You Can Too | General DNRS Encouragement

If you read my story of healing, please don’t ever think, “Well it worked for her, but...”

There are not just a few of us made with brains that can change. Neuroplasticity isn’t like blonde hair or extroversion or the ability to roll your tongue, a gift or gene you are born with. It’s a gift made to ALL with a brain, that simple. Neuroplasticity truly is just how it is.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀

So if you’re thinking DNRS is great and all for those it happens to work for, I have good news: you’ve missed the point entirely! DNRS is for anyone with a chronic illness. (And even better, its tools are valuable for anyone to take advantage of to be better equipped for the ride of life!)

So feel free to print off this post and refer back to it as needed in your DNRS journey.

 

When Overwhelmed

The Rollercoaster | It is totally normal to feel the highs and lows of the roller coaster that is retraining your brain. But a roller coaster implies there are not only lows but highs: so write down every win and celebrate them. They’ll become more frequent! And when you’re in a downswing, refer back to the wins and immerse yourself in them. You can even use them as your memories in practices.

Perfection Not Required | You do not have to catch every single thought that needs rewired—that’s actually impossible. It’s about quality not quantity. It is much more beneficial to catch one that pops up and view it as a ripe opportunity for rewiring than to shame yourself for missing any.

All you need to do is practice every day and catch what you can. Your brain has no choice but to do what you tell it—truly. It just will take time, and all that’s required of you today is to do today’s practice, not to have a perfect day or even a great day. This is the part where you’re sowing in faith, and the harvest will come later.

Feel the Things | It’s okay to be frustrated, sad, or grieved by the hard parts of where you are right now. Healing is not easy. While it’s so exciting that you have the tools to heal, at the same time, it’s really hard and you’re in the part of healing right now that involves a lot of ups and downs and having to trust the process. You are allowed to feel both: hope and sadness, excitement and discouragement. Allow yourself to feel it all.

 

Common Hurdles

Resistance | The feeling of your brain resisting and your body allegedly not listening is totally normal. You are basically defying gravity. But the payoff of learning to fly is worth every minute of work.

Incremental Training | Go slow on challenging yourself in incremental training. If you begin to train and run into a large number of symptoms, you probably went too far too fast. The best way to avoid that is to take things in tiny increments. For example, when someone is healing sensitivity to perfume, they would start with visualizing the bottle for a while, like at least days if not more, until that no longer bothers them. Then have the bottle in the room, then hold it, then take the lid off for a second, then off for the whole training, then smell it, etc. The key is gradual and slow over time.

Lulls Are Natural | Most if not all of the people I know who have done DNRS (including me) hit a hump a couple weeks in. It is absolutely normal, and the one and only key is that you keep going. Here is how I thought of it: I “leveled up” in those first couple weeks and was immediately on a high, but I still had a lot of improvement left to go. I then acclimated to that new level of improvement and my body was like, “Wait, why do we still have issues?” I needed to just switch up the practice here and there (see below for more) and keep on going. And I did! It’s okay to be up and down, and that’s normal. Just don’t park yourself in the downs. Find your list of wins or do a round or mini round and u-turn those thoughts the other way.

Discouragement | Whenever you feel discouraged from continuing with DNRS, just think about the alternative: what happens if you don't keep going? Try to focus on what you want and what you know more than how you feel. It’s definitely tough, but you've come this far—you can keep on going! Time will pass either way, so why not keep trying in the meantime?

Stop Assigning | Don’t assign good days and bad days. Don’t even try to gauge if you’re up or down. Do your very best to live in the moment, armed with the many tools DNRS affords to compound beautiful moment on beautiful moment.

Timelines and Comparison | While this is the time to finally dream, it is not the time to try to force yourself into any timeline—your body knows exactly what pace is needed to thrive and it’s not something that can be forced. On that same note, this is not the time for comparison, especially comparing to other people’s DNRS timelines. Comparison is truly the thief of joy and will take the wind right out of your deserved sails.

