Episode 97: Nurture as Trauma Prevention with Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum

In this episode with neuroscientist, author, momma, and doula Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum, we...

• discuss nurture and the science of how nurture actually has the capability to prevent trauma
• talk about how the infant brain is wired and how both nature and nurture play crucial roles; it's not one or the other
• tenderly explore parenting regret, mom guilt, and "I didn't know what I didn't know" when it comes to raising children
• discuss why quality of nurturing is more important than quantity of nurturing
• share why trauma prevention is where our focus must be as the collective mental health crisis gets worse
• discuss the worsening mental health crisis even in the face of people getting more therapy and having more awareness of their trauma and nervous systems
• talk about the high level of support all parents need to nurture their babies
• explore how systems of capitalism and patriarchy condition us to pathologize our children's normal human emotions and needs
• shift the conversation from "what's wrong with my baby and me?" to "what about my child's environment needs to change so they are set up for a gentler, more regulated adolescence and adulthood?"

Links

• Pre-order The Nurture Revolution
• Greer's website
• Follow Greer on Instagram

NEW WORKSHOP!

Join me on 6/14 for UN-TRIGGERED: a workshop to explore, face, and overcome triggers and emotional flashbacks through the lens of the limbic brain and the autonomic nervous system

In UN-TRIGGERED, you will learn...

• how to be aware of when we’re triggered
• what’s going on in our limbic systems (survival brain) when we’re triggered
• why your brain and nervous system don’t know that what triggers you is actually in the past, and you’re just reacting in the present moment
• all 4 trauma responses, their unconscious reactions, and how to make conscious choices when you meet those trauma responses with awareness
• why literally anything has the potential to be a trigger
• changing how we relate to our sensations and to our bodies, whether you lean more toward “hypoaroused” or “hyperaroused”
• primary and secondary nervous system states
• the differences between healthy nervous system responses and dysregulated responses
• how our triggers can lead us into deeper self-love, self-trust, and consciousness if we allow them to
• the difference between being dysregulated and being triggered
• what I personally believe about trigger warnings on social media

 

In his book The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk writes, “The bottom line is that the threat-perception system of the brain has changed, and people’s physical reactions are dictated by the imprint of the past.”

In UN-TRIGGERED, I will hold you in a safe and loving container to explore your own reactions that are dictated by the past. Join UN-TRIGGERED for $77.