Is Your Brain Trauma-Informed?

Greetings. It’s time once again for a few Enchanted Loom illustrated book reviews. This first one is a book I wish I’d had access to 40 years ago. Actually, no – I wish my meditation teachers had had access to it. It would have saved me countless hours of anguish and self-recrimination. David Treleaven has done a masterful job. His book, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness makes it crystal clear that it’s not me who’s an indolent, pathetic slug when it comes to meditation – it’s my trauma-fragged body and brain that is responsible. At some level I kind of suspected that, but 40 years ago who really knew?

This second Enchanted Loom review is for a book that came out and I read several years ago but never got around to reviewing. It’s clinical neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine’s companion to her Female Brain book. This one is not surprisingly titled: The Male Brain. Guess what? These brains are VERY different. In some ways it seems they may be more different than they are similar. For example, women have significantly more olfactory nerve fibers than men, thus profoundly sensitive smelling ability. A rotting corpse would have to be laying down in the basement for several months before many of the men I know would begin to wonder what that smell is. I, of course, would smell it right away.

Another difference: women pay much greater attention to faces than men do. Which, more often than not leaves me (I’m a man) pretty clueless to emotions being expressed on people’s faces. Especially women’s faces. As you’ll see in the review, the list of differences is considerable and explains a LOT about why it is sometimes so difficult for men and women to get along.

And if you’re interested in finding out how The Science of Social Safety (Polyvagal Theory) can help bridge any number of these get-along differences, simply click HERE. Nothing bad will happen if you click the link. It’s totally safe to at least check things out and you’re under no obligation.