Gain a working knowledge of the interaction of our brain structures when we are connecting with ourselves and others. You will learn how empathy integrates your nervous system, and how the tools of Life-Focused Communication (NVC) moves you into greater clarity, spaciousness and choice.

1. Stress, Trauma, and Healing
An Interpersonal Nuerobiology and Life-
Focused Communication Perspective
By Gloria Lybecker
www.HealingWithHorseTherapy.com
lifefocused@gmail.com
1

2. Stress: Force exerted on a System
2

3. Introduction to Your Brain
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4. 4

5. Relationship of amygdala to
prefrontal cortex
• With only 25 watts of energy available
to the brain, the amygdala grabs the
fuel as it is considered of more
importance to survival.
• When the stress or trauma is intense
enough, nothing is left for the prefrontal
cortex.
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6. 6

7. What is stress?
• ANY activation of the HPA axis (ANY
sensation/feeling that indicates needs not met)
o Anxiety (worry, concern)
o Irritation (anger, rage)
o Fear (fright, panic, terror)
o Overwhelm
o Surprise (startle, disappointment, shock)
o Sadness (grief, mourning)
o Hopelessness (disconnection, despair)
o Etc.
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8. 8

9. The Purpose of Stress
• To give us the ability to react quickly to an
unexpected threat
• Our systems were not designed to worry
about the environment, world poverty,
constant debt, pleasing the people we
work for…
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10. A Safe or Calm Place
10

11. What is trauma?
We become traumatized
when our ability to
respond to a perceived
threat is in some way
overwhelmed. Trauma is
about loss of connection –
to ourselves, to our
bodies, to our families, to
others, and to the world
around us.
11

12. Obvious Causes of Trauma Include:
• War
• Severe childhood emotional, physical, or sexual
abuse
• Neglect, betrayal, or abandonment during
childhood
• Experiencing or witnessing violence
• Rape
• Catastrophic injuries and illnesses
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13. Less Obvious Causes of Trauma
Include:
• Minor auto accidents, especially those that result in whiplash
• Invasive medical and dental procedures, particularly when
performed on children who are restrained or anesthetized
• Falls and other so-called minor injuries, especially when children
or elderly people are involved.
• Natural disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes,
fires, and floods
• Illness, especially where there is high fever or accidental poisoning
• Being left alone, especially in young children and babies
• Prolonged immobilization, especially in children
• Exposure to extreme heat or cold, especially in children and
babies
• Sudden loud noises, especially in children and babies
• Birth stress, for both mother and infant
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14. Listen to Your Body
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15. A New Understanding
We have learned that trauma is not just an
event that took place sometime in the past; it is
also the imprint left by that experience on
mind, brain, and body. This imprint has
ongoing consequences for how the human
organism manages to survive in the present.
Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization
of the way mind and brain manage
perceptions. It changes not only how we think
and what we think about, but also our very
capacity to think.
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16. Listen to Your Body
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17. Symptoms and Order of Appearance
1. Hyperarousal:1. Hyperarousal:1. Hyperarousal:1. Hyperarousal: increase in heart rate,
sweating, difficulty breathing (rapid, shallow,
panting, etc.), cold sweats, tingling, and
muscular tension. It can also manifest as a
mental process in the form of increased
repetitious thoughts, racing mind, and worry.
If we allow ourselves to acknowledge these
thoughts and sensations, let them have their
natural flow, they will peak, then begin to
diminish and resolve.
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18. Symptoms and Order of Appearance
2. Constriction:2. Constriction:2. Constriction:2. Constriction: Hyperarousal is initially
accompanied by constriction in our bodies and
a narrowing of perception. Our nervous system
acts to ensure that all our efforts can be
maximally focused on the threat in an
optimum way. Constriction alters a person’s
breathing, muscle tone, and posture in order to
promote efficiency and strength. Blood vessels
in the skin, extremities, and internal organs
constrict so that more blood is available to the
muscles, which are tensed and prepared to take
defensive action. 18

