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“Generally the rational brain can override the emotional brain, as long as our fears don’t hijack us. (For example, your fear at being flagged down by the police can turn instantly to gratitude when the cop warns you that there’s an accident ahead.) But the moment we feel trapped, enraged, or rejected, we are vulnerable to activating old maps and to follow their directions. Change begins when we learn to "own" our emotional brains. That means learning to observe and tolerate the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching sensations that register misery and humiliation. Only after learning to bear what is going on inside can we start to befriend, rather than obliterate, the emotions that keep our maps fixed and immutable.”

FeelingsBrainEmotionsMiseryTraumaHumiliationHealing The PastWorld ViewHealing InsightsTraumatizedHealing The Emotional SelfComplex PtsdHealing AbuseComplex TraumaTrauma TherapyGut Wrenching
Book:The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
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“Beneath the surface of the protective parts of trauma survivors there exists an undamaged essence, a Self that is confident, curious, and calm, a Self that has been sheltered from destruction by the various protectors that have emerged in their efforts to ensure survival. Once those protectors trust that it is safe to separate, the Self will spontaneously emerge, and the parts can be enlisted in the healing process”

PsychologyTraumaNeuroscienceComplex PtsdDissociative DisordersComplex Trauma
Book:The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
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“Eighty two percent of the traumatized children seen in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network do not meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD.15 Because they often are shut down, suspicious, or aggressive they now receive pseudoscientific diagnoses such as “oppositional defiant disorder,” meaning “This kid hates my guts and won’t do anything I tell him to do,” or “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder,” meaning he has temper tantrums. Having as many problems as they do, these kids accumulate numerous diagnoses over time. Before they reach their twenties, many patients have been given four, five, six, or more of these impressive but meaningless labels. If they receive treatment at all, they get whatever is being promulgated as the method of management du jour: medications, behavioral modification, or exposure therapy. These rarely work and often cause more damage.”

AggressiveChild AbusePtsdDisruptiveTraumatizedMisdiagnosisChild Abuse SurvivorsComplex TraumaTraumatic StressMental Health BiasTemper TantrumsChild TraumaPsuedoscience
Book:The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
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