All Brains Grow

Our hearts have been aching for all the innocent children suffering 💔 there are no words to describe the pain, grief and injustice.

When you don’t know what to say or do, focus on rectifying your heart and your actions in your own home.

For parents of neurodivergent children who don’t relate to the posts about “how to talk to your child about Palestine” because this isn’t something your child is concerned with… Instead, I hope this serves as reminder for you that you are the chosen parent for your child: you have an important role to play no matter what and your child is a blessing.

Praying for all the souls, for peace and for healing 🤲

Sensory overload in autistic kids ⬇️

In neurotypical individuals, social cues and stimuli (e.g. making eye contact, sharing something good that’s happened to us, having a conversation) are usually processed in the “reward system” of our brains. Most of us get a hit of dopamine when engaged in social interactions, because it feels good to be social.

However, when it comes to autism, there are 2 popular theories surrounding social interaction.

First one is that autistic kids aren’t intrinsically motivated to interact with other people because they aren’t neurologically “rewarded” by social interactions the same way most people are.

And the second suggests that as autistic individuals are more sensitive to sensory stimuli, they tend to avoid any additional stimulation in the form of interactions they perceive as overwhelming.

It seems like both of these theories hold true according to a study which compared social vs non-social rewards in autistic and neurotypical kids.

It was found that autistic kids anticipate social rewards less than neurotypical kids and are more focused on non-social rewards .This may be related to feelings of sensory overload in autistic kids and due to different reward anticipation.

Since social stimuli is less rewarding for autistic individuals, it’s important that we continually reinforce and celebrate whatever engagement they have shown us.

The more rewarding they will find it, the more the brain’s reward pathway will be strengthened, and the more we will all have meaningful relationships.

How do you repond to stress? 😩

How we respond to stress varies among different people, and this is partly dependent on our resilience.

By definition, resilience is “the dynamic process of encompassing positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity”.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many scientific studies done on examining the brain pathways of resilience. However, this is very important, as learning more about resilience can have important implications for the preventing and treating stress-related disorders.

Neuroimaging research shows that a more efficient brain processing and regulation is linked with greater resilience.

Neural pathways of resilience usually overlap with the brain pathways involved in emotion and stress regulation. Neuroimaging studies report increased activity in areas involved in emotion regulation including the hippocampus, ventral medial prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex regions during tasks with emotion evocative stimuli.

This is important as hippocampus is not only involved in memory processes and the processing of traumatic experiences, but also in the regulation of the stress system. Additionally, the ventral medial prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex regions have control over the amygdala (associated with the emotion of fear) and the stress system.

This suggest that there is a direct link between our intrinsic stress regulation mechanism and how resilient we are as individuals.

So take it easy, don’t be too hard on yourself, and get to work to improve your brain pathways!

Here is what you can do: neurofeedback, breath training and even intense exercise, as it helps with stress management.

Make sure to follow @‌allbrainsgrow for more brain related information and research!

Every sunrise brings a new chapter. ☀️

Be grateful for the chance to witness their growth, learn from their wisdom, and experience the pure magic of parenthood. With each passing day, we build a treasure of memories that will be cherished for a lifetime. ✨

Double tap ❤️ if you agree!

It do be like that… 🥲

Double tap ❤️ if you agree!

Did you know this about ADHD?

Brain imaging studies have shown some structural changes in several brain areas in children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In a study, MRI brain scans of people with and without ADHD were compared.

They found that the amygdala and hippocampus regions are smaller in ADHD. Here is why this is important:

These areas are responsible for emotional processing and impulsivity and had previously not been definitively connected to ADHD.

The good news is evidence shows that we can use neurofeedback training to reduce the inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms in ADHD children by regulating the brain as a whole, even though it is harder to target these 2 subcortical brain areas.

Follow for more information on all things neuroscience and neurodiversity!

Breaking the stigma begins with our voices, our stories, and our courage to challenge misconceptions.

Let’s be the change we wish to see in the world, inspiring others to join the conversation and help build a world free from judgment and stigma.

Whether it is ADHD, autism, depression or whatever condition that needs speaking up.. Let’s

Double tap and share this post if you agree!

Time with your children is the greatest gift you can give to them.

Make sure to cherish the laughter, embrace the mess, and savor the joy of simply being present.

Oooppsss 🙃

For those who need to hear this 🔑

Life can be demanding.

And when you add parenting to the mix, it’s a whole other story. 🫠

So take care of yourself. Slow down a bit. You deserve it ☁️

Send this to a friend as a reminder!