19. Symptoms and Order of Appearance
3. Dissociation and denial:3. Dissociation and denial:3. Dissociation and denial:3. Dissociation and denial: This protects us from being
overwhelmed by escalating arousal, fear, and pain. It
“softens” the pain of severe injury by secreting
nature’s internal opium, the endorphins. In trauma,
dissociation seems to be a favored means of enabling
a person to endure experiences that are at the
moment beyond endurance.
Denial is a lower-level energy form of dissociation.
The disconnection may occur between the person and
the memory of our feelings about a particular event
(or series of events). We may deny that an event
occurred, or we may act as though it was
unimportant.
19

20. Symptoms and Order of Appearance
4. Feelings of helplessness, immobility, and4. Feelings of helplessness, immobility, and4. Feelings of helplessness, immobility, and4. Feelings of helplessness, immobility, and
freezing:freezing:freezing:freezing: A sense of overwhelming helplessness
is the nervous system’s brake. It is the sense of
being collapsed, immobilized, and utterly
helpless. It is not a perception, belief, or a trick
of the imagination. It is real.
20

21. Our Prefrontal Cortex
Once we have built the fibers of
self-regulation
Our Prefrontal Cortex calms our
Amygdalae so that our
Hippocampi can work to learn
–to make connections between,
store, and retrieve memories
Our Prefrontal Cortex gives us
wisdom, mindsight, empathy
and our soul. It is the part of
our brain that makes us human,
and is capable of creative
solutions.
21

22. Symptoms Deliver a Message
Symptoms can and will disappear when the
trauma is healed. In order to heal, we need to
learn to trust the messages our bodies are giving
us. When we learn how to listen to the
messages, how to increase the awareness of our
bodies, we can begin to heal our traumas.
22

23. Stress vs. PTSD
Amygdala activates stress axis,
which increases hormone
flows temporarily
Amygdala activates stress axis,
amygdala and stress axis don’t
turn off
Hippocampus temporarily off-
line, then comes back on line
and turns off stress hormones
Hippocampus is eventually
damaged by stress hormones,
neurogenesis ceases,
amydgala’s neurons sprout
new branches, strengthening
hypervigilance.
Surge of cortisol, turns off
somatic reactions caused by
stress
Chronically low cortisol,
chronically high
norepinephrine – HIGH
AROUSAL
We make sense of the
experience, it stays in place
Timeless sense of re-
experiencing situation
23

24. Reclaiming time: unresolved
stress
24

25. Polyvagal Theory
• There are three general states that we exist
in:
o Social Engagement
o Fight or Flight
o Frozen
• They are managed by the vagal nerve,
which connects brain, facial muscles, heart
and gut.
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26. 26

27. How Trauma Affects the Body
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28. Dysregulation
• Any activation of our stress response:
o Vulnerability, Sadness (up to grief, mourning)
o Disquiet (up to distress)
o Anxiety (up to panic)
o Nervousness (up to fear, panic)
o Concern (up to terror)
o Embarrassment (up to shame, mortification)
o Irritation (up to anger, lividity)
o Resignation (up to hopelessness, despair)
o Deadening (up to dissociation)
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29. 29

30. 30

31. 31

32. 32

33. 33

34. 34

35. Noticing the Effects – Feeling the Positive
Emotions, Thinking the Word,
and Noticing the Breath
35

36. The Good News about Circular
Causality
• You can start anywhere and get
improvement
• Empathy works on everything
36

37. How do Observations decrease stress?How do Observations decrease stress?How do Observations decrease stress?How do Observations decrease stress?
• The mindful approach to determining your
observation moves you from “low road” limbic
response to “high road” cortical response.
• Importance of observations in identifying the
moment of transition from implicit to explicit
(exactly when did your amygdala begin to run
the show?)
• And so, what is the leverage point at which
empathy will be most effective to widen the
window of tolerance?
37

38. Feelings and Needs: Naming ExperienceFeelings and Needs: Naming ExperienceFeelings and Needs: Naming ExperienceFeelings and Needs: Naming Experience
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39. Matthew D. Lieberman, Ph.D, UCLAMatthew D. Lieberman, Ph.D, UCLAMatthew D. Lieberman, Ph.D, UCLAMatthew D. Lieberman, Ph.D, UCLA
39

