Unlocking Life’s Full Experience: The Essential Role of Right Brain Integration After Trauma

Jennifer Finch, M.A., LPC, NCC, SEP

February, 10, 2024

Ever wonder why trauma feels so overwhelming?

It’s because it affects nearly every part of our brain. Neuroscience has begun to unravel how our brains process and are affected by trauma, as well as the essential role of brain integration in our overall well-being.

I had AI generate an image to illustrate a human brain highlighted to represent activation after experiencing trauma. The image visually conveys the areas of heightened activity and those less active, reflecting the brain’s response to trauma. AI did a pretty good job.

From making some areas overly active to shutting others down, trauma disrupts our brain’s normal functioning, leading to a state of paralysis or hyper-alertness. This can make us feel trapped, with no way out. It’s not just about the traumatic event itself but how our brain responds, impacting our ability to cope and navigate life. 

Trauma is a confusing word these days. It is used as a trigger response even when no lasting imprint of maladaptation exists. The word itself is too broad and, at the same time, too limiting. Understanding this can empower us with the knowledge to seek the proper support and resources.

People can have different contexts where something that would be traumatizing for you wouldn’t be for someone else. It isn’t a word we should be throwing out like candy at a parade. Trauma isn’t just about feeling stressed or upset; it’s about encountering something so intense that our usual coping mechanisms simply can’t manage.

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Early experiences and messages that dismiss our emotional responses, like being told, "Can you be a little quieter?" or “Don’t cry,” can have a profound impact on the right hemisphere of our brain. I will go into detail about brain science in just a moment, but first, I would like to perk your ears up with a very important PSA announcement. These messages can leave imprints on our bodies and constrict our fascia bit by bit. But this is not necessarily out of deep trauma. It can be from benign, loving, and caring human acts. Sometimes, even the loving, attentive, and nurturing face of a wonderful mother who suddenly looks worried or sad can upset a child. Similarly, a teacher, brimming with life's wisdom and attempting to impart valuable lessons with a hint of enthusiasm, might inadvertently seem overwhelming, leading students to perceive it as distressing.

These instances mentioned reflect moments of kindness, compassion, and care, not trauma. Should such moments deeply resonate with anyone, it might be a valuable opportunity for personal reflection and growth. Navigating through life's complexities requires resilience, and engaging in one's inner journey can be a powerful step towards embracing a world that, at times, presents challenging and more intense sources of stress and hardship.

The range of human sensitivities spans a vast and intricate spectrum. But getting clearer on what trauma is and isn’t can be very informative.

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Debunking the Right-Brain/Left-Brain Myth

It is a myth that the left and right hemispheres of the brain are responsible for distinctly different tasks. Often plainly simplified as the left brain being logical and analytical and the right brain being creative and emotional. This heuristic model is great to teach from, but it has been challenged and nuanced by numerous neuroscientists over the years. While it is true that certain functions are more predominantly processed in one hemisphere than the other, the idea that people are either “left-brained” or “right-brained” is overly simplistic and has been debunked by modern neuroscience. So, to every accountant secretly harboring a hidden passion to daub paint on a canvas, it’s time to embrace the brush that calls to you. And to the artists amongst us, let there be no further justification for untended financial matters. Science has unequivocally shown that our capabilities know no bounds. We can do it all!

In case you were wondering when this right-left split was debunked, it was over 40 years ago. Dr. Roger Sperry and Dr. Michael Gazzaniga were the key figures in advancing our understanding of brain lateralization (the idea that the two halves of the brain are functionally different). They challenged the oversimplified notion of right and left-brain functions. Dr. Gazzaniga, often referred to as one of the fathers of cognitive neuroscience, conducted extensive research on patients with split-brain surgery, which involves severing the corpus callosum (the main connection between the two hemispheres) to treat severe epilepsy. His work and that of his colleague Dr. Sperry won the Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine in 1981. Why haven’t we heard about this? Well, because it’s easier to teach in a dualistic fashion. And, perhaps, it might feel more straightforward to box ourselves into a single, neatly defined category. We often cement this notion with declarations, such as, “I don’t have an artistic bone in my body,” or “I’ve never been good at math.”

Keep in mind that Gazzaniga’s research showed that while the two hemispheres have specialized functions, they are highly interconnected and work together in a coordinated manner to produce a unified consciousness and cognitive experience. This body of work has helped move the scientific community away from reductive stereotypes about the right and left brain to a more integrated and complex understanding of brain function.

