It is easy to acknowledge the direct impacts of trauma but some of its more life altering impacts are what it has on the mind.In addition to the impact from the direct interaction, the imagination is not only stunted but also becomes a place where you relive the origin of the trauma, over and over, snowballing new trauma from the imagination with the initial trauma, maimed by things like regret and guilt.Eventually, the imagination only becomes familiar with the past, being rooted only in what has happened and not being able to fathom a future any different.

Trauma & The Impact On The Imagination 

The imagination is the mind's eye: how we perceive & even interact with intangibles in the cosmos.When we experience trauma, the imagination relives the moment over & over, searching for ways to avoid the experience in the future or overcome it. With every replay of that moment, we experience a second hand trauma compounded on our original experience.Eventually, we blame ourselves for what happened, taking on guilt, shame & regret. Through repetition in the mind, the imagination conforms to a reality where only shame, guilt & regret are the only thinkable outcomes. This stunts our perception.

Trauma Hijacks The Imagination

In other instances, instead of guilt, shame & regret, we seek to escape from a reality that we feel is too much to bear. We begin to fantasize on the what ifs, & explore those mythical timelines in our imagination. Slowly, we begin to yearn more for the fantasy as it temporarily eases our stress, but it also removes us from the present & in turn impede our ability to impact it for the better.Fantasizing may seem harmless at first but it is teaching the mind to interact with the unreal parts of your experience. The escape isn't just from the pain, but also a vacancy from your driver's seat.

Trauma Influences Imagination Escapism

Inspiration & fantasies may seem like the same but are vastly different. The imagination intakes both similarly. But one is birthed from the body's fight or flight system & the other catalyzed by an appreciation of something, even in the bad.Fantasizing is an effort of escapism from reality while inspiration is an attempt at impacting reality. We often fantasize when we are bored or uncomfortable etc, in hopes of passing time with more ease.Inspiration comes when you're able to see the possibilities of what's infront of you in the present. The attention to detail & awareness of yourself.

Inspiration Vs Fantasizing

When the trauma overwhelms the mind, when the replays become suffocating, when the inspiration no longer comes, the imagination chooses numbness. This coping mechanism shuts down the ability to perceive to spare ourselves the trauma. This numbness while copes in one way, icreates a hopelessness and despondency. Without the active imagination, the mind is unable to perceive future possibilities, & it is disconnected from the past that you could learn from. The dead imagination disrupts our interactions with one another and the ability to deeply commune with each other in the intangible ways.

Snuffed Imagination

The imagination is meant to be inspired, to see possibilities by appreciating what is available to it. While it is no simple task to see the good in everything, the imagination powers the image of the reality you will perceive. Therefore it is not the image of the past nor the image of the present that should influence us, but rather the image of the future. Not allowing what has happened, nor your present circumstance, to completely change the image of your future. Perhaps it may refine as we learn and grow, but appreciating the image of the future will enable us to remain inspired by it.

Revived Imagination 

The imagination powers the way you see the past, present and future. The image of the future is hope. Hope is built by what you feed it today. The best food for hope is knowledge, understanding and faith. Learning new things helps us broaden our horizon. Understanding things helps broaden our capabilities and belief helps us broaden our performance. The imagination thrives under the inspiration of hope. The power to channel the strength & joy of your future through hope, is the power of the imagination. With a goal in mind, it provides a way forward.

Hope Is The Mind Tiller

By understanding how trauma fully impacts us, we can become more self aware and find the capacity to overcome.

#1 New York Times bestseller “Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society.” —Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times bestseller Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

The Body Keeps the Score

When a person endures <a href="https://thehumancondition.com/mental-health-and-conditions/trauma/">trauma</a>, whether from a singular, intense event or repeated or prolonged trauma, their body experiences physiological changes. These changes can affect their reactions and responses in situations throughout their lives. For instance, some people will interpret uncertainty in their environment as danger, leading to the activation of their fight, flight, or freeze responses. Polyvagal theory exercises attempt to restructure the mind-body reactions that occur due to this trauma.

