A recent article published by the Harvard Center on the Developing Child states:
A child who is living in an environment with supportive relationships and consistent routines is more likely to develop well-functioning biological systems, including brain circuits, that promote positive development and lifelong health. Children who feel threatened or unsafe may develop physiological responses and coping behaviors that are attuned to the harsh conditions they are experiencing at the time, at the long-term expense of physical and mental well-being, self-regulation, and effective learning. Policymakers, leaders of human services systems, intervention developers, and practitioners can all use this knowledge to create innovative solutions to reduce preventable diseases and premature deaths and lower the high costs of health care for chronic illnesses.
InBrief – developingchild.harvard.edu
Now, you may be thinking “Dr. Smith?! I am not a child. Heck, I don’t even have kids! What does this have to do with me?”
Well, guess what? If we were not raised in an optimal environment, and if whatever strategies our body and mind adopted to survive the environmental failures we experienced have not been updated and re-wired to support our present day Self, this not only perpetuates a self-defeating mindset (our thoughts), many times it is also affecting both our emotional wellbeing (our feelings) and our physical health (our entire body & all its systems, connected by the central nervous system).
This is why therapy is such a good investment. Whatever you want to call it: “reparenting,” “parts work,” “inner child work,” “shadow work,” “insight work,” or “accessing wise mind,”– learning to connect to, tolerate, and experience all those terrifying feelings we cut-off from in order to survive our less-than-optimal childhood (and which now unconsciously highjack our nervous system in an effort to be processed) — this is how we begin to heal.
The right therapist can really help. If this article resonates for you and you’re seeking support on your healing path, look for someone who does trauma-informed work that is informed by their own lived experience of overcoming their own childhood adversity (i.e., find someone who has been to therapy, is ideally still in therapy and who reflects a palpable level of healing within their own life).
Here is a link to the article, and it is attached below in image form. If it resonates for you please comment, like, share, and don’t hesitate to reach out to let me know your thoughts! For more posts like this, I’m on social media as @catherinelistens (mainly IG and FB). Hope to see you there!
Warmly, Catherine