Secret to happiness? 🤩

I am sure you have heard of serotonin: the “happiness” hormone/neurotransmitter. It makes you feel happy, satisfied and calm. Amazing, right? 😍

Now, here is where things get interesting. Unlike other neurotransmitters that are produced in the brain, almost 95% of our serotonin is made in our gut.

Our bodies communicate in ways you aren’t even aware of! In fact, our brain and gut talk to each other all the time through these hormones and neurotransmitters.

This is known as the gut-brain axis. That “gut feeling” you get or the butterflies in your stomach… that’s real! It’s actually your brain and gut talking to each other.

When you consider the gut's complex ability to communicate with the brain, it's almost unthinkable that our gut is not playing a critical role in our mind states.

And serotonin proved this right! A deficiency in serotonin causes depression and anxiety.

That’s why GUT HEALTH = MENTAL HEALTH 💪🏻

Make sure to save this as a reminder!

For real ?🥲

💪 Keep Your Brain on Its Toes! 💡✨⁣

They say variety is the spice of life, and your brain couldn't agree more! 🌶️✨

Give your brain a big thank you by keeping it fit and active. 🙌⁣

Whether it's tackling brain-busting puzzles, learning a new skill, or embracing novel tasks, your brain will be jumping for joy! 🎉🧩⁣

So go ahead, challenge yourself, explore new horizons, and watch your brain thrive! 🚀🌈⁣

Ready to hit the snooze button and let melatonin work its magic!? 😴

Melatonin plays a crucial role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm. 💤

To increase melatonin production in the body, here are some strategies you can try:

💡Create a sleep-friendly environment: Dim the lights and limit exposure to bright lights, especially blue light from electronic devices, before bedtime. This helps signal the body to produce more melatonin.

🥱Establish a regular sleep schedule: Going to bed and waking up at consistent times can help regulate your body's natural production of melatonin.

🧖‍♀️Practice good sleep hygiene: Create a relaxing bedtime routine, avoid stimulating activities close to bedtime.

🧘🏼‍♀️Manage stress: High stress levels can interfere with melatonin production. Engage in stress-reducing activities such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, or gentle yoga to promote melatonin release.

☀️Expose yourself to natural light: Get outside and expose yourself to natural sunlight during the day, especially in the morning. This can help regulate your body's internal clock and enhance melatonin production at night.

🍒Consider melatonin-rich foods: Some foods contain natural melatonin or compounds that promote its production e.g. cherries, walnuts, almonds, flaxseeds, and tomatoes.
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love is real 😂

Calling all parents! 📣

We will let you in on a little secret for helping your child to grow✨

Compliment your child 4 times, for every time you correct them.

Read the caption to learn why and don’t forget to save! ✨

Here is a little secret! ✨

You can feel on top of the world, thanks to our brain's favorite little pick-me-up: dopamine!

Dopamine is a chemical messenger in the brain, involved in feelings of pleasure, motivation, and reinforcement, and helps regulate mood, attention and learning, as well as influencing motor control, coordination, and muscle movement.

Sooo increasing dopamine levels naturally can help promote feelings of pleasure, motivation, and overall well-being. 🤍

Here is how you can help increase dopamine production and release in the brain:

- Regular exercise
- Eating a balanced diet, with foods rich in tyrosine,
an amino acid involved in dopamine synthesis
- Getting enough sleep
- Listening to your favourite music
- Engaging in pleasurable activities
- Cold showers
- Ticking off things on your to do list
- Spending time in nature
- Being mindful and at the moment

1 VS 2 😅

Send this to someone who is expecting their second baby 😅💕

Here is your daily reminder! ✨💫

Tackling anxiety?

Do you want to know how? With neurofeedback therapy!

This is a promising approach for addressing many conditions, including anxiety.

It uses real-time monitoring of brainwave activity to help individuals regulate their brain functions and minimize anxiety symptoms. While traditional methods are still valuable, it definitely offers a unique approach. It taps into the brain's incredible ability to rewire and optimize its functioning, which is known as neuroplasticity!

During neurofeedback, individual's brain activity is measured using electrodes on the scalp. The neurofeedback software then analyzes this data and provides immediate feedback to the brain where the brain learns how to act! Thanks to neuroplasticity!

Multiple neuroimaging studies published recently showed a significant reduction in anxiety levels in individuals undergoing neurofeedback therapy.

Not only that, another study looked at the use of neurofeedback therapy in combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety. Results showed that the combination of two methods led to greater improvements in anxiety symptoms compared to CBT alone.

Fascinating right?!