Polyvagal Theory Exercises: Benefits and Examples

Polyvagal theory exercises seek to optimize the regulation of the body’s physiological state. They employ social interactions and evoke safety to disrupt and repair the physiological state and promote resilience.

Polyvagal Theory Exercises: Benefits and Examples - The Human Condition

“Purposeful play builds self-confidence and real-world problem-solving skills.”

SuperBetter is the game Jane McGonigal designed for herself when she was recovering from a brain injury and had to lie perfectly still for weeks and weeks.During the recovery, she realized that she didn’t just want to get better; she wanted to be even better than before her injury – super better! So she created a game to help her get there.Based on her experience in game design and scientific research, she created an avatar, power-ups, bad guys, and went on quests every single day, to take the illness as a challenge and make it fun.

SuperBetter: The game

Post-traumatic growth and post-ecstatic growth are positive developments that people experience during difficult times.<ul><li>Post-traumatic growth often happens to car crash victims, who find themselves appreciating life a lot more after the crash, or cancer survivors, who start running marathons once they recover.</li><li>However, you don’t need to run your car into the next tree, in order to play a round of SuperBetter. There’s another form of growth that doesn’t require trauma, called post-ecstatic growth.</li></ul>

Post-traumatic growth and post-ecstatic growth

This reduction in physical pain comes from 2 things:<ul><li>Playing a video game shifts our attention spotlight, and allows us to react less to the signal of pain.</li><li>The activity of playing engages us in a state called flow, where we’re so engaged and absorbed in the activity that we feel in perfect control of our lives.</li></ul>In this way we give our attention to a positive activity, which also makes us feel in charge. This gives us the confidence to endure the pain and our body adapts.

Using games to reduce physical pain

When two people play a similar game in the same room, they form a strong neurological and physiological connection. They show the exact facial expressions; their heartbeats also settle into the same rhythm – and this occurs irrespective of whether they’re playing with or against one other.And the connection goes more than that: we’re also very likely to like the people if we’re playing a game with them. The reason for that is because we’re attracted to people we see that alike to ourselves.

Bonding with people over games

Games can have a positive influence on your life, providing that you play them for the right motives. The impact games have on your life doesn’t rest on the type of games you play or the time you use to play them. It depends on the reason you play them.Not every person plays games for educational or social causes. Some people play games as a type of escape from life issues– and that’s when gaming becomes destructive. But, if you play games with a positive aim, you’re more likely to gain the advantages and also feel happier in your non-gaming life.

The impact games have on our lives

After suffering a brain injury, Jane McGonigal came up with a game to help aid her recovery and battle the ensuing depression she experienced. A quarter of a million people have now played this game to astonishing results: depression gone in 6 weeks in some cases and even terminal cancer patients reporting that playing the game gives them a sense of control over their own health. This book shows readers how to use these techniques to find strength and create positivity: readers can look to their own 'power-ups' which are little things they can do to feel better and tackle the hurdles in their own lives.

Stashed ideas

Superbetter

Bilateral stimulation is used in therapeutic practices such as <a href="https://thehumancondition.com/eye-movement-desensitization-and-reprocessing-emdr-therapy/">eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy</a>. <a href="https://thehumancondition.com/eye-movement-desensitization-and-reprocessing-emdr-therapy/">EMDR therapy</a> seeks to help people access and process traumatic memories. Bilateral stimulation is used to help clients recall traumatic experiences.<a href="https://thehumancondition.com/bilateral-stimulation/">Read More</a>

Bilateral Stimulation: Definition, Methods, Benefits, and Effectiveness

Bilateral stimulation, drawing from EMDR therapy, is sometimes referred to as “resource installation” or “resource tapping” and is a method of processing traumatic memories and recalling and strengthening resources.

