us. But in modern life, danger doesn’t always look like a tiger chasing you down the street. It looks more like:

• self-doubt

• guilt

• feeling like you’re failing

• worrying you’re not good enough

• overthinking every tiny thing you’ve ever said

It’s much harder to praise ourselves because we’ve been taught it makes us sound big-headed or vain.

Anyway… the more we practise what we’ve learned, the stronger those neuro pathways become.

And here’s the important bit:

It doesn’t matter whether the pathways are positive or negative. Your brain strengthens them all the same.

Once they’re learned, they’re always there. They can weaken if you stop using them, but they don’t disappear completely.

Think about riding a bike. You learn as a child, and it becomes second nature. If you don’t ride for years and then try again as an adult, you might be wobbly at first… but that pathway is still there. It strengthens quickly and before you know it, you’re off like you never stopped.

The same thing happens with our thoughts and our symptoms.

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The brain scan we don’t even notice

When someone asks you, “How are you?” or “Are you ok?” your brain often does an instant body scan before you even realise it.

It checks:

Is something wrong? Are we in danger? Are we safe?

And again… it scans negatively because it’s trying to protect you.

You might not have noticed an ache or a pain, but your brain brings it to the surface. Then if you get distracted, it drops back into the background again.

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The more you mention symptoms, the louder they become

During The Lightning Process I completed last year, we talked about how often the word pain is said in a day - especially when you live with a chronic illness.

Every time we repeat it, talk about it, focus on it, fear it…

that pathway strengthens.

So it was time to do the opposite.

What if we practised being content?

Or calm.

Or safe.

Or at peace.

Or even just okay.

What if we focused on that over and over again until that became second nature?

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What changed for me

I’ve really focused on doing this, and I’ve been able to come off all of my nerve pain medication.

I was on a combination of about four medications, and at the highest levels of them all. Slowly, over months, I reduced them one by one.

And just to be clear - this is just my personal experience, not advice. Always speak to your medical team.

But for me, by refocusing my brain on feeling safe and at peace, and by trying to ignore the nerve pain rather than fear it, it stopped feeling so intense.

The strange thing about my nerve pain was that it jumped from one place to another. And that’s how I knew something wasn’t physically “wrong” in the way I’d assumed.

It felt more like my brain was trying to get my attention.

So now, when I experience nerve pain (because yes, I still do), I try to step back and look at what’s happening around me mentally and physically. I accept that my brain might be warning me rather than there being something actually physically damaged.

The brain is powerful. And there’s still so much we don’t know about it.

But I’ve accepted that it has more influence over my body than I ever realised.

I’ve taken advice from professionals who understand far more than I do, but I’ve also listened, researched, and learned through my own experience too.

And coming off medication wasn’t quick. It was done slowly, steadily, and safely - with support.

Again - always speak to your pharmacist or doctor before making any medication changes.

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What have I learned about my FND?

When I was diagnosed with FND, we were given very little information by the consultant.

This isn’t a dig at her, by the way. It’s just that FND is different for everyone. There’s no neat little list that applies to all of us.

She gave me a few websites to look at, but I still had to take a deep look at my own symptoms to understand my version of FND.

And honestly… it reminded me so much of being diagnosed as autistic.

The diagnosis is only the start.

Then comes the real journey:

How does it affect me?

What are my triggers?

What overwhelms me?

What does recovery look like for my body?

There was a definite overlap in how I processed it.

There are so many factors to my FND. So many triggers. But if I had to sum it up, the biggest one is this:

It’s all about managing my energy levels.

And that’s where the real day-to-day work begins…

Go to Part 2: When Rest Becomes a Full-Time Job

JuJu x