Humans are one of the most adaptive creatures on the planet. It is, in part, why we are taking over the world while other creatures parish. We have a huge threshold in the nature-nurture concept in which we adapt to the environment we are placed in. This refers to neuroplasticity. We used to believe we lost this ability with age, we now know this is not true. We will survive almost anything, period. This includes trauma, exposure to horrible events. So you will learn maladaptive coping skills to attach to an abusive caregiver, you will dissociate in a war torn country you will blame yourself to feel a sense of control. This is what leads to what is called trauma responses and in extreme cases, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
This also allows us to re-wire our brain and learn to make different choices and live differently once we are no longer in the situation that was traumatic and lead to our adaptive responses. Therapy helps us do this. The brain actually structurally changes during the therapeutic healing process to allow us to change how we respond to stimuli, relate to others etc. We expose the brain to the past events until we experience a mitigated response. We use the safe space of therapy to teach you to both choose healthy partners and trust people. We are here to help! www.lisashouldice.com
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