40. How does naming feelingsHow does naming feelingsHow does naming feelingsHow does naming feelings
start to relieve stress?start to relieve stress?start to relieve stress?start to relieve stress?
• Naming the feeling activates the prefrontal
cortex to send calming GABA to the
amygdala
• As feeling and body experience are
identified, the information from the right
hemisphere becomes available to the
whole brain.
• The calming of the amygdala allows the
hippocampus to come back on line to do
the work of contextualizing. 40

41. How does naming needsHow does naming needsHow does naming needsHow does naming needs
start to relieve stress?start to relieve stress?start to relieve stress?start to relieve stress?
• Naming experience continues to calm amygdala
• Connects left hemisphere (answers the essential
question 'why?') for hippocampus
• Allows hippocampus to contextualize as part of
life story
• Allows one to realize one “makes sense”, the
incredibly calming experience of “being gotten”
for the right hemisphere
• LIVING ENERGY OF NEEDS
- changing the emotional tone of the experience
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42. How does making requestsHow does making requestsHow does making requestsHow does making requests
work to relieve stress?work to relieve stress?work to relieve stress?work to relieve stress?
• Moves us away from isolation - establishes
connection between two brains (we are
social animals – interpersonal integration)
and activates our social engagement
system
• Opens the door to community and
support
• Begins to facilitate locating ourselves in
time –temporal integration
42

43. The role of Empathy in coming back
to calm
• Immediate: Empathy calms the amygdala after stress
activation, freeing the brain’s energy for mindsight and
creativity, moving us from fight/flight or freeze back into
self-connection and social engagement.
• Long-term: We are disarming neural networks that are
fueled by stress states and hooked into the amygdala.
• Life-long changes: We are modeling holding the self with
compassion, helping the person receiving the empathy,
or ourselves, grow new neural connections between pre-
frontal cortex and amygdala, improving our ability to
regulate.
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44. Attachment and Stress/Regulation
• Securely attached children successfully use other
people to modulate their stress (when they are
under stress, their physiological stress response
system does not activate).
• Adults who are secure or earned secure are able
to cope with stress and interpersonal problems
with self-regulation.
• Adults coming from the insecure attachment
patterns use external forms of self-regulation:
fleeing/distancing/addictive or compulsive
behavior; or
fighting/clinging/confronting/demanding.
44

45. 45

46. Brains “synch up”
• Children model their brain use on how their parents
are using their brains.
• If you are living in your right hemisphere
(emotional chaos, dysregulation, temper flare-ups,
intrusive memories, the ever-present past) your
child is living in his/her right hemisphere.
• If you are living in your left hemisphere
(disconnected, unemotional, removed from your
own life story, rational/logical) your child is living
in his/her left hemisphere.
• Children depend on the adults around them to
learn how to integrate their hemispheres.
46

47. Circle of Attachment
Secure (Earned)
Hippocampus rules
Ambivalent, Right
Hemisphere,
amygdala takes
over
Avoidant, Left
Hemisphere,
little info from
amygdala
Disorganized/Traumatic
Amygdala rules
More ChaoticMore Rigid
More IntegrationMore Integration
47

48. Secure Attachment (SA) = Functional
Pre-frontal Cortex (PFC)
Functions of SAFunctions of SAFunctions of SAFunctions of SA
Regulation of body systems
Attuning to others
Balancing emotions
Modulating fear
Responding flexibly
Exhibiting mindsight and
empathy
Paying attention to body’s
wisdom
Functions of PFCFunctions of PFCFunctions of PFCFunctions of PFC
Regulation of body systems
Attuned communication
Emotional balance
Calming the amygdala
(modulating fear)
Response flexibility
Empathy
Intuition
Morality
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49. The Mind’s Domains of Integration
1. Integration of Consciousness: Presence
2. Vertical Integration: The Embodied Mind
3. Bilateral Integration: Hemispheres, brain parts
4. Memory Integration: Implicit and Explicit
5. Narrative Integration: Who are we in the world?
6. State Integration: Can our inner community connect?
7. Temporal Integration: Who are we in time?
8. Interpersonal Integration: Connection with others
9. "Transpirational" Integration: Connection beyond breath
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50. Appendix
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51. 51

