Undermethylation & Strengthening the Right Brain in a Left Brain World

“Mary Poppins Goes To the Beach” -Made by combining pieces from 3 collages in my Impermanent Art Series.

By Courtney Snyder, MD

​Half of my work day is spent honing in on details. For each person I evaluate and treat, I’m considering multiple symptoms, lab data, contributing factors, and treatment interventions. Left unchecked, this amount of detail hurts my brain - figuratively and literally. This type of work might be considered “left brain“ and appealing to someone who is “undermethylated,” which I am.

The other half of my work day is involved with addressing how, from a spiritual perspective, we:

• lower our stress by learning to let go and stop grasping for outcomes
• learn to feel at home in our body
• learn to connect with others
• find peace in this world
• find purpose and meaning in this life
• live in the present
• feel part of something larger than ourselves

By spiritual, I mean our inner life. My writing and teaching about the intersection between neuroplasticity and spirituality is essentially about how we exercise those parts of the brain that relate to that inner work. Instead of honing in on details, this is about pulling back and looking at the bigger picture of our lives and our humanity. This right brain work feels good.

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