Spirituality and psycho-organic regulation

Traumatic experiences are very important for the psycho-organic regulation of an individual. These experiences can very profoundly mark an individual, especially if they happened in childhood. They can be very disruptive and they scream for healing. In this process of healing spirituality plays a crucial role. Religiousness and sacramental life can be an essential regulatory system in the establishment of a functional psycho–organic response and spiritual life.Traumatic experiences are very important for the psycho-organic regulation of an individual. These experiences can very profoundly mark an individual, especially if they happened in childhood. They can be very disruptive and they scream for healing. In this process of healing spirituality plays a crucial role. Religiousness and sacramental life can be an essential regulatory system in the establishment of a functional psycho–organic response and spiritual life

The Impact of Early Aggression on Late Development

Children who are victims of an early violent atmosphere or early relational trauma will often, even in adulthood, tend to behave violently towards others, or become victims of violence, or freeze and later develop the tendency towards self-injury, in particular in later adolescence. In adulthood, they can be accident-prone, engage in constant violent physical abuse, threaten with or actually commit suicide. In this article we will focus on the impact of violence that children experience from the earliest age, on how it affects their development, and is transmitted to adulthood as well as to younger generations, since violence is imprinted in the deepest organic fibres of every individual.Children who are victims of an early violent atmosphere or early relational trauma will often, even in adulthood, tend to behave violently towards others, or become victims of violence, or freeze and later develop the tendency towards self-injury, in particular in later adolescence. In adulthood, they can be accident-prone, engage in constant violent physical abuse, threaten with or actually commit suicide. In this article we will focus on the impact of violence that children experience from the earliest age, on how it affects their development, and is transmitted to adulthood as well as to younger generations, since violence is imprinted in the deepest organic fibres of every individual

Vulnerability in Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Light of Relational Trauma

Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed different ways individuals react to frustrations they have experienced. Many times we have witnessed an increased level of aggression in interpersonal relationships and in the general social context. We find that there are some differences in coping and responding according to gender, with men showing a higher level of vulnerability and risk of inappropriate regulation and expression of anger when frustrated. To a certain extent, the answer to why this happens is provided by neuroscientific research, which shows that already at an early age, boys’ brains develop differently from girls’, as it takes more time to develop their stress-regulating mechanism; consequently, due to slower development, boys are more vulnerable to early stressful situations and have more problems with self-regulation of affective states at this early age. Together with the possibility of relational trauma in the family, to which many children are exposed from the earliest period of their lives and which plays an important role in providing a context for the development of affect regulation, that means that boys and men are even more vulnerable and sensitive to stress, aggression and trauma later in life. It makes sense to take these neuroscience findings into account when building an understanding of responses to stressful challenges, such as coping with a pandemic, as well as when planning appropriate models to help individuals cope with different types of stress

"I remember checking on my mother to see if she was still breathing." How a relationship maintains, regulates, and helps resolve traumatic experiences: relational family integration

Traumatic experience is one of the most devastating experiences the family can endure. In order to understand why an experience maintains its traumatic nature we must take into account that trauma could be used as a powerful regulative mechanism in the family system precisely because of its organic component. For the first time in the history of psychology, this enables us to connect interpersonal relations with a person's organic nature and to establish that this nature is subordinated to the relationship or space between "I" and "you," which opens an extensive area and continually makes new discoveries possible. In the following vignette we will see that family systems, marked by trauma, develop very specific affective dynamics for affect regulation, which maintains the trauma. Trauma is transferred into interpersonal relations through basic affect and through the development of attachment; traumatic experiences remain present and powerful through multiple generations. The discovery of a new perspective on trauma lies in the fact that a trauma, for which no one takes responsibility, remains unmanageable

Physical violence and scapegoating within the family

To understand physical violence in the family, it is important to define the role of the victim. The term “scapegoat” is a universal anthropological concept, often used in sociological theories, where a certain group of people and/or minorities are often victimized or blamed (e.g., social ills). We may note that the phenomenon of scapegoating is most clearly expressed in the Bible. Therefore, we will use relevant biblical texts that refer to parental use of corporal punishment in which a child is scapegoated and/or victimized by parental violence. In this sense, the Bible is the most profound explanation and manifestation of the cultural, social, and especially religious development of humanity. At the same time, the concept of scapegoating is also demonstrated in psychology and therapy, where it also serves as a basis for understanding, for example, physical violence in the family, and where it is also crucial to define the role of the victim. In this article, therefore, we will explain the biblical background of this concept and highlight two basic dynamics of violence against children in the family: when the child is the “scapegoat” for unresolved tensions in the family and when the child becomes the “sacrifice” or victim of the dysregulated emotional response of his or her parents