Given this nuanced comprehension, the intricacies extend far beyond a simple explanation. But moving forward in this article, I would like to highlight the primary and crucial role the right brain plays in our healing journey, allowing us to move past trauma and beyond chronic stress or over-thinking patterns. In the Western world, there's been a predominant emphasis on left-brained methodologies. My aspiration is that this discussion sheds light on the possibility of re-establishing a connection with ourselves by engaging with the world through a more unified lens, one that appreciates the vibrant contributions of the right brain to our entire existence.

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The Latest Brain Science

Research indicates that the brain's right hemisphere plays a pivotal role in connecting us to our bodily sensations, vital for immersing in emotions and profound states such as awe and wonder. Deeply felt emotional experiences, like love and compassion, are characterized by unfiltered and direct perception, which are processed by integrating the right brain and the body's sensory faculties. Dr. Dan Siegel, a leading clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, capitalizes on this research and profoundly states, “The right brain IS the body.”

And I believe him. I have seen this in action with the many clients who have come through my doors, each carrying the weight of profound trauma. Dr. Siegel’s theory is fortified by the empirical and palpable evidence that the aftermath of such trauma often sees and locks onto the left brain hemisphere—with its inherent longing for predictability, analytical reasoning, and order. The left brain craves structure and known territory. It wants a map that is full of certainty. Venturing into the unknown and uncertain territory, which is all the rest of life, can feel like a life threat. This reminds me of the famous quote, “The map is not the territory,” wisely said by Alfred Korzybski.

If we listen to Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s (a brilliant and distinguished neuroscientist at Northeastern University) message, our left brain thinking desperately tries to stay on the map out of the single mission to keep you safe and alive. But the left brain dictating and driving life over time becomes an inadvertent blockade against any unprocessed experiences. And it absolutely won’t allow for new experiences to be experienced. Life is the territory. The map is inherently limited. Despite knowing this, the fear of adventuring once more into the vast, unpredictable expanse of life immobilizes specific individuals. Thus, in my office, with patience and intention, we deliberately and meticulously journey together to reawaken the right brain-body connection, fostering an environment where healing can commence and flourish.

This division, severed by trauma, traumatic experiences, or chronic stress patterns within our brain, can limit our capacity to fully engage with the world in a meaningful way.

To reiterate a point I made at the beginning of this article, neuroscientific research suggests that trauma affects nearly every part of the brain, altering its normal functioning. For instance, it can lead to increased activity in the right brain and a shutdown of the left brain, disrupt the connections between different brain regions, and trigger states of hyper-alertness or hypo-alertness. These changes demonstrate how trauma can freeze the brain in a state of distress or paralysis, affecting its ability to process and respond to new information. According to Dr. Van der Kolk, a renowned neuroscientist and author of ‘The Body Keeps the Score,’ trauma leaves an indelible mark on the brain. He explains that while trauma impacts the brain’s entirety, it particularly ignites the right hemisphere and dims or even entirely shuts down the left. We can, even through imagination, if not through lived experience, understand how scary it would be not to be able to think when you are facing a life-threatening situation. This underscores the significance of maintaining an open and receptive right-brain-body connection. Confronting and genuinely experiencing our lives demands courage, guts, and a profound level of bravery that might initially seem daunting. Yet, walking a healing path can lead to deeply rewarding and advantageous outcomes.

The revelation in trauma research suggests that trauma finds a secret haven in the recesses of our right brain and that our body has taken the whole experience in but effectively locked it away and given the key to the left brain. It's as though, in response, the left brain mounts a 'Do Not Enter' sign, guarding the entrance to these hidden depths. But to uncover health, well-being, resilience, and vitality, we must gradually and gently reopen that door to the right brain-body step by step. I'm not suggesting that all trauma needs to be processed out for you to live a flourishing life. I am of the opinion, aligned with my teacher, Dr. Judith Blackstone, that we can be whole enough. Integrated enough. Balanced enough. And from there, we can resiliently go deeper into a connection with Self, others, and whatever spiritual path one might take. We can keep cultivating openness without having to heal every hairline fracture. But initially, in the beginning, to heal, it is crucial that we gently unlock and reopen the door to right-brained experiences. It is powerful to overcome challenges of fear, blockading our ability to experience life and reassure ourselves that this terrain is safe and filled with wonder and beauty. Reopening through gradual somatic experiences can help us rediscover our equilibrium and appreciate the richness of our inner and outer life. Opening the right brain-body can also have the added benefit of unleashing creativity. Creativity is an act and a living, breathing force that sets imagination on fire. It is the soul's language. Endless shades of possibility spark when we ignite curiosity, daydreaming, and artistic expression.

