Tag Archives: IPNB

Connection Is the Cure: Meet My Nervous System’s Needs

My nervous system is desperate for the kind of connection that feels safe. Because all my life, I’ve been chronically and acutely deprived of that safety. Sometimes it’s been extreme, other times less so, but never enough. When I had … Continue reading

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Psychiatry Hasn’t Cured Anything

Psychiatry hasn’t “cured” anything in the way most people think about cures. What it has mostly done is reframe human suffering into categories, attach labels, and then try to manage symptoms, usually through medication or behavior-based interventions. 💊   There’s … Continue reading

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Why the Ego, Id, and Superego Do Not Apply

The ego, id, and superego are abstract inventions, not observable processes. What can be studied are phenomena such as attachment, defense mechanisms, resilience, meaning-making, and identity processes. These are evident in behavior, physiology, relationship patterns, and lived experiences. The psychological … Continue reading

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What is Institutional Betrayal and How Does It Harm Us? 

Institutional betrayal occurs when the systems or structures a person depends on for safety, care, or justice–such as hospitals, universities, police, or legal bodies–fail to protect them, or worse, participate in their harm. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology perspective, these betrayals … Continue reading

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The Therapist’s Mirror: How Lack of Self-Awareness Can Dysregulate Clients

A therapist who lacks the capacity for self-awareness and attunement may, at best, provide surface-level support, but they’re also likely to cause harm, especially to trauma survivors. Without the ability to co-regulate and deeply connect with their clients’ internal states, … Continue reading

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The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Future Kids

If you’re thinking about having children someday, you might picture giving them love, stability, guidance, and maybe a few cherished traditions. But one gift shapes all the others: your own cohesive life story. A cohesive narrative means you can look … Continue reading

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Rupture and Repair: How Breaks in Trust Can Be a Doorway to Something Better

Recently, I had a rupture repair session with one of my most trusted healthcare practitioners. About ten days before, we had a misattunement rupture when he dismissed what I said about my lived experience. I told him I was struggling, … Continue reading

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Conservatism’s War on Human Health

The current form of American so-called conservatism, particularly as it has evolved under Trumpism and aligned with far-right movements, is so biologically adverse in that it promotes conditions that undermine human nervous system regulation, relational safety, and social well-being. This … Continue reading

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Unhoused by Design: Trauma, Culture, and Survival

The Trump administration’s attacks on unhoused people have drawn intense controversy, and for good reason. Instead of addressing the structural causes of homelessness, like skyrocketing rents, stagnant wages, inaccessible healthcare, and systems that fail to support trauma recovery, the focus … Continue reading

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The Answer is Always “Support the Nervous System”

Supporting the nervous system is at the core of healing and well-being. Our nervous system is the foundation of how we process and respond to stress, trauma, and life itself. When it’s dysregulated, as it often is in the face … Continue reading

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