Tag Archives: hierarchy
Why Conversations End When You Expose the Hierarchy
A few months ago, I agreed to a podcast interview with a prominent pain specialist, someone widely known for using Stellate Ganglion Blocks (SGBs) to treat people diagnosed with PTSD. He states that the shot works fast, with people often … Continue reading
Welfare Systems Trap the Nervous System and Hold People Down
A friend also lives with severe Complex PTSD rooted in extreme developmental trauma. They are profoundly disabled by it, not because they are incapable or unmotivated, but because their nervous system learned very early that survival required constant vigilance. The … Continue reading
From Trauma to Truth: How I Became Anti-Psychiatry
I became anti-psychiatry because of what psychiatry did to me and what I saw it do to others. I walked in with severe Complex PTSD. They put me on Lexapro. The suicidal ideations started about 3 weeks after. When I … Continue reading
The Manufactured SNAP Crisis: A Nation’s Moral Reckoning
As the government shutdown drags on, nearly 42 million Americans are staring down an uncertain future. The Trump administration has announced it will not tap into emergency funds to maintain SNAP benefits beyond October, leaving millions without the food assistance … Continue reading
World Mental Health Day: Understanding the Root Causes of Mental Health Conditions Through an IPNB Lens
As we recognize World Mental Health Day on October 10th, it’s important to step back and examine the deeper, systemic causes of the global mental health crisis. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) perspective, mental health is not just an individual … Continue reading
Why Hierarchy Is the Problem
Hierarchy creates the separation that promotes contempt, which is the breeding ground of cruelty. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology perspective, hierarchy disrupts the natural processes of connection, safety, and co-regulation that support human well-being. In relationships or systems where hierarchy dominates, … Continue reading
The President Parenting Our Nation
Our nervous systems respond to leaders the same way we react to people who hold power in our lives, especially caregivers when we were young. That’s because our bodies and brains develop in the context of relationships. Safety, connection, and … Continue reading
Tripping on Power: Elon Musk’s Altered States of Influence
What Happens When a Billionaire Mixes Drugs with Far-Right Ideology? Continue reading
How the Democratic Party Fostered MAGA
Trumpism didn’t rise from nowhere, and it’s not simply the result of one man’s manipulation or one party’s extremism. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) lens, what we’re seeing is the inevitable outcome of long-standing disconnection between people and institutions, between … Continue reading
Trauma is Political. Healing is, Too.
Most trauma is caused by power imbalances in which the powerful neglect, abuse, and exploit those who have less. Such out-of-balance relational dynamics–especially when protected by institutions–are the driver of mental health conditions, chronic illnesses, recurrent pain, and virtually all … Continue reading
