Can you rewire your brain?
https://aeon.co/essays/what-the-metaphor-of-rewiring-gets-wrong-about-neuroplasticity
We hear it everywhere: you can “rewire your brain” to heal trauma, break habits, or become a better version of yourself — sometimes in just minutes a day. But this popular phrase oversells what neuroscience actually shows. In this thoughtful piece, a neurologist digs into where the rewiring metaphor comes from, why it’s so appealing, and how it can distort our understanding of neuroplasticity.
The science is clear: brains do change across a lifetime. Stroke recovery, learning, therapy, and even singing all show how the brain adapts. But change is slow, uneven, and shaped by age, environment, repetition, and biology. The brain doesn’t swap out circuits like wires. It builds detours, strengthens workarounds, and keeps old pathways in place. When rewiring is sold as fast, precise, and fully under personal control, it risks creating false hope — and blame — when change doesn’t come easily. The article argues for a more honest metaphor: not a machine being fixed, but a landscape slowly reshaped. Neuroplasticity offers real hope, but only when we respect its limits as well as its power.