Commitment | As Annie said, you need to focus on your healing most in these six months. Of course you have responsibilities, but kindly limit or temporarily cut out whatever you can that might hinder you. And if something is unavoidable, do a round first and a round after and know that if something comes up that brings issues, it’s just another bump in the road—and a ripe retraining opportunity—not the end of it.

 

Common Fears

Failure | The most committed are most afraid of doing it “wrong” or failing. But as I’ve said before, the only way to fail is to quit the program entirely, not making any self-assigned “mistakes.” Right now you are in that awkward space between sick and healed and each day, each hour, each minute even can feel totally different. Your Limbie is a little confused now because she’s heard certain things for so long and now you’re telling her new things. She’ll act out in different ways that could be discouraging but are totally normal. The key is to focus on all your wins, do a practice round when things arise, and counteract issues with the list of suggestions in the handbook. You cannot mess this up, and increased symptoms are no indicator of failure.

Expecting the Past | This may sound easier said than done, but do your best to not project the past into the present and future. You are taking on a new present and future, one free of the issues that led you here. So assuming that what “usually happened” in the past is definitely going to happen today is not helpful and also likely not accurate. It’s a new you going forward, day by day!

Flawed | Something you need to know is that you are totally whole, as whole as anyone else—you are not broken. You are not flawed or less than a whole person, and symptoms definitely are not commentary on your wholeness, value, or ability to do the program.

 

Tips When It Gets Stale

Proclamation | After several weeks, you may want to tweak your proclamation so it feels fresh again. I did and highly recommend it! Also make sure your proclamation is somewhere that you can see it often. Write it 10 times a day. Record yourself saying it and listen to it. Wield it like the beautiful truth that it is.

Rounds | If encountering an upcoming situation that would cause you issues in the past, do a round before and after. If something unexpected arises, do a round after. Every bit of life is opportunity for healing, not a punishment.

As with your proclamation, change it up. If there are words in the practice that don’t really resonate with you, change them! Even something as small as “I choose” instead of “I am choosing” may have a different feeling for you. Notice the parts of the practice that resonate with you the most and expound on them, build on them, or drag them out. For example, have a lengthier conversation with Limbie and/or explain what precisely you want to disconnect and what you want to wire instead. That is where you can really target needs that are unique to you.

Add things to the practice like dancing or music or photographs in the memory round—whatever gives you the happy feelings.

Practice in a mirror or record yourself and watch it back—mirror neurons are powerful, so get double going!

Reminders | Write down every single positive or win that happens every single day, and refer back to them often, especially when dealing with issues that arise.

 

Important Reminders

It All Matters | Retraining your brain and deciding you are healthy and living in that state in no way negates or belittles what you have been through in the past. And no matter what you have experienced, you are just as allowed as anyone else to choose health, happiness, and freedom and to live health, happiness, and freedom today and every day to come. You were perfectly designed with the capacity for thriving health as much as anyone else, and you are worthy to breathe, exhale, and live well.

One Day at a Time | This takes time, and it is hard. There is no easy way to say or hear that. But six months will pass regardless—they may as well pass with slow and steady progress! Have patience, and trust the process. Your brain has no choice but to listen, because that’s how it was made. All you have to do is take one day, or one hour, or one minute at a time.

Trust the Process | How did I learn to trust the process? Well, I just decided to trust the process.... I didn’t have any better option. Sometimes you just have to suspend your disbelief or fears and go with it. You know, deep down, that brain retraining works, so laugh at thoughts that arise and prove them wrong. Or, remind yourself that your doubts don’t change what’s true. It’s okay if you’re not convinced—that doesn't have any impact on whether it will “work” or not. It’s not easy but it is simple.

DNRS didn’t just work for me. You truly have just as much reason to heal as I did. Because the hope is real!

Be sure to check out the rest of my DNRS posts for deeper insight on all of these topics.

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More to see:

My DNRS FAQs | all my DNRS posts | the DNRS website

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical professional, and nothing I say is to be taken as medical advice. I speak only of my personal experience. | affiliate links above