52. 52

53. Early Stress/Trauma Symptoms
• Hypervigilance (being “on guard” at all times
• Intrusive imagery or flashbacks
• Extreme sensitivity to light and sound
• Hyperactivity
• Exaggerated emotional and startle responses
• Nightmares and night terrors
• Abrupt mood swings
• Shame and lack of self-worth
• Reduced ability to deal with stress
• Difficulty sleeping
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54. The Next Symptoms that may appear
• Panic attacks, anxiety, and phobias
• Mental “blankness” or spaced-out feelings
• Avoidance behavior
• Attraction to dangerous situations
• Addictive behaviors
• Exaggerated or diminished sexual activity
• Amnesia and forgetfulness
• Inability to love, nurture, or bond with others
• Fear of dying or having a shortened life
• Self-mutilation
• Loss of sustaining beliefs
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55. Final Group of Symptoms
• Excessive shyness
• Diminished emotional responses
• Inability to make commitments
• Chronic fatigue or very low physical energy
• Immune system problems and certain endocrine problems such as
thyroid malfunction and environmental sensitivities
• Psychosomatic illnesses, particularly headaches, migraines, neck and back
problems
• Chronic pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Asthma
• Skin disorders
• Digestive problems
• Severe premenstrual syndrome
• Depression and feelings of impending doom
• Feelings of detachment, alienation, and isolation
• Reduced ability to formulate plans 55

56. Implicit Memory and PTSDImplicit Memory and PTSDImplicit Memory and PTSDImplicit Memory and PTSD
• Body memories of proprioceptive
experience stored by amygdala and can
be irradiated (generalized more and
more widely)
• Intrusive memories – lack of sense of
time – show amygdala activity, lack of
activity in hippocampus, result in
effective ADHD
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57. Suffering vs. Mourning
Healing from PTSD
• Verbal:
o NVC processes (Empathy)
o EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and
Reprocessing)
o Narrative therapies
• Preverbal:
o Somatic Experiencing
o Energy Therapy
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58. SUFFERING: IMPLICITSUFFERING: IMPLICITSUFFERING: IMPLICITSUFFERING: IMPLICIT
EXPERIENCEEXPERIENCEEXPERIENCEEXPERIENCE
· Amygdala-based
· Looping (“Why did that happen? How could I have
done that? How could they have done that?), Intrusive
memories
· No resolution
· Hurts as much today as it ever did (timeless)
· Shame
· Sadness
· Grief
· Anger
58

59. Mourning:
Transforming Implicit into
Explicit Experience
An NVC view: Holding the pain of the
experience, sadness that it happened, and
the beauty of the need simultaneously.
Results in compassion and understanding
(contextualization and appropriate
storage)
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60. EXPLICIT EXPERIENCEEXPLICIT EXPERIENCEEXPLICIT EXPERIENCEEXPLICIT EXPERIENCE
· Movement to hippocampus-based
· Understanding (Placing in context,
Seeing the whole, Mindsight into others’
behavior)
· Resolution (Self-compassion)
· Tied into autobiography
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61. 61

62. One’s posture and facial muscles signal emotional states, not
only to others, but to oneself as well. These micro-expressions
are what Paul Ekman studied in his pioneering research
spanning over four decades. With practice and patience, one
can develop the skills necessary to observe these very brief
changes of muscle tension (often in a fraction of a second)
throughout parts of the face. The specific patterns of these
muscle contractions communicate the full range of emotional
nuances to oneself and to others. As social creatures, it is
through empathy that we make our deepest communications.
To do this we must be able to “resonate” with the sensations
and emotions of others; we must, in other words, be able to
feel the same things as those around us feel. The way we
indicate this is primarily nonverbal.
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63. 63

64. 64
10%90%

65. Amazingly, as much as 90% of the vagus nerve
that connects our guts and brains is sensory! In
other words, for every one motor nerve fiber
that relays commands from the brain to the
gut, nine sensory nerves send information
about the state of the viscera (organs) to the
brain so as to restore balance.
Quote by Porges, “The afferent feedback from
the viscera provides a major mediator of the
accessibility of prosocial circuits associated with
social engagement behaviors.”
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66. Bibliography
• Bessel A. van deer Kolk, M.D.The Body
Keeps The Score, Viking, 2014
• Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. Healing Trauma,
Sounds True, 2008
• Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. The Mindful
Therapist, Norton, 2010
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