In The Mind and The Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force, Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz argues that the human mind “has the power to change the brain.” In helping OCD patients manage their mind through a form of Buddhist mindfulness training, Schwartz changed the lives of those previously paralyzed by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He claims that we are much more in control than perhaps we take responsibility for:
… a pharmaceutical company tells us that to cure shyness (“social phobia”), we need only reach for a little pill … we fall prey to depression, or anxiety, or inability to sustain attention, and are soothed with the advice that we merely have to get our neurochemicals back into balance to enjoy full mental health … there is significantly more to the story than just biology.
Perhaps this is a good time to start paying attention to the thoughts we think most often!