How I view my brain, my thoughts and how my body and mind work together. Well, I’m going to go old school into a childhood comic book which helps me picture how everything works together. Again, I’m not a doctor and this is just something that helps me visualize the entire concept of what’s happening. I didn’t think of it until one of my boys called me the “Hulk” when I was getting my Triplets ready for bed one day.
I asked him, is the Hulk (Me) scary? He replied laughing, no daddy the Hulk loves us “Forever”. I always tell my Triplets that Daddy loves them Forever and Ever. So I thought about things. They had seen the Lego Hulk in action and know no matter how big, strong and scary the Hulk is, he is actually a protective figure. So I thought about everything a little further. What if my reaction and alertness within myself isn’t a bad thing, what if it’s there to protect me. I had been listening to Dr. Jordan Peterson as he read his books on audible when I noticed a description of the human brain. In Maps of Meaning Dr. Peterson mentioned something which revolutionized the way I thought of things. He said, we know the survival brain which some think of as a secondary line of defense, is actually the primary with the thinking brain being secondary. During his description what I got out of it was anxiety or alertness and all of the other reactions the survival brain triggers can’t be bad.
If you where a caveman, all of these processes are what would keep you alive. Now, you do need to rest and that is where retreating to the cave or sheltered spot allows you to let the control shift and come down so your body to get rest and recover. The thinking brain lets us relax, think of tools and ways to better our lives and helps humans socialize with others. Obviously we need to go to our thinking brains and find ways of expanding them and allowing them great access within our lives. This is where I get to go full blown and use my comic book references hoping you can follow my thought process.
I mentioned the “Wound” earlier being the event that happened. Weather the event is huge and powerful which caused a large scar or a smaller pointed event which caused more of a fissure and a minimal or smaller scar. Instead of a supper-hero, think of Thor Odinson an evil version of Thor. He is the Wound smashing his hammer into a shield between my thinking brain and my survival brain. If he strikes a deep hard blow from a major trauma a large fissure is created in my brains shield and the scar or what I have heard some doctors refer to as a trigger is formed. I think of it as a weeds taproot that pushes deep into my thinking brain. If He strikes a smaller or glancing blow he may cause a small fracture allowing only a few small thin short roots to just barely penetrate into the thinking brain. So throughout everyone’s lives we develop a different three dimensional penetration of scars (Triggers) into out thinking brains. I don’t think anyone is “Weed Free” some my just have always kept a better track of the roots and essentially started trying to chop the roots away from their origin where it enters the thinking brain.
Again, the purpose and use of the survival brain isn’t bad. In fact in order to get through life we need to be able to react when bad things happen, we need the Hulk to protect us. Because no matter how smart he (Bruce Banner) is or how good our thinking brain is he/it can’t protect itself from the villains that come after it. Linking all of this together, the scar is the trigger that activates the Hulk to come out and protect us. What I needed to figure out was how to recognize when the Hulk was no longer needed and ways, just like Bruce Banner searched for, to put the Hulk away when he was no longer needed. I also try teaching my thinking brain how to not let the Hulk get “Triggered” unless he was truly needed.
All of this is kind of a little goofy, but i always try finding simple visual ways to present my thoughts to make it more easily understood by any educational level of person I may be trying to explain myself to. Besides that, I have always used the most basic language when I talk about things as a way of trying to avoid confusions or misunderstanding of what I am saying.
Joy After Trauma 