Working Through Hamster Brain

Changing the narrative opens new neuropathways and gets us to healthier thinking.

I’ve done a lot of studying about the difference between female and male brains while working in girls’ schools. 

One fact that has stuck with me is that women have a larger and more active cingulate gyrus - the part of the brain that regulates emotions, aids in focus, and monitors conflict. Because of this, women perseverate more or, as I’ve often said, activate the hamster wheel. 

A well worn, highly annotated, dog-eared page of Michael Gurian’s The Minds of Girls, talks about a survival mechanism of the cingulate gyrus that he called “the rumination loop”:

Rumination feels like “constant worrying” and is one of the reasons many women spend so much of their lives in low-grade (if not clinical) anxiety, and are more prone to overt depression. As they run something over their minds for hours, days, or longer, they elevate stress hormone levels and heart rate. They can, literally, ruminate themselves into illness.

I have seen many females get caught in the rumination loop, including myself. Sometimes it is welcomed in order to problem-solve. Other times, fixation simply takes over in an unhealthy way. 

When you fixate and get stuck on the hamster wheel, aim to open new neuropathways by changing the narrative. Try this: 

• Pause for one minute

• Get a drink of water (it helps neuroplasticity!) 

• Still all your thoughts

• Create at least one possible scenario that is different and positive

• Focus on that possibility

• Zero in on one word that describes that new scenario

• Use that word as your mantra if the old scene comes back so you to get to the positive path again

The hamster has tunnel vision on that wheel!  Changing the narrative gets it off the track, and gets you down a path to healthier thinking. If you are feeling stuck in the loop, coaching can help. 

“Maybe” - A Way Out of Rumination

Maybe there’s a different way to think about things.

Rumination can be harmful. I saw this regularly working in girls’ schools. 

Once something gets stuck in our heads we go down a narrow path and can’t see beyond the story we create. The story quickly becomes a false truth. 

If you start to ruminate, remember to widen your scope in order to see more clearly. Work at rewiring your own brain.

There is a Rewiring Toolbox in Kay & Shipman’s The Confidence Code for Girls, and one particular tool I’ve found helpful in coaching is creating a new, “maybe story.” 

Start every sentence with “maybe.” Even if the “maybe” is not the best explanation, even if the story is kind of silly, it works.

Flipping the switch to a slightly different way of looking at what’s bugging you will get you off the negative path. Basically, you are getting perspective, and thinking flexibly. 

When I see clients get stuck in their narratives, I direct them to create a maybe story.

• Maybe there’s a different way forward.

• Maybe I can take that risk. 

• Maybe I’ve completed more than I realize.

• Maybe I will get all that I hoped for. 

• Maybe I already know how to do it. 

Coaching helps you search through your “maybes” and get to your goals. It helps you stop fixating and focuses on problem-solving. It sets you in the right direction. Reach out if you need help in exploring the “maybes.”