Emotional Regulation and Trauma - week 9 Flashcards
when unresolved issues are triggered your mind shuts off and becomes inflexible
when emotional reactions replace midnfulness you’re on the low road
reflecting on the origin of our issues can increase self-understanding and create a resilience that minimizes likelihood of the low road
TRUE
HIgher mode of processing involves:
higher, rational reflective thought
mindfulness, flexible response
integrating sense of self-awareness
prefrontal cortex
low mode; low road
shutting down of prefrontal cortex
intense emotions
impulsive, rigid and repetitive responses
no self-reflection or consideration other’s views
trigger
internal or external even that initiates beginning of low road
transition
movement from integrated, higher road processing toward low road
immersion
on the low road
high mode shuts off: no self reflection, attunement or mindsight
recovery
process of reactivating integrative processes
high vulnerability to reentering the low road
________ prevents repair process
SHAME
shift to low road linked with unresolved issues due to
emotional meaning and unintegrated implicit memories from past experiences flood mind
rapid shift in state of mind can lead to a discontinuous experience called?
dissociation
individuals with _______ are more vulnerable to sudden shifts in state of mind and more prone to entering the low road
individuals with UNRESOLVED TRAUMA OR LOSS are more vulnerable to sudden shifts in state of mind and more prone to entering the low road
recovery: how do you create a coherent story?
past autobiographical information has to be linked to present day experiences to create a coherent story out of internal and interpersonal experiences
resolution of trauma requires an understanding of the low road and its connection to patterns of past experiences
true
repeated ruptures without repair impair ABC’s of attachment (attune, balance and coherence)
unresolved issues disconnect ppl from parts of brain that enable attuned communication
in unresolved trauma, “implicit only” memories and fragments of explicit memory have not been consolidated into a coherent life story
explicit: sensation of a remembered past event
autobiographical=sense of self and time
contingent communication
sense of balance is achieved between inner sense of self and outer responses of the social world
amygdala
processing emotions and evaluate meaning of incoming stimuli
rupture
breakdown in communication
repair
reconnecting with child
in order to repair a rupture
be aware of rupture
understand your behavior and emotions
take ownership in your role
reconnect right away
rupture without repair
deepening sense of disconnection = shame/humiliation = toxic for childs sense of self
ruptures that invole intense emotional distress and a despairing disconnection that are harmful to a childs sense of self
toxic ruptures
toxic ruptures happen on the low road
low road = flexible, contingent communication is impossible
TRUE
toxic ruptures are the most distressing form of disconnection for children becuase they are accompanied by an instense feeling of overwhelming SHAME
TRUE
shame is at the heart of toxic ruptures
reflective dialogue about inner emotional experience of the rupture is often effective at repairing it
TRUE
repeated experiences of shame in childhood can result in
permanently disregulated autonomic functioning and a heightened sense of vulnerability to others
intense sense of distress (constant “fight or flight”)
withdraw from others
bad sense of self
rigid defenses
non-contingent communication
interrogate, judge, fix (ex. denies child’s reality)
contingent communication
receive, process and respond
collaboration
explore, understand and join
how to repair
calm down consider trigger connect non-intrusively listen to your child apologize & discuss the toxic part
access to consciousness
when processes become linked with consciousness, they can be more strategically and intentionally manipulated
what is the danger in chronically blocking emotional expression?
inhibits access of emotions to a person’s consciousness
inability to connect with others
feeling misunderstood
at the emotional core of attachment is increased positive emotional states and reduced negative emotional states
child tolerates wider bands of emotional intensity and share emotional communication
maladtive emotional regulation from temperament, trauma or attachment leads to
restricted ability to achieve emotional reseilience and behavioral flexiibility
the experience of being shunned and expelled from social connectedness
shame
overwhelming emotional response to a terrible event
trauma
relational trauma
anything that makes a person enter fight or flight
*most trauma is relational (not a single event)
freeze
effective at infancy
flight
effective strategy when beginning to crawl
fight
effective strategy in adolescence (physical abuse stops when you can fight back)
in order to heal from trauma ppl need connection but are too afraid to trust due to fear and disregulation in relationships
TRUE
the loss of the ability to regulate the intensity of emotions is the most far-reaching effect of _______?
early traumatic abuse and neglect
under stress the brain releases
noradrenaline & cortisol
excessive stress hormones impair the _________ and ________ contributions to memory processing?
excessive stress hormones impair the HIPPOCAMPAL and AMYGDALA contributions to memory processing?
traumatic stress blocks/damages:
the Hippocampus (invovled in explicit memory)
Amygdala (emotions of an experience)
TRUE
Trauma blocks the encoding & storage of explicit memory resulting in implicit only memory traces
TRUE
implicit memories lack ?
impllicit memories lack: associated connections (hippocampus) which would assit with understanding
*neurological basis for panic attack
trauma damages the corpus callosum which _____?
trauma damages the corpus callosum which:
connects 2 hemispheres and allows for the transferring of info from one hemisphere to the other
unresolved traumatic expereines impair the cortical consolidation process which results in ?
no permanent storage of traumatic memories in memory
______ play a central role in reorganizing memory and in reinforcing the connections between memory and emotion
DREAM
failure to consolidate traumatic events is at the core of unresolved trauma. that is why treatment includes integration of trauma into larger context of mind
TRUE
unresolved trauma may be transferred to the child through trauma reactions
TRUE (intergenerational transfer of mind)
trauma becomes part of a persons identity
TRUE
victim identification of trauma
victim: doesn’t want to be the monster
(manipulated, submissive)
Build assertiveness, confidence, boundaries (must process their fear of becoming the monster “perpetrator”)
perpetrator identification with trauma
○ Perpetrator: I don’t want to feel helpless again; power/control
§ Aggressive, control,
Build empathy, flexibility, compassion (must process fear of being helpless)
resolved trauma
reflect on past live in present active sense of self and time flexible mind stable mood experience wider range and intensity of emotion tolerance for change
for unresolved trauma, therapy attachment relationship enables the patient to enter fearful states of mind to process info
TRUE
