Understanding how our brains and bodies actually work is a powerful tool in mitigating the anxiety generated by unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms that we all may experience from time to time. Here, Robert Scaer unravels the complexities of the brain-body connection, equipping all those who are in distress with a plausible explanation for how they feel.
Making the science accessible, he outlines the core neurobiological concepts underlying the brain-body interface and explains why physical and emotional symptoms of stress and trauma occur. He explains why “feelings” represent physical sensations that inform us about the nature of our brain-body conflicts. He also offers practical, easy-to-implement strategies for strengthening motor skills, learning to listen to our gut to gauge our feelings, attuning to the present, and restoring personal boundaries to relieve symptoms and navigate a path to recovery.
I loved this. I was so happy to have a deeper dive in layman's terms into the role of the vagus reaction in PTSD. Currently reading Dr. Porges Polyvagal Theory, and this book put much of that into easy perspective.
Don't let it's small size and simplistic title fool you. This book holds some profound information and wisdom about the relationship between brain and body, the root causes of physical illness, the impact of trauma and commonalities between interventions that restore brain body balance. Fascinating and powerful.
As someone with recurrent physical and emotional symptoms, I found this book more helpful than my entire library on “psychophysiological disorders.” Trauma-induced helplessness changes the brain, so it’s all “physical.” It’s a real corrective to my tendency toward “developmental tilting.” The worst things that happened in my life were a life-threatening illness and a life-threatening car accident, both of which I now see are the most important root causes of my chronic pain. Not my crazy childhood! And I now can imagine a way out. Thank you, Dr. Scaer!