Do you want to find out more about Neurofeedback therapy?

DM us for more info and our neurofeedback therapist .seh can provide you with valuable information!

Jumping on the bandwagon 😅💕

Have you guys seen the movie yet?! Let us know what you think! 💕

Unlocking the connection: Understanding the brain and body in trauma

When a person experiences a traumatic event, adrenaline rushes through the body and the memory is “imprinted” into the amygdala, which is part of the limbic system (located in the center of the brain). The amygdala holds the emotional significance of events, including the intensity and impulse of emotion.

For example, if you’re on a roller coaster, your sensory information can be coded as fearful, stressful, full of excitement, and most importantly, NOT LIFE THREATNING.” The amygdala can read the emotional significance and intensity of the event and can tell that it is a short-term fun ride and stores it as a story. So, it can differentiate this experience from actual traumatic events.

During traumatic events, the amygdala stores the visual images of trauma as sensory fragments, which means the trauma memory is not stored like a story. Instead, it uses all our five senses and "saves" what we were experiencing during the trauma at the time it was occurring. So our traumatic memories are stored through fragments of visual images, smells, sounds, tastes, or touch.

This is the exact reason why people can get easily triggered by normal circumstances, as the brain loses its ability to discriminate between what is threatening and what is normal.

The sound of fireworks is no longer fun, now it’s a possible explosion. The smell of smoke had been just the smell of smoke, but now it can bring flashbacks…

Today, we pay tribute to the strength and endurance to the resilient people of Lebanon who were affected by the devastating explosion on August 4th, 2020. May you find strength, healing, and support and rise from your traumas.
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No Gym Required!Your mental health needs lifting too! Just like working out keeps your body fit, taking care of your mental well-being ensures a healthier and happier you. So, flex those positive thoughts, stretch out those worries, and give your mind the love it deserves! 💪🧠

It’s time to party! 🎉🥳🎊🪩

FINALLY! 🤩

Our neuroscientist Gulcem & co-founder/therapist had a mini reunion in Cyprus!

From doing a Master’s degree together in the UK (shoutout to Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London ) to working together at All Brains Grow through virtual screens years later and to real life reunions and dreams! ✨

It was amazing to meet up, catch up face to face and plan all the things ahead! 😍

Missing you !!!

Here is your daily reminder! 💫

Here is a little secret⚡️⚡️⚡️

If any physical, mental, or emotional trauma remains persistent, the brain gets stuck using the same neural pathways that cause your brain to continually think you’re in danger, even after the removal of the stressor, and you begin to live in a constant stage of Fight or Flight Mode. And you will begin to see some side effects.

Good news is that we can escape this cycle even with small tips that everyone can easily apply in their everyday life.

Here is how:

Yawning,
Singing,
Cuddling,
Breathwork,
Listening to relaxing music,
Nature therapy

Bend the knee! 🙃

Imagine all the possibilities if you said yes instead of saying no!

What would happen?

Do you have it within you to embrace courage?

SAVE this as a reminder to ignore your fears and say yes!

health

Unpacking the Body's Response to Stress!

Learn how this complex pathway influences our response to stress and why it's important to take steps to minimize its impact on our overall well-being.

HPA axis is involved in the body's reaction to stress.

When something stressful happens to us, our initial response is mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. About 10 seconds later, the HPA axis is stimulated.

The hypothalamus is the part of your brain responsible for regulating several bodily functions, including appetite, sleep, temperature, metabolism and growth. When it is activated, it starts a chain of events within the HPA axis, which ends with the secretion of the hormone cortisol (our body’s stress hormone) from the adrenal glands.

While proper functioning of the HPA axis is essential for dealing with stress, when the HPA axis is stimulated too much (e.g. in someone who faces extreme stress daily), it can lead to physical and psychiatric problems.

When we shift our focus on things that make us feel well, it causes feel-good neurochemicals to remain in the body longer, helping us build resilience and promote HPA axis balance that can lead to changes in chronic symptoms.

By our neuroscientist Gulcem Altinoglu 💁🏼‍♀️

It does be like that 🥹

Here are some simple tips for being a friend to your children:

Thank us later!

1. Encourage their passions and uniqueness: Celebrate their individuality, support their interests and hobbies, providing opportunities for them to explore areas that bring them joy.
2. Create a safe space: Foster an environment where they feel comfortable expressing themselves without judgment or pressure.
3. Be patient and understanding: Your children may have different communication styles or processing speeds. Allow them time to express themselves and be patient in your interactions.
4. Be a consistent presence: Establish a consistent and reliable presence in their lives, offering stability, trust, and support.
If you need further details, feel free to send us a direct message (DM) or leave a comment in the section below ⭐️

Here is the sad truth!

