When someone experiences a trauma they go into immediate shock. This is very similar to hypnosis. Under hypnosis a person is more suggestible and tends to remember everything that occurred while in that state, even if it is on a subconscious level. Because of this a person, when abused, will remember vividly everything about what it was to feel like a victim and they will also remember everything about what it is like to be an abuser.
When an event is traumatic and confusing enough, we tend to internalize it in a futile attempt to control or master it. In some cases a victim will subconsciously embrace the victims’ role and will tend to be drawn towards abusers and feel sorry for them. Others embrace the abusers role and then act it out on others. Some people do a bit of both.
This tendency is the origin of Freud’s repetition compulsion. It is a misguided attempt at the concept of mastery. When we cannot master a task we become obsessed with the task until we figure out what we have done wrong and thereby solve the problem. Concept of mastery is one of the major ways that human beings learn.
A repetition compulsion however, is simply doing the same thing over and over again. A person who has been abused often feels at fault for the abuse and therefore subconsciously chooses abusers even when consciously trying to pick a kind and healthy person. This is healthy learning gone awry.
To understand the dynamics of trauma and post traumatic stress disorder one has to understand how the three brains and the body work. The Cerebrum and Prefrontal Cortex are the human part of the brain and operate by rational thought. This brain is linear and causal and therefore if something is explained to this part of the brain and a person agrees then they will follow those directions voluntarily. It is the conscious part of our brain. This is the part of our brain that traditional psychotherapy or talk therapy is aimed at. The Limbic system is an older part of the brain that is similar to all mammals’ brains. It is made up mostly of chemicals called Neurotransmitters that help us think and feel, but not necessarily on a logical basis.
The third brain is the Medulla Oblongata and is located at the base of the skull. It is a brain which we share with all Reptiles. It deals with instincts and unconscious processes. It is definitely not rational in the way it thinks.
All the cells in the body are connected and are capable of body memory and therefore are all minute brains. Candice Pert, the discoverer of Endorphins and the Enkelphin System, postulates that our feelings are in some way yet to be understood, involved with the Enkelphin System that is located in every cell of our body. She believes that this web of endorphins/feelings constitute a highly evolved, yet intricate brain system. In a real sense each cell is composed of a primary primitive brain. Often these brains work quicker than the others that I have mentioned.
All the brains, except the Human one, work on the basis of Pavlov’s dog or conditioning. If something is repeated enough or is so powerful in its effect that learning gets imprinted it becomes very hard to dislodge it even when situations change.
That is why feelings or habits change so slowly after the unconscious thoughts have already changed. Without some kind of intervention to change or block the stimulus/response dynamic, those more primitive brains and the body often will lag 2-5 years behind the Cerebrum and at times will remain active indefinitely. This is why people find it so hard to change and are often confused and frustrated by their inability to do so. This can make people who are quite intelligent unable to fix a problem and they therefore conclude that they must be stupid or lazy. That is not the case.
There are three major ways to effect change quicker and less painfully than traditional psychotherapy, which works for the most part only with the human brain.
The first technique is Hypnosis. Since people are more sensitive and suggestible under hypnosis this is often an effective way to cut the stimulus/response patterns. A clinician can ask the client to experience the past painful experience with a greater sense of calm or with more effective skills than they had as a child. This alters the experience of the original trauma itself. Hypnosis can be quite beneficial, but does not seem to be as helpful as some of the newer techniques listed below. It appears that the newer models of therapy often produce more congruence and longer lasting change than I have found with hypnosis. It also takes longer and is less versatile.
