The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves

by Curt Thompson

Vertical. Our brains develop from the bottom up; that is to say, our brain stem (responsible for our heart and respiratory rates, appetite, sleep–wake cycle, elements of sexual arousal, and our flight or fight response, to name a few) develops first, followed by our limbic circuitry (one particular area where a great deal of what we perceive as emotion emerges), followed by our neocortex (the part of the brain responsible for processing sensory input from within our body and the environment, making decisions, reflection, logical processing, concrete creativity, the capacity to employ restraint, and consideration of consequences for our actions, just to name a very few).