Getting over a bad breakup is something that many people struggle with on a daily basis. A Broken Heart can lead to all sorts of emotional troubles, mental strains, and even forms of depression. Professor Barbara Sahakian from the University of Cambridge believes that she has come up with a solution to end the heartache of a failed relationship once and for all. She has developed a series of brain training exercises to help Mend a broken heart.
The Method
Professor Sahakian's method is a way to reprogram the brain to stop thinking compulsively. It consists of a series of brain training techniques that have been designed to help people stop dwelling on specific events, which can include a negative experience like a breakup.
Sahakian is a specialist in the study of the neural basis of emotional and behavioral dysfunction. Her technique involves completing simple tasks on a computer that help strengthen self-control. It is typically used to treat people with compulsive behaviors or disorders. Sahakian believes that these brain exercises may help people who have experienced the end of a bad relationship.
Brain Training
These brain training activities have been designed to be completed on a computer and are seemingly very simple. One example of these exercises is to respond to flashing left or right arrows on the screen and stop when a buzzer goes off. This specific brain exercise activates and strengthens the prefrontal cortex.
This section of the brain is associated with executive functions and inhibitory control. It may be trained like a muscle. Exercises activating this region of the brain can help boost its ability to respond to emotional stress, such as from a bad breakup. According to Sahakian, this technique may help people put an end to compulsive behaviors associated with breaking up such as texting one's ex or dwelling on the past.
Obsessive behaviors can sometimes be beneficial. However, in the event of a breakup, these behaviors can wreck havoc on emotional and mental wellbeing. The true affects of these brain training techniques in the case of a breakup have not yet been tested. The idea that it can help mend a broken heart is still a theory. However, Sahakian is confident in her method and believes that it can help people work through emotional trauma.
Brain exercises are not new. There are many applications and digital games that can used to help make the mind sharper and quicker. Mental clarity and responsiveness is highly beneficial for people in all cases, not only those who have suffered from a broken heart.