Anxiety disorders are a very common problem.

When it comes to anxiety, multiple brains regions are involved in the generation and maintenance of anxiety including the amygdala, insula and the anterior cingulate brain regions.

But it’s not that simple.

In addition to these areas, the pre-frontal cortex of the brain (the ventromedial prefrontal region to be more specific), is also involved in this process. Multiple studies show that the activity in the prefrontal cortex is compromised in multiple anxiety disorders.

Now, why is this important?

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is also known as the brain’s emotion-regulation center. This suggests that anxiety is formed because there is a dysfunction within the brain’s own emotion regulation mechanism, which is why our emotion regulation goes “off” and we tend to suffer from anxiety.

It all makes sense now, right?

HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS THOUGH!

These areas can be targeted with neurofeedback and brought to a “balanced” state, helping us in overcoming anxiety!

By our neuroscientist .a .
                     

Please don’t 🥲🥲🥲

This is your sign to think positive!

Feeling good is not just a momentary sensation, it's a lifestyle. Surround yourself with the things that bring you joy and enjoy the benefits of a positive mindset. ☀️😊

Practicing self-care and engaging in activities that promote relaxation and stress relief, such as exercise, meditation, or spending time in nature, can also help improve your mood and overall well-being.

It's important to remember that everyone's journey to happiness is unique, and finding what works for you may take time and experimentation.

Remember, happiness is not a destination but a journey, and it's up to each of us to take the necessary steps to cultivate it.

Recent Study! ⚡️📚

Early Childhood Reading Linked to Better Adolescent Cognitive Performance and Wellbeing! 👧📙

A research study of more than 10.000 young adolescents in the US has showed that children who begin reading for pleasure early in life tend to perform better at cognitive tests and have better mental health when they enter adolescence.

During childhood and adolescence, our brains develop, making this an important time in which to establish behaviours that support our cognitive development and promote good brain health. However, until now, it was unclear whether encouraging children to read from an early age actually had an effect on their brain development, cognition and mental health later in life.

In the study, they found a strong link between verbal learning, memory and speech development, and at school academic achievement. These children also had better mental wellbeing, as assessed using a number of clinical scores and reports from parents and teachers, showing fewer signs of stress and depression, as well as improved attention and fewer behavioural problems such as aggression and rule-breaking.
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A bit of stress is a normal part of our daily lives, which can even be good for us. Overcoming stressful events can make us more resilient. But when the stress becomes chronic and severe, it needs to be dealt with immediately.

WHY?

Because repeated stress can have a huge impact on our brain, putting us at risk of a number of physical and psychological problems as it causes persistent inflammation in the body. (e.g. heart disease, diabetes, gut and memory problems, hormonal imbalances as well as lack of motivation, mental agility, depression and anxiety)

In addition to depression and anxiety, chronic stress and its impact at can lead to burnout symptoms, which are also linked to increased frequency of cognitive failures in daily life.

You can also witness the actual physical changes on the brain itself with brain imaging methods, which show us that the brain SHRINKS from prolonged chronic STRESS!

So what should you do if you are suffering from chronic stress? Luckily there are ways to overcome it.

- Exercise
- Connecting with people you love
- Mindfulness techniques
- Learning something new, leading to better cognitive reserves
- Act of kindness, activating the reward system in our brains & promoting positive feelings about life.
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Life is full of twists and turns. You never know what's around the corner..
Many things will happen along the way. Here is the trick though:
We should let them evolve us, not define us. Embrace the journey and all the challenges that come with it. They are opportunities for growth and learning. 💪🌟

To take care of your child, you need to take care of yourself first.

It is okay to feel anxious and overwhelmed when things get tough. Yet, knowing that high levels of uncontrollable anxiety is a physiological dysfunction, and can be worked on, is something that helps to put things into perspective.

Brain imaging studies revealed a set of related brain regions in the expression of anxiety. In particular, responses within insula, amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex are linked both to the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Hyperactivity within these regions is coupled with exaggerated autonomic arousal responses and triggers anxiety.

Important anxiety management techniques include learning about how your anxiety shows up along with helpful methods such as correct breathing techniques, exercise, mindfulness, naturopathy, neurofeedback and relaxation techniques. Changing your physical state through these methods will then change your mental state.

Let us know in the comments if you want to learn more about these techniques and how they help with anxiety management!

By our neuroscientist .a
                   

Never going to happen 🫠🫠🫠