The effect of trauma on the brain and how it affects behaviors | John Rigg | TEDxAugusta

The people who love to spout the famous phrases "Get over it" and "It's not that big of a deal" need to be watching this.

Although war PTSD is probably similar in some ways to domestic violence PTSD, they would both be very different from Childhood abuse PTSD. When you have a non-violent childhood then go to war or marry someone who abuses you, you have a foundation of what NORMAL was. You may not be completely aware - but your instincts -primitive brain knows it. With childhood PTSD, they have no idea what normal is. Violence IS normal! The world - not just the war, or a spouse - THE WORLD is a scary place. When that child grows up, most likely stuck in the abuse their whole life, they cannot really grow up in any psychological way. Even the animal/primitive brain is affected! When a 17-20 year old goes to war the ENEMY tries to kill them, but when you are a baby or a child or a teen you are trapped in time psychologically because your FAMILY tries to kill you for so long, the trauma becomes a physical part of your brain - the brain actually changes how it functions. War vets need support and care definitely! but the people who need it most, are the ones who are forgotten - the adults who were abused as children. Even their primitive brains are affected. Child abuse victims are one of the reasons fawn was added to the F list: flight, fight, freeze... and fawn. Their animal instincts must be ignored in abusive home so they cannot react like most people... Their family IS the enemy, for a lifetime! The emotional complications cannot even be expressed! It’s one thing when an enemy tries harming you, but when it's your father or mother, or uncle or grandma... it's a whole different thing psychologically! The child is so much smaller with no weapon either. They learn to fawn to the family-enemy to survive, regardless of what they must sacrifice of themselves. People who 'go to war' can come home one day - if they survive. But people who were raised in war (abuse) have no home, and survival actually begins to feel like a curse because they have no family support, and they have trouble keeping friends (relationships are confusing-scary), and when they ask society for support or empathy or help, they are given more hate: "get over it," "deal with it," "it's over now," things people say that are not only false, but basically telling the victim of violent hate by family members that it's their fault and they deserved it - here's some more hate! War vets and domestic violence victims need empathy and support by professionals as well as from society as a whole of course - and people seem to be understanding that better these days, but adults who complain about being abused as kids (that could have lasted into their adulthood), and not being able to function still receive the same HATE from society that their own family gave them from as far back as they could remember! I think that adults who have been abused (esp. long term abuse - into adulthood) need MORE support and empathy from professionals and society because they probably don't have family if they are seeking kindness from strangers. I'm done with my rant... If you made it this far....you probably didn't actually. lol

I recently needed to have my body checked for peripheral neuropathy. Sure enough the test showed that I had “significant neuropathies”. During the test the Dr. looked at me at one point and asked if I had any trauma during my childhood, and I said yes, quite a bit. So when I returned to the clinic to talk with his Medical Assistant I asked her why he had asked me that, as I was so surprised that no other doctor had asked me that in 57 yrs. She explained that if a child is traumatized it wreaks havoc on the immune system and the wiring within your brain which can lead to auto-immune disorders, chronic pain, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and the list goes on. ALL of which I have, so if you are struggling I do encourage you to seek help somewhere, somehow, etc. Find the path that works for you. The saddest thing about emotional abuse is that it is even harder to heal as it is intangible and therefore others don’t take the “abuse” seriously, or they brush it aside with a typical response, “oh it couldn’t have been that bad”. Not what one needs to hear when trying to get help within the family structure which is causing the abuse. Anyway, I wish all of you the best of luck with your healing and may you find something that speaks to the healing of your whole body, mind and spirit. Be kind to yourselves as you are healing!!

I grew up in an abusive home and later an abusive relationship. To this day my heart races if my partner is angry with me and if he makes any sudden movements I immediately put up my arms to protect my face. This reaction is actually progress for me. And yup you can tell yourself over and over I’m safe everything’s ok now but the anxiety never leaves. Maybe someday there will be an answer. Blessings to you all.

