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What is this fog made of? It is part feelings and part beliefs, partly subconscious and partly bioelectrical.
When a frightening or threatening event occurs, input from our sensory organs—the sights, sounds, and smells of danger—are transmitted directly to a pair of tiny, almond-shaped nerve clusters deep in the brain called amygdalae. The amygdalae immediately send alert messages to other parts of the brain that trigger the release of glucocorticoids, the fight-or-flight stress hormones such as cortisol and norepinephrine.
A microtrauma is an event or experience that would seem from all outward appearances to be not a very big deal, and certainly not devastating.
Just because you don’t consciously remember an event doesn’t mean it hasn’t had—and doesn’t still have—a powerful impact on you.
But if you have a memory that is uncomfortable to think about even now, this could be a source of negative belief. And if you feel resistant to exploring it, that too could be a sign that there is something meaningful about the experience.
picture the way houseplants shift position and turn to grow in the direction of the sun. In the same way, our synaptic networks shift and grow in the direction of our most emotionally charged thoughts and experiences. This is how we form beliefs: we literally grow them, like a dynamic topiary of the mind.
The resulting beliefs are stronger than feelings, deeper than thoughts. Beliefs are patterns of thought so ingrained in our neural networks they have become automatic, like entrenched habits of thinking. They are the bedrock of our psychological architecture.
We learn by trying, failing, correcting, and trying again.
I Am Bad
