How to Re-wire Your Stress Response
The revolutionary benefits of brain training — especially for those with chronic conditions
Our stress response influences far more than we think - it impacts our health and lens on life | Photo by Antonio Guillem on Shutterstock
Introduction
During my first week at work in January, something inexplicable happened.
Between friendly meet & greets with my coworkers and reading new documentation, I became increasingly stressed to the point where my hands barely worked. The onset of stiff wrists and inflammation derailed me further and by Friday, I had snowballed into a nervous wreck.
Talking on the phone with a friend, she asked, “I don’t get it. I know it’s your first week of a new job, but what triggered that much stress for you?” I had no idea myself. My coworkers were perfectly kind and nothing was even expected of me at that point.
It seemed that the smallest stress had a mysterious way of amplifying itself in my body and triggering a cascade of inflammation.
And unfortunately, it wasn’t an isolated incident. Food sensitivities meant even an ounce of butter in food or milk in my coffee could trigger days of inflammation. Stressful interactions could leave my body tense for hours. My body seemed to be under constant fire for reasons I couldn’t explain.
I wondered if I was dealing with lingering symptoms of chronic Lyme or if what doctors told me was actually true: my body is just sensitive.
It wasn’t until I explored a form of brain training called Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) that I finally got the answer to what was going on in my body.
What is Brain Training?
As the creator of DNRS, Annie Hopper, explains:
”Injury and inflammation can cause sensitivity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), affecting its ability to filter incoming information in a healthy way which can lead to an extreme increase in the activation of fear networks…When not functioning properly, the ACC can cause an ‘over-focus on the intensity of both perceived and real threats…Damage to any cells along this neural network could considerably change the function of the cingulate cortex, thereby altering its function and its perception of harm, and contributing to the chronic stress response that is implicated in many illnesses.” — “Wired for Healing” by Annie Hopper
In other words, a brain that has been subject to prolonged stress and inflammation — whether from pathogens or emotional stress — is altered over time. The patterns become so deeply etched and reinforced that the emotional center of the brain, the limbic system, gets dysregulated. By then, even if the stressor is removed, the brain remains stuck in fight, flight, or freeze mode.
Unfortunately, a dysregulated limbic system will also broadcast stress signals throughout the body manifesting in symptoms as diverse as food and chemical sensitivities, fatigue, mood swings, and looping thoughts. The more a person reacts to these symptoms with worry, anxiety, or general distress, the more deeply ingrained they become. Chronic stress dysregulates the limbic system, which continues to feed the chronic stress response in a vicious cycle.
The good news is that while the nervous system can get stuck in a chronic stress response, it can also be rewired. The brain’s ability to change is called neuroplasticity and it’s the basis for brain training programs such as the one I’m currently taking, Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS).
The program is based on the concept that if a person continually interrupts old stress responses and replaces them with ones that support well-being, he changes the wiring of his brain and the messages the brain sends to the body. Practiced over weeks and months, brain training can change a person’s fundamental physiology and biochemistry.
So that’s what I’m doing. After signing up for the DNRS program weeks ago, I practice rewiring my brain week by week. As I re-wire my brain, it sends new messages to my body and my response to the world shifts.
But what does brain training actually involve? While beyond the scope of a single article, here are some of the key steps of brain retraining and why they are so powerful:
1. Build awareness of existing stress responses
One of the first steps of the DNRS brain retraining program is to understand the existing stress response. Until a person understands when and how he normally reacts to stress, he can’t create a new response in its place.
This alone was eye-opening for me because I discovered how often I respond to stress on a daily basis with thoughts that generate further stress. Even a birthday dinner with friends at a restaurant set me into a stress response with thoughts such as:
“With my food sensitivities, I can’t eat anything on this menu.”
”I’m so frustrated that I can’t eat anything. This is so annoying.”
”I think I ate something I shouldn’t have. I’ll have inflammation for days.”
Part of the program has been learning to view these thoughts as a curious observer and notice how they generate further stress in the body. As I became aware of my existing stress responses, I realized how often I responded to stress with worry and anxiety, amplifying the response.
Once I gained practice observing my usual stress responses, the next step was learning to break out of them.
2. Replace old stress responses
If interrupting an existing stress response is step one, replacing it with an improved response is step two.
For me, this means that each time I notice an old stress response being triggered — whether worry, anxiety, fear, or frustration — I interrupt and re-route it. I may reroute it with a distraction, laughter, or a moment of gratitude, but the important thing is to consciously train my brain to respond to stress in a new way. To tell it over and over again that the situation is safe and it can respond with ease.
The DNRS program offers a wonderful process for doing this systemically. In a nutshell, it involves:
Stopping an existing stress response and acknowledging it as an old program in the brain.
Consciously acknowledging the desire to make a new choice and congratulating oneself for doing so.
Choosing a new response for the next moment, such as gratitude or a focus on something positive in the environment.
Steps like these may seem fundamental but repeated over and over in moments of stress, they become habitual and re-wire how the brain responds to threats and the signals it sends to the body.
3. Prime the brain for new stress responses
One of my favorite parts of the DNRS program so far is what is called a proclamation. A proclamation is a script of how life looks with the new stress response already in place. Since the limbic system doesn’t distinguish between thoughts or ideas about the past, present, or future, scripting a new stress response in the present tense programs the brain to begin responding accordingly.
A script can include general statements such as, “I wake up each morning feeling more and more energized” or “I’m digesting food well and my body feels great.” What I’ve found even more helpful is to write a script for the entire day, imagining how I want to face any challenges I’ll encounter. If I have an upcoming work presentation or important meeting, I script how I want to respond to the situation:
“I’m feeling very good about my presentation and even if it’s not perfect, that’s okay. I’m going to get great feedback from the experience.”
The power of scripting is that it allows you to create a new stress response and prime the brain to use it once the situation arises. By reinforcing it in multiple ways — through writing the script, visualizing it, and even recording your voice reading it and playing it back — the brain receives a new program for how to handle challenges before they arise.
Over the past few weeks of scripting, I’ve watched the effects slowly take hold. When everyday challenges or work stress come up, I don’t jump into a familiar loop. I’m more likely to pause and give myself a moment of grace. That extra moment of awareness breaks the cycle and amounts to less stress.
Less stress has translated to less inflammation, healthier hands and joints, and a much calmer attitude on a daily basis.
Conclusion: Why Brain Training is Revolutionary
Brain retraining is not only an incredibly powerful tool for shaping how we respond to stress, but a game-changer for how we think about conditions such as chronic Lyme, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, long Covid, or any other prolonged physical or emotional stresses.
Many of these patients fall through cracks in the current medical system and are ultimately told their physical symptoms are “all in their head.”
Brain training programs such as DNRS provide a framework for understanding how the nervous system’s stress response impacts a person’s body and daily life. More importantly, they help people to consciously shape their stress response and in doing so, change the signals sent between their brains and bodies.
If there’s one message I’ve taken from the DNRS program so far, it’s how deeply my brain can change and with it, my emotions, my physical health, and my whole outlook on life.
