Readings: http://www.cns.nyu.edu/home/ledoux/overview.htm Emotion, Memory and the Brain, Trauma and PTSD Symptoms: Does Spiritual Struggle Mediate the Link?
I especially enjoyed the exploration of brain activity and the effect the trauma can have on the brain this week. I think that the way the slides were organized were a great way to gradually expand on knowledge introduced in the readings, and slowly but surely increase the complexity of the ideas. While I am attempting to critically analyze the class, I really do think that the slides and concepts were laid out perfectly and connected well to the course content. The fact that each slide built another layer of information onto the main topic without making things to complex was easy to understand and therefor easy to learn.
1. What did this class …show more content…
How did the class connect (or not) to the readings (citing the readings)
Trauma & Recovery’s “Safety” chapter relates strongly in many ways to what we learned from Megan and with parts of Megan’s story. Her first obligation to protect her abuser, her resistance to getting help, the way she lied to those around her and the way she isolated herself are all analysed through a trauma lens and mentioned in the chapter. In Trauma & Recovery the chapter reads “Once basic medical care has been provided, control of the body focuses on the restoration of the biological rhythms of eating and sleep.” (161). Megan shared that she experienced trouble sleeping while recovering from the abuse, and this is just one example of the reading correlating with her experience.
4. What did you learn about yourself during the class?
I learned over all that I am a very empathetic person. Hearing Megan’s story was especially hard because I connect with others very personally. I learned that I truly do need a reflecting period or “down time” after heavy material such as this is discussed, or I will linger on the thoughts and contemplate them to a point that it exhausts my