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The Importance of Brain Integration

Integration of the brain is paramount. And for far too long, we have ignored the right-brain side of things. Dr. Dan Siegel highlights the importance of integrating the various senses and the body's internal states to maintain emotional balance and coherence. This sensorial body integration enables us to respond to the world in a balanced, coherent manner, allowing for a fuller, more integrated life experience.

“For the brain to cope with situations and circumstances of our lives, it needs to take in stimuli that are coming in from the outside world. When our right brain-body is open, it can allow for the vision of what's going on, the hearing of what's going on, the smell, the taste, the touch. The five senses, along with what's going on in the sixth sense, the body – all of that input is basically energy and information flowing through the nervous system. And then, the nervous system takes it all and decides to do something with it.”—Dr. Dan Siegel

The brain must be integrated for the person's different systems of sensory input to stay coordinated. It allows for their emotional response to be balanced. Dan calls that "integration." If we clamp down on our experience and try to limit the impact of life, then we are less inclined to be prepared for what is about to occur or already occurring.

In my experience, my work with Dr. Judith Blackstone, teaching the Realization Process, a nondual psycho-spiritual curriculum, integrates the brain-body or, as she says, "being-body" entirely automatically, gently, and naturally. Her gradual, step-by-step approach aims to open our whole body not only to cope but to live more gracefully with our lives. We are not shutting down, clamping down, or pushing out our experiences. We are integrating our experiences from a unified and multi-dimensional sensory palette of our whole body and brain. We can sense, see, feel, and know all simultaneously. This orchestrates a seamless unity in our consciousness and cognitive and perceptual experiences. Her work has been instrumental in steering the scientific discourse beyond oversimplified binaries towards a richer, more complex appreciation of how our “body-beings” operate.

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Core Self: What Is It and How Do We Find It?

Dr. Pat Ogden, founder of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, states that the implicit Self is held in the right hemisphere. In other words, the core sense of Self is constructed in the right brain. So, in somatic psychotherapy, we can work with what isn’t conscious and what isn’t fully in our awareness. One of the ways we work with the unconscious is to be aware of how it’s reflected and sustained through posture or movement patterns, physical expressions, etc. Wilhelm Reich said that “the body is the manifestation of the unconscious.” So that's a natural access valve toward accessing the implicit Self.

Moreover, the development of the Self and the regulation of emotional states are deeply intertwined with the brain's right hemisphere, which is vital for forming a core sense of Self. Social and emotional experiences early in life shape this part of the brain, emphasizing the importance of nurturing relationships for healthy brain development. Such relationships help regulate positive and negative emotional states, fostering a sense of homeostasis critical for the effective imprinting of neural circuits involved in stress regulation.

In situations of trauma, the normal development and efficiency of these circuits can be compromised, leading to difficulties in regulating stress and emotional closeness with others in later life. Dr. Allan Schore, a leading expert in interpersonal neurobiology at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, states that the right brain, specifically, is shaped early in life and is molded by social and emotional experiences.

Human beings naturally attune their brain activity to match that of others around them, achieving this synchronization via mirror neurons. Our original sense of Self, which some deem a False-Core-False-Self, does not arise in a vacuum. We are shaped by each other until we do the work to disentangle ourselves from the archetypes and formative individuals that sculpted us and blue-printed our minds.

"A mind finds its definition of itself not by confrontation with things so much as other minds"—Joseph Chilton Pearce.

Instead of having our reality shaped for us, we can openly shape our own reality, but it takes time and an ultimate commitment. To quote William Blake, "Anything capable of being imagined is an image of truth." Isn’t this beautifully hopeful?

The research to back this up can be found by looking at Dr. John Bowlby's secure attachment model. In an optimal situation, the mother (or formative caretaker) regulates the baby's states – regulating both the dysregulated and negative states and upregulating the positive states. This regulation allows the infant to come into homeostasis – which is therefore ideal for imprinting the circuits, especially in the right brain.

Stress-regulating circuits will be used later in the child's life and into adulthood, especially the circuits between the right amygdala regulated by the right cingulate, the right orbital frontal, etc. In an optimal situation, these circuits can be imprinted and regulated by a primary caregiver, promoting resilience and thriving.

In cases of trauma –which is too much hyperarousal or too much hypo arousal – you're getting an inefficient imprinting of those right brain circuits. Suppose these circuits are inefficient because early on in their critical periods, there was an interference with these circuits. In that case, Dr. Schore says that they are “very thin circuits” — then you predictably have a vulnerability in later life to the stress dysregulation that occurs from trauma. But also, the interpersonal effects that will come from trauma.

Trauma does not only affect dysregulation, but it also dysregulates the emotional distance from other human beings. So, for example, the individual might become too detached, unable to form intimate bonds with others, and unable to be in the present moment with another human.