Adverse human health outcomes associated with psychological trauma

Until 30 years ago it was believed that psychological stress increases cortisol secretion, but later studies gave contradictory results. Decrease in cortisol levels in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reflects a nonnormative and inadequate response to severe stressors, with its pathophysiology involving maladaptation or dysfunction in stress-regulatory systems. To have more insights in response of human body to physiological stress, inflammatory signals, oxidative stress parameters and other health parameters were measured. As for the cortisol level results, also inflammatory signals, including proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP), have been reported to increase and decrease in PTSD. Levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and CRP were reported higher and lower in blood samples of individuals with PTSD. Some studies report that dysregulation of the stress axis could have direct effects on brain regions responsible for the regulation of fear and anxiety (such as the prefrontal cortex, insula, amygdala, and hippocampus). Early-life stress, such as childhood adversity (abuse, neglect, or family disfunction), is a potent risk factor for developing PTSD in response to later trauma, and elevated peripheral markers of inflammation are one of the best-replicated findings in children and adults with early-life stress. Those who develop PTSD may have an inability or failure to activate an innate immune response. PTSD can also result in other adverse outcomes, such as heightened oxidative stress (OXS), eating disorders, metabolic disorder, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Since the results are very contradictory for PTSD and inflammation response of the human body, further research is important. Small cellular particles that can be isolated from body fluids present potential biomarkers of the clinical status and will be considered in planning the future research. This contribution presents perspectives in assessment of psychological stress by objective parameter

Regulacja przemocy i system dysregulacji

Very early in childhood, relational trauma can lead to affect dysregulation in two directions: while intense fear determines the dysregulation of the brain system responsible for flight, uncontrolled aggression means the dysregulation of the brain centre responsible for fight. Both systems send the message of dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system. In both cases, there is a dysregulation of sympathetic arousal that exceeds the individual’s ability to cope with stress in a functional and effective manner. In other words, the flight response is triggered by immense fear, and the fight response is caused by intense anger and rage, which is functional in a normal response to trauma, while in the case of a dysregulated psycho-organic system it indicates a disorder that can have long-term consequences. These disorders can occur at a very early stage, in children who are at the time exposed to severe stress situations; this can lead to changes in the child’s neurobiological system, which may later become a source of psychopathology.Bardzo wczesne dzieciństwo, uraz relacyjny może prowadzić do dysregulacji w dwóch kierunkach: podczas gdy intensywny strach determinuje dysregulację układu mózgowego odpowiedzialnego za ucieczkę, niekontrolowana agresja oznacza dysregulację ośrodka mózgowego odpowiedzialnego za walkę. Oba systemy wysyłają komunikat o dysregulacji w autonomicznym układzie nerwowym. W obu przypadkach dochodzi do dysregulacji pobudzenia współczulnego, które przekracza zdolność jednostki do radzenia sobie ze stresem w sposób funkcjonalny i efektywny. Innymi słowy, reakcja lotna jest wywoływana przez ogromny strach, a reakcja bojowa jest spowodowana intensywnym gniewem i wściekłością, która jest funkcjonalna w normalnej reakcji na uraz, podczas gdy w przypadku nieuregulowanego systemu psycho-organicznego wskazuje na zaburzenie, które może mieć długoterminowe konsekwencje. Zaburzenia te mogą wystąpić już na bardzo wczesnym etapie, u dzieci, które są narażone na poważne sytuacje stresowe; może to prowadzić do zmian w systemie neurobiologicznym dziecka, który później może stać się źródłem psychopatologii

Regulacja przemocy i system dysregulacji

Very early in childhood, relational trauma can lead to affect dysregulation in two directions: while intense fear determines the dysregulation of the brain system responsible for flight, uncontrolled aggression means the dysregulation of the brain centre responsible for fight. Both systems send the message of dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system. In both cases, there is a dysregulation of sympathetic arousal that exceeds the individual’s ability to cope with stress in a functional and effective manner. In other words, the flight response is triggered by immense fear, and the fight response is caused by intense anger and rage, which is functional in a normal response to trauma, while in the case of a dysregulated psycho-organic system it indicates a disorder that can have long-term consequences. These disorders can occur at a very early stage, in children who are at the time exposed to severe stress situations; this can lead to changes in the child’s neurobiological system, which may later become a source of psychopathology.Bardzo wczesne dzieciństwo, uraz relacyjny może prowadzić do dysregulacji w dwóch kierunkach: podczas gdy intensywny strach determinuje dysregulację układu mózgowego odpowiedzialnego za ucieczkę, niekontrolowana agresja oznacza dysregulację ośrodka mózgowego odpowiedzialnego za walkę. Oba systemy wysyłają komunikat o dysregulacji w autonomicznym układzie nerwowym. W obu przypadkach dochodzi do dysregulacji pobudzenia współczulnego, które przekracza zdolność jednostki do radzenia sobie ze stresem w sposób funkcjonalny i efektywny. Innymi słowy, reakcja lotna jest wywoływana przez ogromny strach, a reakcja bojowa jest spowodowana intensywnym gniewem i wściekłością, która jest funkcjonalna w normalnej reakcji na uraz, podczas gdy w przypadku nieuregulowanego systemu psycho-organicznego wskazuje na zaburzenie, które może mieć długoterminowe konsekwencje. Zaburzenia te mogą wystąpić już na bardzo wczesnym etapie, u dzieci, które są narażone na poważne sytuacje stresowe; może to prowadzić do zmian w systemie neurobiologicznym dziecka, który później może stać się źródłem psychopatologii

Spirituality and psycho-organic regulation

Traumatic experiences are very important for the psycho-organic regulation of an individual. These experiences can very profoundly mark an individual, especially if they happened in childhood. They can be very disruptive and they scream for healing. In this process of healing spirituality plays a crucial role. Religiousness and sacramental life can be an essential regulatory system in the establishment of a functional psycho–organic response and spiritual life