Category Archives: Neuroscience

The “Patel Pause”: building capacity for trust after trauma

A brief, simple protocol of granting and withdrawing consent can help restore patient trust after medical or other trauma. An increased sense of safety and agency in your practice will help traumatized patients return instead of postponing care. The Patel … Continue reading

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Alienated from shadows, butterflies, and waving ferns

  This feels strange. I’m still not used to living with so many windows. My nervous system is not yet familiar enough with the world outside them to be fully comfortable. For instance, I frequently turn expecting a threat at … Continue reading

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No shame in survival responses!

No shame in survival responses! Every living organism is naturally and normally oriented toward safety, integration/wholeness, and well-being. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) lens, the “something preventing that from happening” is never the organism, but impediments created by the environment. … Continue reading

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The importance of decisive action

Sometimes I’m frustrated that my body needs every freaking thing in little bits! Evidently I’ve overused my hands and wrists messing with clay. And I’m driven to make one more niche. But my body says stop. So I need to … Continue reading

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How to save your own life

How to save your own life when the medical system is designed to kill you*: First, you get really pissed off. You must be determined to keep looking for new avenues and pick whatever seems the most sensible from where … Continue reading

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In an actual HEALTH CARE system…..

My symptom log shows I’m more than ready for SGB #13. I hope the next two nights aren’t as bad as the past two. This gets old really fast. I need the shot with pulsed Radio Frequency Ablation (pRFA), which … Continue reading

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Psychology is a domination system

The mainstream / domination psychology system pathologizes normal human responses to abnormal experiences. It also presses us to fit its definition of humanity and valid human experience. Not to mention, it completely denies oue neurobiology. For instance, it uses the … Continue reading

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Humans as social animals

Human beings are inherently social animals, but, unfortunately, the ability to properly function as a social organism takes a certain set of resources, of which many of us were robbed or never allowed. Proper human functioning is nearly impossible for … Continue reading

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DO THIS, NOT THAT! When Compassionate Witnessing Goes Wrong

In this video, Imogen Ragone and I provide practical information about what to do, and crucially, what NOT to do. They discuss how to identify and avoid the common mistakes that undermine meaningful connection, and what you can do instead. … Continue reading

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Compassionate witnessing: what is it and why does it seem like magic?

Do you know what it means to be a compassionate witness? It’s a term that’s been bandied around quite a bit recently and is something we’ve discussed in depth in Imogen Ragone‘s weekly BodyIntelligence, Neurobiology, and Trauma ongoing study group. … Continue reading

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