“The residues of the past and the content of the future tend to be formulated, constructed, and reconstructed in terms of that [traumatic] experience”   (Dowling, 1986)

 

Every aspect of our cellular design is to solve a problem. 

And that problem - from a cellular-machinery level - is homeostasis, which includes maintaining our systems as fully functioning to keep us alive, and projecting us into the future.  

 

Much of this system maintenance and future projection is tied to the efficient use of energy:  we need to preserve the ‘flesh barrier’ so that our system does not need to continuously use energy for repair of organs or fighting off of foreign invaders.  Damage to the molecular structure of our physical vehicle means that energy is not purely focused on regular maintenance and future projection.  

 

 

Because of this, threats to the physical integrity of our system are one of the highest priorities for us to protect ourselves from.  

The brain-body system devotes many of its resources and algorithms to ensuring this physical integrity.  Damage to physical integrity can come in obvious forms, such as a solid object actually piercing through the tight clustering of molecules that represent our physical body, as well as lack of energy units entering the body (in the form of liquids, solids and gases that hold molecular structures needed for body-maintenance, ie., water, nutrients, oxygen, etc.)

Because energy-efficiency is so critical, the brain-body system also devotes much of its resources to protecting us against anything that could indirectly lead to a physical disintegration of the physical body.  These dangers are not necessarily physical.  They are related to the fact that our homeostasis and future projection are intimately tied to social mechanisms.  

 

Our first experiences as infants require us to be dependent on an attachment figure in order to survive.  So those experiences lay a foundation for predictive algorithms of what other humans can offer us as we enter into future relationships.  

 

Beyond infancy, we continue to depend on certain social patterns for our system maintenance and future projection.

To be able to adapt to changing circumstances and environmental factors, we need some type of community, however small, to help offset the energy usage needed to survive and project into the future.  In some eras and communities, this might look like having some members stand guard while others sleep or eat (and are vulnerable to predators), to something more advanced like outsourcing the building of roads and food sources to some members, while other members use time to innovate more efficient ways of using energy for survival.  

 

Because social mechanisms are also related to energy-efficiency, the threat of losing social connections is a top priority for our system to protect us against.  

This means that an interaction or event that relates to a social loss may take on a sense of danger that deeply impacts our brain-body functioning, mental health and behaviors.

 

So when we talk about harm, threat and danger, we must also include - in addition to physical harm - the concept of loss and injuries related to our social functions and needs.

 

Our sense of wellbeing increases when we feel safe.  

Feeling safe allows for our brain-body resources to not be focused on vigilance and defensive mechanisms.  This frees up energy units to be used for restoration and maintenance of organs, and the more energy-expensive tasks of problem solving, planning for the future and long-term decision-making.  

 

A powerful component of feeling safe is our role within a social system.  

If we feel valuable and needed by others in the group, this decreases the chances of us being replaced or disc...