{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"What Is Going On Inside of Me Because of What Happened to Me?","description":"What if the behavior we see on the outside is only part of the story? Last week on The Courageous Journey, I talked about changing the question from \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with me?\u201d to \u201cWhat happened to me?\u201d and eventually, \u201cWhat happened inside of me because of what happened to me?\u201d This week, we start answering that question. Trauma isn\u2019t only something that happened in the past. Our experiences can influence how our brains and bodies respond in the present\u2014including our nervous system, perception of safety, attention, memory, emotional responses, decision-making, sensory processing, and behavior. In this episode, I break down what can happen when the brain perceives danger and why the danger can be over while the brain and body are still responding to what they learned during it. I also share my own experience of beginning to understand reactions I once judged in myself, including the \u201cBob Evans story\u201d I often use in my professional trainings. It\u2019s an example of what can happen when the past and present collide\u2014and why understanding what is happening underneath a behavior can completely change the questions we ask. We also talk about an important distinction: understanding does not remove accountability. The goal isn\u2019t to assume trauma explains every behavior or to diagnose someone based on what we see. It\u2019s to recognize that behavior is visible, while the mechanisms producing it often are not. Sometimes the most important thing we can do is replace certainty with curiosity. IN THIS EPISODE \u2022 How trauma can affect the brain, body, and nervous system \u2022 Why the brain prioritizes survival when it perceives danger \u2022 Fight, flight, freeze, and survival responses \u2022 How past experiences can collide with the present \u2022 What we really mean when we talk about \u201ctriggers\u201d \u2022 My Bob Evans story and what it taught me about trauma \u2022 How perceived danger can affect memory, processing, communication, and decision-making \u2022 Why someone may appear difficult when they are actually having difficulty \u2022 How understanding my own brain changed the way I approach healing and rehabilitation \u2022 Why curiosity is not diagnosis \u2022 Why understanding and accountability can exist together \u2022 Questions professionals, families, and all of us can ask before judging behavior CHAPTERS 00:00 \u2014 What happened inside of me? Introducing this week\u2019s question and why understanding what happens beneath behavior matters. 03:18 \u2014 What do we actually mean by trauma? Moving beyond words like \u201ctriggered,\u201d \u201cdysregulated,\u201d and \u201ctrauma-informed\u201d to understand what may actually be happening in the brain and body. 04:05 \u2014 Your brain is constantly processing safety How the brain takes in information and why survival can take priority over reasoning, planning, memory, and social expectations. 05:30 \u2014 Fight, flight, freeze & survival responses Understanding these responses as protective mechanisms rather than simply personality traits or conscious choices. 08:14 \u2014 When the danger is over but the response remains Why the end of an event doesn\u2019t necessarily mean every system in the brain and body immediately returns to baseline. 09:46 \u2014 My Bob Evans story: when past and present collide How the smell of bacon, childhood trauma, exhaustion, and a difficult EMS call came together in a reaction I didn\u2019t understand at the time. 11:52 \u2014 What is a trigger, really? How smells, sounds, voices, facial expressions, environments, medical procedures, and other sensory information can become connected to previous experiences. 13:44 \u2014 What perceived threat can change Attention, concentration, memory, processing, emotional regulation, decision-making, communication, and the ability to organize thoughts. 14:44 \u2014 Looking at behavior in real life Using real-world examples to understand what difficulty organizing thoughts and processing information can look like from the outside. 16:08 \u2014 What EMS taught me about the brain under stress How even trained professionals experience changes in attention and priorities during critical situations. 17:43 \u2014 What might actually be underneath the behavior? Anger, distraction, forgetfulness, shutdown, agitation, inconsistency, avoidance, and overwhelm may not tell us the whole story. 19:00 \u2014 Replace certainty with curiosity Why \u201cbeing difficult\u201d and \u201chaving difficulty\u201d can look remarkably similar from the outside. 20:08 \u2014 Behavior is visible. The mechanisms often aren\u2019t. Understanding why curiosity doesn\u2019t require us to diagnose someone\u2014it simply asks us to acknowledge what we may not know. 20:50 \u2014 Looking back at the version of me I didn\u2019t understand Reflecting on the years when my symptoms, reactions, and limitations were judged by me and by people around me. 22:09 \u2014 What changed when I started understanding my brain Learning about trauma, brain injury, strangulation, sensory processing, memory, and neurorehabilitation helped seemingly random experiences begin to make sense. 24:03 \u2014 Learning to recognize my own patterns Moving from \u201cWhy am I like this?\u201d to asking what information my brain is receiving, what is overwhelming it, what it needs, and what I can change. 25:19 \u2014 Understanding does NOT remove accountability Why understanding a nervous-system response isn\u2019t an excuse for behavior\u2014and can actually give us more opportunity to respond differently. 26:53 \u2014 Turning the question outward What healthcare, EMS, law enforcement, courts, advocacy, schools, families, and relationships can learn from looking beyond behavior. 28:48 \u2014 Your challenge for this week Don\u2019t diagnose yourself or someone else. Start noticing. What are you assuming the behavior means, and what information might you be missing? THIS WEEK\u2019S TAKEAWAY Behavior is something we can see. The mechanisms producing it often aren\u2019t. Curiosity doesn\u2019t require us to know exactly what is happening inside another person. It simply requires us to recognize that we may not know. Understanding isn\u2019t where responsibility ends. Sometimes, understanding is where responsibility finally becomes possible. And sometimes the behavior is the part we can see. The story underneath it is the part we still need to understand. Healing begins with understanding. \u2014 Paula Walters The Courageous Journey ","author_name":"The Courageous Journey","author_url":"https:\/\/thecourageoussurvivor.com\/","html":"