The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook

by Bruce D. Perry

These rats looked and acted exactly the same in ordinary situations, but even the most moderate stress would cause one type to break down. Under calm conditions, these rats could learn mazes, but give them the tiniest stress, and they would unravel and forget everything. The other rats were unaffected. When we examined their brains, we found that early in the development of the stress-reactive rats, there was over-activity in their adrenaline and noradrenaline systems. This small change led to a great cascade of abnormalities in receptor number, sensitivity, and function across many brain areas, and ultimately altered their ability to respond properly to stress for a lifetime.

AFTER ALL, ONE OF THE DEFINING elements of a traumatic experience—particularly one that is so traumatic that one dissociates because there is no other way to escape from it—is a complete loss of control and a sense of utter powerlessness. As a result, regaining control is an important aspect of coping with traumatic stress.

we tend to prefer the “certainty of misery to the misery of uncertainty.”

The brain alterations that result from lingering terror, especially early in life, may cause an enduring shift to a more impulsive, more aggressive, less thoughtful, and less compassionate way of responding to the world.

Just like a muscle, the more a brain system like the stress response network gets “exercised,” the more it changes and the more risk there is of altered functioning. At the same time, the less the cortical regions, which usually control and modulate stress, are used, the smaller and weaker they get. Exposing a person to chronic fear and stress is like weakening the braking power of a car while adding a more powerful engine: you’re altering the safety mechanisms that keep the “machine” from going dangerously out of control.

post-traumatic stress disorder is not signaled by a constellation of new symptoms that develop long after a stressful event but is, in many regards, the maladaptive persistence of the once adaptive responses that began as coping mechanisms in response to the event itself.

the love a baby feels for his caregivers is every bit as profound as the deepest romantic connection. Indeed, it is the template memory of this primary attachment that will allow the baby to have healthy intimate relationships as an adult.

The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love.

But healing and recovery are impossible—even with the best medications and therapy in the world—without lasting, caring connections to others.

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in my work is the importance of simply taking the time, before doing anything else, to pay attention and listen. Because of the mirroring neurobiology of our brains, one of the best ways to help someone else become calm and centered is to calm and center ourselves first—and then just pay attention.