Mending Minds: Healing the Damage of Psychological Trauma

I have written the book I needed to read as a young adult.

Many people suffer debilitating disorders like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with little understanding of why. I wrote the book Mending Minds for them because I was once one of them.

In the medical world, the word trauma generally means broken bones, blood loss, and damage to bodily organs, physical trauma. It’s easy to relate to this type of trauma because we can see or imagine the harm caused. Psychological trauma is emotional hurt generated by the body in response to frightening or distressing situations that damage our bodies from within. You are not mad. This form of trauma can cause biological changes within the body that may be as equally damaging as physical trauma.

We have two stress response systems (the nervous and endocrine) to keep our bodies functioning normally. When these systems are impaired, they may not ‘turn off’. Damage to the delicate structure deep within the brain may result. This damage can generate mental illness that is as biological in origin as diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and diabetes.

Mental illness can be treated. Don’t lose hope.

Our brains can regenerate and heal from the damage caused by psychological trauma.

Comprehending mental illness isn’t easy.

Despite significant advances in science, the brain is still not completely understood. Sadly, anxiety, depression, and PTSD are becoming more prevalent everywhere around the world. In 2019, the World Health Organization reported that one in every eight people, or 970 million people worldwide, lived with a mental disorder. Despite many of us living in privileged first-world countries with sufficient food, shelter, and access to good healthcare, the incidences of major depressive disorder and anxiety keep rising. Incidences of depression and anxiety increased by 28% and 26%, respectively, in just one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mending Minds: Healing the Damage of Psychological Trauma explores how psychological trauma can generate mental illnesses, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The target audience is those afflicted by these disorders who have no understanding of why they are sick. It will be a valuable resource for GPs, Life Coaches, Psychologists, and other professionals to recommend to their clients and a comforting self-help guide for the many people who struggle with mental illness.

Mending Minds challenges the stigma and shame associated with these disorders, empowering and encouraging readers to manage their health.

Chapters include:

  • Education on psychological trauma;

  • Exploring what generates mental illnesses;

  • How exposure to toxic personalities can produce dysregulation of normal stress responses and how to navigate manipulative behaviour;

  • How adverse childhood experiences influence brain and body health, brain anatomy and physiology;

  • How brains respond to stress via the nervous and endocrine systems;

  • The role of anti-depressant therapy;

  • The gut-brain axis and the importance of nutrition; and

  • The pain and shame of invalidation.

Psychological manipulation and controlling behaviour are highlighted, and profound grief is also explored. The final chapters lead readers into the light of becoming resilient and healthy. The chapters addressing wellness include:

  • The healing power of nature;

  • The science of why exercise can mitigate debilitating symptoms of depression and anxiety;

  • The remarkable benefits of yoga; and

  • How animals can play a significant role in healing mental illness.

Chapter summaries are provided to consolidate comprehension. Empathetic poems and illustrations soften challenging information. An index, glossary, reading list, and references are included.

Understanding how and why mental illnesses develop enables readers to ameliorate symptoms, repair injuries to brain regions, and facilitate healing. The damage comes from within, so healing must also come from within. Mending Minds gives us the tools to start doing so.

There is bi-directional communication between the brain's neurons and gut microbiota. Each influences the health of the other. Good nutrition supports healthy brains.

The thalamus is situated in the brain's limbic region and behaves like a switchboard, directing information to where it needs to go.

The good news is our brains can heal and regenerate even if we have had adverse childhood experiences or other psychological trauma.