Acute Trauma: How Your Brain Helps You Survive the Unthinkable

Acute Trauma: How Your Brain Helps You Survive the Unthinkable

In this episode of Her Brain Matters, we explore what happens in the brain during and after acute trauma. Drawing on neuroscience and psychology, we break down how the brain’s survival systems take over, why memory and time can feel distorted, and why responses such as freeze, dissociation, and hypervigilance are not signs of weakness, but of adaptation. With a smaller focus on women’s neurobiology, this episode offers language, understanding, and compassion for how acute trauma shapes the brain and how healing begins. Sources * Acute and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders: A biased nervous system [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0035378720306202#:~:text=rights%20and%20content-,Abstract,detailed%20explanatory%20model%20of%20trauma.] * ⁠What Is Acute Trauma?⁠ [https://www.columbiapsychiatry-dc.com/counseling-blog/what-is-acute-trauma/#:~:text=On%20the%20other%20hand%2C%20acute,or%20sudden%20acts%20of%20violence.] * Understanding the Trauma Brain [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/202106/understanding-the-trauma-brain] * Understanding the Impact of Trauma [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207191/] * ⁠Neurobiology of Trauma⁠ [https://www.unco.edu/assault-survivors-advocacy-program/learn_more/neurobiology_of_trauma.aspx] * The Psychology of Healing: How Trauma Shapes and Transforms the Brain [https://insightspsychology.org/psychology-of-healing-brain-recovery/#:~:text=When%20trauma%20occurs%2C%20the%20amygdala,functioning%20and%20emotional%20well%2Dbeing.] * 5 Ways Trauma Changes Your Brain and Body (And How You Can Start Taking Back Control) [https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/ways-trauma-changes-your-brain-and-body] * Why it matters that trauma affects women and men differently [https://psyche.co/ideas/why-it-matters-that-trauma-affects-women-and-men-differently]

Meditation in Your Mind

Mindfulness and meditation have become mainstream buzzwords, but what do these practices actually do for our brains and bodies? In this episode, we’ll explore the neuroscience behind meditation, how it impacts stress, memory, and attention, and why consistency matters more than time. You will hear from two experts from the Mindfulness Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Jeffrey Proulx and Professor Lynn Koerbel. Guided by their incredible insight and research, we unpack the cultural roots, modern adaptations, and accessible forms of mindfulness that can fit into any lifestyle. Have you ever wondered if meditation is worth the hype? Tune in to find out. Reading materials I particularly enjoyed while researching this topic: * The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, [https://www.michaelfinkel.com/books/the-stranger-in-the-woods/] by Michael Finkel * ⁠“Is it normal to talk to yourself?,”⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNyUmbmQQZg] directed by Avi Ofer, TED-Ed * “The Mindful Revolution,” [https://time.com/1556/the-mindful-revolution/] by Kate Pickert, Time Magazine * “How to Meditate When You Can’t Sit Still,” [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/well/mind/meditation-mindfulness-attention.html] by A.C. Shilton, The New York Times Intro and outro music are my own.  Episode music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/tobias-voigt/particles-and-waves [https://uppbeat.io/t/tobias-voigt/particles-and-waves]

Expressing Stressing

“I’m so stressed” is a near-ubiquitous phrase, but its abundance does not diminish its significance. So what is stress? Understanding stress can help us validate it, respond to it, and recognize when it’s healthy and when it’s becoming fatal. In this episode, we explore the proposed theory that women experience higher levels of stress, how this contributes to the gender gap in depression, and how male and female stress responses differ.

Love on the Brain

When love is in the air, what does it look like in the brain? Does love look the same after 20 years? What is a crush, and what is heartbreak? This episode explores the neurological basis of love and how it differs between male and female brains.

Her Brain Matters Welcomes Carla Golden

Join me as the listener as distinguished guest Carla Golden details her work researching sex and gender in the brain. Carla Golden is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuroscience at New York University and a proud steminist. In this episode, she shares her mic to answer questions, debunk gendered misconceptions, and more. Carla was generous to provide contact information if any listeners would like to be in touch. Her Twitter handle is @golden_neurons and she can be reached via email at cg163@nyu.edu [cg163@nyu.edu]. Resources for recent, accessible research recommended by Carla in this episode: PubMed, Google Scholar, nih.gov.