Bilateral Stimulation: Definition, Methods, Benefits, and Effectiveness - The Human Condition

This is where hope lives for all of us - the unique adaptability of our miraculous brains.what has happened to us in past shapes who are we , how we behave and how we do things.Through the lens we can build a renewed sense of self worth and ultimately recalibrate our responses to circumstances, situations and relationships.it is in other words, the key to reshape our lives.

What Happened To You?

Not only is “what happened to you?” The key question of you want to understand someone, you need to understand their brain.In other words, personal history, people and places in your life influences your brain development. The result is they each of the brains are unique. Our life experiences shape our lives and each one of us looks and perceives world in their own way.This is why asking “ What happened to you?” Is so important in understanding what’s going on with you now.

Making Sense Of The World.

How much do you think about your heart?since before you were born, that miraculous machine has been steadily pumping energy of life throughout your body. Day in, day out at least 115,000 beats each day, with sole purpose of keeping you alive.

Seeking Balance 

Given love, the unloved can become loving .if you are loved , you learn to love The capacity to love is the core of the success of human kind, the reason we have survived on this planet is that we have been able to form and maintain effective groups. Isolated and disconnected, we are vulnerable.Relational glue keeps our species alive, and love is relational super glue.

How We Were Loved 

As you revisit your past, know that no matter what happened simply being here, alive makes you worthy. And know that there is hope.wellness is possible.It happens one moment, one step at a time.

The Spectrum Of Trauma 

making the connection, finally understanding both cause and effect of myself is a game changer for me.As you consider your individual response patterns, know that by putting a small moment of space between the immediate feeling and your instinctive reaction, you are allowing yourself to stay in present and ultimately regain control.

Connecting The Dots 

What ever your past experience created in your brain, you can’t just delete them. You can’t get rid of the past.Therapy is more about new associations. This is why understanding how resume impacts your health for everyone.

From Coping To Healing 

We take our focus off the tragedy, move on with our lives, telling ourselves that “they” will be okay.The impact of trauma doesn’t simply fade away.We can help each other heal, but often assumptions about resilience and girt blind us to the healing that leads us down the painful path to wisdom.

Post Traumatic Wisdom 

Very often, “what happened” takes years to reveal itself. It takes courage to comfort our actions, peel back the layers of trauma in our lives and expose the raw truth of our past. But this is where healing begins

Our Brains, Our Biases, Our Systems 

It is easy to be discouraged and overwhelmed by many problems in the society, to be demoralized by the many problems in our society and trauma that are all too pervasive in our world.our world is filled with so many kind, capable and creative people.We will continue to discover, invent and learn.We can make our world a safer , more just, and humane place for all.

What We Need Now 

Our earliest experiences shape our lives far down the road, and What Happened to You? provides powerful scientific and emotional insights into the behavioral patterns so many of us struggle to understand.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Our earliest experiences shape our lives far down the road, and What Happened to You? provides powerful scientific and emotional insights into the behavioral patterns so many of us struggle to understand. “Through this lens we can build a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately recalibrate our responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships. It is, in other words, the key to reshaping our very lives.”—Oprah Winfrey This book is going to change the way you see your life. Have you ever wondered "Why did I do that?" or "Why can't I just control my behavior?" Others may judge our reactions and think, "What's wrong with that person?" When questioning our emotions, it's easy to place the blame on ourselves; holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It's time we started asking a different question. Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” Here, Winfrey shares stories from her own past, understanding through experience the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma and adversity at a young age. In conversation throughout the book, she and Dr. Perry focus on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves. It’s a subtle but profound shift in our approach to trauma, and it’s one that allows us to understand our pasts in order to clear a path to our future—opening the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way.

The Body Keeps the Score

Polyvagal Theory Exercises: Benefits and Examples - The Human Condition

Superbetter

Bilateral Stimulation: Definition, Methods, Benefits, and Effectiveness - The Human Condition

What Happened to You?

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