We hear of the domestic violence victim who stays or keeps going back to their abuser. And until we understand coercive control, we will keep asking, Why can’t they just leave? We are asking the wrong question. The victim is free to leave at any time in the physical sense. But coercive control is psychological …
Coercive Control is the Reason They Can’t “Just Leave” Read More »
Depersonalization is a deadened emotional state. It’s an abrupt disconnection from the Self because we feel detached from our thoughts, feelings, and our own bodies. We feel like an outside observer watching someone else walking around in our bodies and making decisions for us. And they aren’t always actions we would normally choose, if only …
Depersonalization: The Emotional Flatline Read More »
The ACG (Anterior Cingulate Gyrus) is the brain’s gear shift. It shifts between our thoughts and feelings and transitions us from task to task. The Basal Ganglia (BG) is the brain’s pleasure awareness. But more than that, it determines how much energy and focus we give to each task. So, the Basal Ganglia is the …
ACG and Basal Ganglia: The Brain’s Control Panel Read More »
The vagus nerve is the longest and most complex nerve in the body. It acts as the link between our bodies and the faces and voices of people around us. So, we can see it as the biology of safety versus danger as members of a tribe. Because believe it or not, our biological science …
The Vagus Nerve and its VVC and DVC Explained Read More »
Whenever I conclude a series, I like to create visual aids that include links to each article. A one-stop “at-a-glance” review. Each visual aid includes the link to the article that expanded on it. This way, you get the main points while deciding for yourself if you need more information. Well, this time we have …
Hormone Charts Compilation in 7 Visual Aids Read More »
The internet gaslighters are encouraging a new generation of enablers. They have been weaving a fantasy world for some time. And it goes something like this. First they describe Cluster B disordered (Trauma Glossary 1) behaviors as nothing more than a trauma response. “Those poor abusers were once, themselves abused! Don’t you feel sorry for …
The Biological Science of Enablers Read More »
In this series, we’ve been using charts of what happens when each hormone is too low, (deficient) when it’s ideal, and when it’s too high. That way you get to see the overall arc of what’s going on in succession. Two weeks ago, we focused on the four most relevant stress hormones. Then last week, …
Social Bonding Hormones: From Low, Ideal, to High Read More »
What is the parasympathetic nerve? It’s half of our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). (Section 2 of Trauma Glossary 3.) The other half is the sympathetic nerve, which is our stress, or fight or flight response. So, the parasympathetic nerve acts as the “brakes” to the stress response. The balance (or imbalance) hinges on our hormone …
Parasympathetic Nerve Hormones: From Deficient, to Ideal, to High Read More »
Last week we learned about the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and that it has two major nerves. They are the sympathetic which is the stress response (fight or flight) and the parasympathetic, which calms the system. Each time we breathe we activate one and then the other. The inhale activates the sympathetic nerve, and the …
Sympathetic Nerve Hormones: From Deficient, to Ideal to High Read More »
If you look up the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) in Trauma Glossary 3 (section 2), you will see it has two major nerves. They are the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nerve. We can think of them as the gas and the brakes, because that’s their common analogy anyway. The sympathetic nerve is the “gas” and …
The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Simplified Read More »
