Why your brain creates trauma | Lisa Feldman Barrett

Summary

The transcript discusses the nature of trauma and its impact on the brain's predictions and experiences. It emphasizes that trauma is metabolically costly, as the brain continuously re-experiences and reinforces traumatic events, shaping a worldview filled with threats. The speaker argues that healing involves changing these predictions rather than simply treating the body. Effective methods like yoga, psychedelics, and dance therapy can create new experiences, allowing the brain to adjust its hypotheses about sensations. Ultimately, while traumatic memories may resurface, individuals can learn to manage their effects, highlighting the brain's role in recovery.

Takeaways

• 😀 Trauma and negative experiences are metabolically expensive and significantly impact our brain's predictions.
• 😀 The brain continuously re-experiences traumatic events, reinforcing connections and predictions about future threats.
• 😀 It's essential for the brain to predict and correct responses to avoid missing potential threats.
• 😀 The belief that trauma leaves physical marks on the body is a misconception; trauma is primarily an issue of brain predictions.
• 😀 Treatments for trauma, such as yoga and psychedelics, work by altering the brain's predictions and creating new experiences.
• 😀 The brain can be likened to a scientist, forming hypotheses about sensations based on past experiences.
• 😀 Recovering from trauma involves gathering more information to clarify uncertainties about past experiences.
• 😀 While traumatic memories may resurface, they do not have to dictate the brain's future predictions.
• 😀 Everyone has the capacity to change their traumatic predictions through various methods.
• 😀 Understanding that all experiences, including trauma, are constructed in the brain can empower recovery.

Q & A

What common factor do terms like negative mood, stress, and trauma share?

They all refer to experiences that are metabolically expensive, indicating a significant energy and resource cost associated with these feelings.

How does the brain process traumatic experiences?

The brain weighs traumatic experiences heavily in its future predictions, which can lead to the repeated re-experiencing of the trauma, strengthening the associated neural connections.

Why does the brain continuously model the world as threatening after a traumatic event?

This occurs to avoid missing potential threats, leading the brain to prepare the body to deal with perceived dangers repeatedly.

What misconception does the speaker address about trauma and the body?

The speaker clarifies that trauma does not physically mark the body; rather, the experience of the body is constructed and interpreted by the brain.

What is suggested as the primary focus for healing from trauma?

Healing should focus on changing the brain's predictions rather than trying to heal the body directly, as the experience of trauma is constructed in the brain.

What methods are mentioned as effective treatments for trauma?

Effective treatments include yoga, psychedelics, dance therapy, and other embodied practices like theater, which help create new experiences to alter brain predictions.

How does the speaker compare the brain to a scientist?

The brain is likened to a scientist forming hypotheses about sensory experiences, which can be tested and updated based on new information.

What role does uncertainty play in the experience of trauma?

Uncertainty regarding which category of experience is correct can lead to heightened arousal, making it important to seek more information to clarify and manage these feelings.

What does the speaker mean by saying 'everything is in your head'?

This statement emphasizes that all experiences, including trauma, are subject to brain interpretation, suggesting that recovery and control over those experiences are possible.

Can traumatic memories return after recovery, according to the speaker?

Yes, traumatic memories may resurface in the future, but they do not have to dominate the brain's predictions or overall experience.