Watching TedTalks confirms that my school education was a pile of useless uninteresting nonsense.

I got super screwed up by my childhood. Depression, social phobia, CPTSD, sleep apnea, eating disorder, fibromyalgia, hearing loss. It's a lot to deal with, but I know that there's other people out there who need to heal like me. I look for them.

Honestly.....it feels so wholesome that he just shreds hella hard at the end, just sharing with us what he does to blow off steam. Feels sweet, hope this guy is happy and living well.

As a sufferer of ptsd and having quacks trying to shove drugs down my throat to treat it with no result I can tell you this guy knows what he is talking about.

After a couple of REALLY traumatic experiences when I was in my late teens,I get so stuck in the “feeling” sometimes,I cannot even get out of bed,much less go outside...

I have a dissociative dissorder due to childhood abuse and neglect, the body keeps score is also a really good book about the brain also .. basically goes super in depth to this same topic.. this was a really great ted talk.

Words are like bullets once you fire them you can never take them back

I was a little sus after he kept saying “inappropriately short/tight” like chill dude.

This is for Molecular Moonlight, Im currently his patient at the TBI clinic FT Gordon. He has done more for the Soldiers then any other medical provider. I was that guy that was deployed many times.  He has save my life and others Soldier as well.  So, he knows his stuff and it works!!! I have heard it many times from others. I give respect where it is do and he has my respect!!!

I was getting a divorce after living with a negative passive aggressive covert narcissist for 25 years and tragically lost my 15 yr old daughter in an accident. What i did after that was leave as soon as possible and that set off a series of unfortunate events...i was acting out of my animal brain and wound up being diagnosed with PTDS a couple of years later. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I’m am STILL recovering and the triggers are real. I thought i was losing my mind and really hurt a lot of people. I never meant to do so I was out of my mind even though I was still functioning day to day. When i finally got help it was almost too late. Thank God. The damage has been done, how do we repair hearts? This talk was excellent in every way! Thank you Mr Rigg for helping so many....

I like how he just plays it out with a guitar solo...

I left 17yrs of domestic abuse so PTSD can affect anyone ... this talk definitely hit deep.

This is Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) from childhood neglect, emotional abuse, physical or sexual abuse.

I really respect this guy. I know a lot of doctors, and I’ve been to a lot of doctors (I get injured a lot). I have a TBI (traumatic brain injury) now, and I know everyone with a TBI is a handful. But meditation (for me, prayer) has changed my life. I feel better when I exercise. And I wouldn’t be where I am today without being able to play the piano. Thank you!

LOVING the ending where Dr. Rigg played the guitar as a tribute to all the Veterans! Love it! Tears in my eyes now. So touched!

I don’t know much about neuroscience, but after listening to you speak about the “thinking brain” and our “primal brain area”, it has made me think that during and after being hit with a barrage of abnormal, one-after-another major life stressors, the fast-reacting primal brain area is so hyper-activated that it rapidly changes your normal neuro-pathways (neuropathy) in the cortex. Yes, you can go to therapy to try to create new neuro-paths (and try to get rid of of the newly acquired bad ones), but it can take years to undo what the primal brain has altered in a relatively shorter time. Goes back to the old saying, “once bitten, twice shy.” And that saying is very true. Seems the primal brain (when on a sustained high alert) can really do a number on your thinking-brain’s neuropathy. Because after sustained stress, one develops new reactions (and sometimes actions) such as fear, anger, etc - which then continues to create new feelings such as being misunderstood & having mistrust in others. Then, new behaviors such as unintended self-imposed isolation...and it’s a vicious cycle. It’s what our Vietnam Vets went through when they came home. Not only were they in a very confusing war (long-term mission wise), but when they did get home, the protestors and young people totally didn’t like them. They got hit in another way, and that was rejection by the very people they thought they were fighting for. They tried to SURVIVE over in Nam, and when home, no nurturing. Anyway, I just thought this was such an excellent talk, that I just wanted to say it made me think a lot! Thanks for your Ted Talk!