I Always wanted to be a Brain Surgeon and now I am!
How Neuroplasticity Helps You Rewire Your Brain After Childhood Trauma
Who would have thought in this day and age any type of plastic would be good for you?!
Well, there is one type – Neuroplasticity - which essentially is brain rewiring! Have you heard of it?
Ever feel so alone!? Wonder why you feel this way? No one understands me, no one listens to me, no one cares about me! I’m so Lonely!!
Well, our brains are wired and developed a certain way from our childhood from the type of care and nurturing we did or didn’t get. The first 7 years are the most impactful. This is when emotional learning and subconscious programming happens. This is the time we most need to feel safety in our body, we need nurturing, love and kindness and a calm healthy environment to be in. If we get this, we will most likely have a secure attachment style and will promote a happy healthy life with a regulated nervous system and great relationships going forward. The problem is is that 75% of people do not have a secure attachment style and have a insecure attachment style which leads to a dysregulated nervous system and often feeling anxious and/or avoidant in relationships which can really cause a lot of pain and suffering.
Between the ages of 7 and 12 is when we learn social skills, cognitive skills and emotional regulation. This is when we most need validation, a sense of belonging with structure and consistency. I remember how my childhood was nothing like that. Kids at school were mean, I felt left out a lot, I felt alone and I remember being told I was doing things wrong and never had my feelings validated. Home life was very inconsistent and chaotic as my parents and siblings were always fighting and I never knew what was going to happen next and I suspect this is what it’s like for a lot of kids.
The more our brains are wired and reinforced either in a negative way or a good way the pathways get deeper just like when a well-worn path in the forest gets created.
So what happens when we don’t get the nurturing, support and care we need? If instead we experience chaos, emotional unavailable parents, neglect, our brain gets wired differently which means we are hypervigilant with a dysregulated nervous system, insecure and are in a state of survival instead of safety, peace, connection and trust.
How does the four parts of our brain look differently?
1. Our amygdala, which is our fear center, becomes overactive and we are constantly on the look out for bad things to happen.
2. The Pre-frontal Cortex which is in charge of reasoning, impulse control and emotional control may be underdeveloped.
3. The hippocampus which takes care of memory and learning can shrink.
4. The Vagus Nerve becomes dysregulated leading to constant fight/flight/freeze response
This is why so many adults struggle with anxiety, people-pleasing or overachieving. These are all adaptive survival responses and leaves them in constant stress mode.
So what can we do? The good news is is that our brains can always change. So by using specific very intentional tools and practices, repeating the experience of safety and connection, our brains can be rewired to make new pathways – this is known as neuroplasticity and essential for Trauma healing.
Through awareness, interrupt, repeating a new safe pattern, emotional engagement, somatic regulation, which could be grounding exercises, mindfulness practices, breathwork or PEMF mat facilitation, I teach my clients how to re-wire their brains!
How lucky am I?
Why is my practice different than a lot of other practices. I have been trained in Trauma-Informed Practice. I have also lived through my own life of trauma and had to find my way out in a healthy, conducive, productive way. There have been many bumps in the road along the way but I don’t like to cut corners and pride myself in doing it right! So, while no two paths are the same, I have walked a similar path than you and am walking beside you in support right now. I now live a life filled with happiness, calm, regulation and have many great healthy wonderful relationships. I couldn’t have gotten here if it wasn’t for the work I have done on myself.
Co-regulation with a grounded person literally reshapes the brain’s wiring for connection.
Healing isn’t about erasing the past – it’s about creating new neural pathways and maps of safety, connection and trust in your body.
If you want to start your healing journey today please reach out! I would like to gift you a FREE Inner Alignment Clarity Call Life is short! What are you waiting for! Reach out! You are worth it!
Read more about the neuroscience of trauma and neuroplasticity here: Neurobiological Development in the Context of Childhood Trauma — Cross, Fani, Powers & Bradley. This review explores how early interpersonal trauma impacts brain development (hippocampus, PFC, amygdala), executive function, emotion regulation and interoception
In deep support,
Jill
Somatic Trauma Informed Practitioner