We have seen from many other articles that I have published on this site that severe and protracted childhood trauma can greatly impair our ability to control our stress levels as adults (meaning we are more adversely affected by stress … Read the rest
3 Types Of Childhood Stress : Positive, Tolerable And Toxic
Stress can be defined as ‘a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances’ and is, of course, an inevitable part of life. Whilst we often complain about stress due to the … Read the rest
Childhood Trauma Linked To Agoraphobia
The term agoraphobia derives from the Greek word ‘agora’ which translates as ‘open place’ or ‘market place’ so ‘agoraphobia’, in literal terms (as opposed to clinical terms) means fear of ‘open places’ or ‘fear of the market place.’
Agoraphobia is … Read the rest
Being Traumatized ‘Like Having Foot On Brake And Gas At Same Time.’
The traumatized state has been likened to the effects of the simultaneous depression of both a car’s gas pedal (accelerator) and brake. I explain why below :
Our physiological state of arousal is determined by the interplay between our sympathetic … Read the rest
Childhood Trauma, Social Anxiety And The Spotlight Effect
I have written elsewhere on this website about how, if we experienced significant and protracted childhood trauma, we are at increased risk of developing social anxiety in adulthood. This is especially the case if we have been constantly criticized … Read the rest
Possible Adverse Effects Of Maternal Stress On The Unborn Baby’s Brain Development.
A study carried out by Sarkar et al. at Imperial College, University of London and published in the scientific journal Clinical Endocrinology suggests that, if a mother is highly stressed during pregnancy, her consequent excessive production of stress hormones may … Read the rest
How Parents’ Anxiety Levels And Behaviors Affect Their Child’s Anxiety
A study involving 98 pairs of mothers and infants (the infants were aged from 12 months to 14 months) was carried out to investigate how the level of the mother’s stress affected the level of the infant’s stress (as measured … Read the rest
Neurofeedback And Reducing Activity In Brain’s Fear Circuitry.
According to Mobbs, the brain consists of two areas involved in how we experience fear as shown below :
It is becoming increasingly recognized that overactivity in the brain’s fear circuitry may be of fundamental relevance to not only complex-PTSD … Read the rest
Reducing Anxiety By Calming The Amygdala
We have seen from other articles published on this site that severe and protracted childhood trauma, resulting in the child being frequently subjected to extreme stress, can damage the development of the part of the brain known as the amygdala, … Read the rest
Traumatic Memory : Flashbacks, Fragments, Nightmares And Repression
Remembering traumatic events is in some ways beneficial. For example, it allows us to review the experience and learn from it. Also, by replaying the event/s, its/their emotional charge is diminished.
However, sometimes the process breaks down and the memories … Read the rest
Early-Life Separation From Mother : What Experiments On Mice Tell Us.
The Study: A Mouse Model Of Early-Life Stress :
This experiment was conducted to look at the effects on mice of early-life stress. It involved separating baby mice from their mothers for three hours per day for each of the … Read the rest
Possible Long-Term Effects Of Highly Stressed Mothers On Infants
Mothers who are suffering severe and protracted stress (e.g. due to an anxiety disorder) for a significant period of time whilst bringing up their infants are likely to be less attentive to their off-spring than are mothers who are mentally … Read the rest
Hypervigilance And Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Complex PTSD).
If we have grown up in a chronically stressful and traumatic environment in which we often experienced anxiety, trepidation, stress and fear we are at high risk of developing a fundamental, core belief (on a conscious and/or unconscious level) that … Read the rest
Trauma-Sensitive Yoga For Reducing Symptoms Of Complex PTSD
Image source: Adobe Stock: Licence 214324112
Studies into the effectiveness of yoga already suggest that it can help to ameliorate both physical and psychological problems including diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, depression and anxiety.
There also now exists evidence (e.g. van … Read the rest
Trauma Triggers : Definition And Examples
TRAUMA TRIGGERS are events/occurrences that remind us (on either a conscious or unconscious level) of our original traumatic experiences causing us to feel extreme distress similar to that felt at the time of that original trauma.