Befriending the Emotional Brain

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All the following are important and should be done simultaneously 

(the content below comes mostly from the book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D., with some comments from my own experience located mainly at the end):

  • Dealing with hyperarousal:
    • Taking a few slow, deep breaths.
    • Emotional-regulation techniques like EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique).
    • Activities that involve physical movement, breathing, and meditating (e.g., yoga that includes meditation, chi and qigong, African rhythmical drumming, martial arts, aikido, judo, take Kwon do, kendo, jujitsu, capoeira, ecstatic dance, or anything you create or know that include all three parts).
  • Mindfulness: pay attention to your physical sensations, label them and their relationship with emotions you may be feeling, and observe the interplay between thoughts and physical sensations. Tip de Alison Roffman: paste post-its around the house that remind you to "breath", "be mindful", "come back to your heart", etc.
  • Relationships that teach you that it is safe to let go:
    • Safe and nurturing relationships in your daily life (friends, parent, boss, etc.)
      • Stabilize and calm patients down.
      • Help to lay traumatic memories and reenactments to rest.
      • Reconnect patients with their fellow men and women.
"Ideally the therapist will also have been on the receiving end of whatever therapy he or she practices. 
While it is inappropriate and unethical for therapies to tell you the details of their personal struggles, it is perfectly reasonable to ask wat particular forms of therapy they have been trained in, where they learned their skills, and weather they have personally benefited from the therapy they propose for you."

 

  • Communal Rhythms and Synchrony:
    • Theater, therapeutic theater.
    • Group Singing/Dancing.
    • Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) as SMART (sensory motor arousal regulation treatment).
    • Sensory integration experiences and dance.
  • Being touched, hugged, and rocked... because it helps with excessive arousal and makes us feel intact, safe, protected, and in charge.
    • Therapeutic massage.
    • Feldenkrais.
    • Craniosacral therapy.
  • Taking action:
    • Free (hand)writing, for yourself, continuously for at least 15 minutes, venting your thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc. without caring for grammar, content, or any other rules of writing. Include draws, music, dance, or any type of art expression if it flows.
    • Work on your beliefs, your inner parts, and other struggles (e.g., difficulties focusing, anxiety, addictions, mood disorders, etc.) by doing therapy that includes IFS (Internal Family Systems), paired with EMDR or hypnosis in some form, to reach embodiment with yourself (who you are, your priorities and your values) and your ability to react appropriately. This is also the path to integrate traumatic memories. 
TIP: breathwork meditations like those from in_breath by (Catalina Rojas Benedetti) have similar effects to the EMDR method.
Warning: CBT, psychoanalytic oriented therapy, or any form of talk therapy alone won't resolve it but will probably only uselessly revive the pain. CBT was created to treat phobias, for instance.

  • Do something to improve the situation when in distress.
  • Learn "the baseline state of safety and relaxation from where you can mobilize and that reaction in response to real danger."
  • Self-defense: "If you're hunched over and too afraid to look around, you are easy prey to other people's sadism, but when you walk around projecting the message "don't mess with me", you are not likely to be bothered.

+ Be aware: "you only defend what you love", as my professor from the self-defense class at OSU said.

 

Remember that... understanding is important, but that alone will not heal fragmented images, sensations, and emotions proper from traumatic experiences nor their way to become memories and changes your brain functioning -- which the author explained in parts 1 and 2 of the book.

 

Additionally, from my own experience, I can tell that sacred plants (Ayahuasca or San Pedro) and shrooms with psilocybin (formulas containing at least 100 mg of psilocybin, 50-100 mg of Lions Mane, and 100 mg of flushing niacin -- it causes a hot red body flush and may be uncomfortable! -- plus any other beneficial herbs and nootropics you can add, though it is important to consult an herbalist or naturopath to address your specific needs) or detoxing properties (Amanita) also help with this rewiring process. If using them:


  • Do these processes a maximum of twice per year.
  • If microdosing, do it for at least three months for complete rewiring, with three cycles of three weeks of intake and one week of rest. Also read about protocols and dosages, so you can feel what is best for you.
  • Always have therapeutical integration during or right after the experience, but consider the tips mentioned above to choose the right therapist for you. In addition, always choose shamans/guides/leaders/healers/therapists/... that have a good heart-mind-soul, plus enough experience and methods to enhance your process. Your heart/intuition/gut will tell you who you can really trust.

There are studies that show that MDMA and LSD also do good work. Peyote is similar to San Pedro, but is at risk of extinction, while San Pedro grows easier and broader.


Warning: psychotropics (e.g., antidepressants) only control symptoms but do not heal anything, while also disconnecting from good sensations and creating other health issues. They might be useful in extreme situations, but the healing is still to be done.

 

It is also very important to take time to do activities that nurture your soul.

 

Finally, it is also important to learn life skills that we did not learn while growing up, such as social-emotional skills/needs and personal financial literacy.

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