Neurosurgeon on Intrusive Thoughts

A Neurosurgeon's Take on Intrusive Thoughts Right before I cut into someone’s brain, a thought sometimes flashes through my mind, "What if my hand slips right now?" I’ve been operating for years. If a brain surgeon’s mind can do that to him mid-surgery, yours isn’t broken either. That thought doesn’t mean I’m unfit to operate, and it doesn’t mean you’re dangerous or crazy for the thoughts you can’t say out loud. It means the brain, under focus or fear, fires off the worst possible image; but that's a misfire, not a message. Feelings are not facts. Thoughts are not always true. Those are Self-Brain Surgery Commandments number two and three from my New York Times bestselling book: I must believe that feelings are not facts, and that most of my automatic thoughts are untrue. Paul wrote it this way in 2 Corinthians 10:5, ESV: “We take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Not every thought is you. Some are just noise your brain generates. You don’t have to obey it. You get to examine it, and let it go. If a thought is torturing you and you think it makes you a bad person, it doesn’t. That’s hard and holy work, and you’re not alone in it. Save this for the next time a thought is running on a loop in your head share this with a friend who struggles with difficult to control thinking. And follow me for helpful connections between neuroscience and scripture every day. Check the link in my bio to learn more about self-brain surgery. #selfbrainsurgery #neuroscience #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neurosurgery #faithandscience