This underscores the significance of addressing and healing trauma to restore the brain's capacity to process and integrate relational experiences fully. Opening up to nourishing intimate relationships and sustaining connections requires returning to a core sense of Self. So, if you are walking around with “thin circuits” and are getting triggered by everything and everyone around you, don’t fret; you can strengthen those circuits. But you must be willing to engage in the work, to walk in the unknown territory.

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Exploring Psychological Frameworks that Develop Core Self

As we learn through the trailblazing researchers named above, developing a Core Self comes through a somatic, bodily experience, not a definition or left-brained understanding. We cannot just tell ourselves that we are a Self. That we are standing here. Or Sitting here. That seems silly, and we already know that, but surprisingly, many do not actually feel that. They cannot feel themselves standing there in their skin. This knowing has to be cultivated through a felt sense. We cannot communicate this feeling through language or through telling ourselves that we are there. Opening a right brain-body back up must be done through direct experience. Only then will the Self, the tangible, experiential quality and texture of knowing who you fundamentally are, will naturally arise. It’s already there. We’ve just buried it somewhere deep in the left-brained caverns of locked-up experiences.

The good news is, if you did not receive positive social and emotional experiences in your life, they are not required for you to discover who you fundamentally are through a Core Self experience. This is another area where Dr. Judith Blackstone’s Realization Process is quite radical and advanced. For me, Dr. Judith Blackstone's Realization Process stands out for its unique and progressive approach to self-discovery. A key aspect of her method is the emphasis on uncovering a palpable, tangible experience of Self without predefined expectations. There is absolutely no way, zero, zilch, nada, for you to experience your sense of Self incorrectly. This means there isn't a correct, right, or exacting way; it simply comes down to your experience. So, all the beautiful perfectionists out there, you can let yourself off the hook for this one. We are experiencing in real-time the beautiful poetry of Rumi:

The Realization Process approach fosters a direct connection to one's sense of trust and intuition, setting it apart from other psychological-spiritual methodologies I've encountered. For example, while Internal Family Systems (IFS), developed by Richard Schwartz, similarly centers on the concept of a 'Core Self,' it outlines specific attributes, known as the 'eight C's,' that define this core identity. This can be seen as offering a map to understanding oneself, which has merits, particularly in providing clarity and direction. And this, of course, can be particularly helpful to those who initially need, or think they need, a map.

In contrast, Dr. Blackstone's method encourages personal exploration, allowing individuals to discover their 'Core Self' through their own experiences, which is a profoundly empowering process. We are starting out in the territory. But it is so gentle it feels like we are gliding into the territory with ease, comfort, and connection to the ground of our being. It prioritizes a somatic, right-brained approach that can be remarkably liberating for those accustomed to over-analytical, left-brained thinking.

I appreciate IFS and the structure it provides, adhering firmly to my philosophy that 'All Boats Are Good.' Each therapeutic approach offers a valid pathway to self-discovery, whether it begins with a more analytical framework or through direct, experiential learning. My journey led me to the Realization Process, which I found to be a transformative tool in navigating away from cognitive over-analysis towards a more embodied understanding of myself. However, starting with or incorporating elements of IFS or other mind-body approaches can be equally valuable for many, highlighting the importance of finding the path that resonates most with each individual's needs.

Regardless of what boat gets you there, once an individual has an innate sense of feeling Self, then trauma becomes more workable. We can open the door and recognize the harmonious collaboration between the brain's hemispheres. The body can hold the experience because it is open and already in direct experience. Being naturally receptive and engaged in direct experience, the body can fully embrace this understanding. Engaging with our sense of Self through experiential, rather than analytical, means allows us to address and alleviate chronic stress more effectively. This experiential connection fosters a profound sense of trust and security within as we learn to truly feel and understand our bodies from within.

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Summary

The right hemisphere of our brain holds a pivotal position in the healing journey from trauma, anchoring itself in the critically important arenas of emotional processing, the retention of non-verbal memories, holistic perception, social bonds, bodily awareness, a felt sense of safety and security, and the inspiring worlds of creativity and intuition. Its absence would severely impact our well-being and drastically diminish the robustness of life.

Therapeutic approaches that focus on body awareness and somatic experiencing can help restore this connection, facilitating trauma integration and healing. Engagement in activities that utilize art, music, and movement can also engage the right hemisphere, providing alternative pathways for expression and healing. I am also a big proponent of bodywork and touch therapy, like myofascial release work, massage, polarity therapy, etc. Since much of trauma processing involves non-verbal memories and experiences, the right brain’s ability to interpret and express non-verbal information is crucial. Disentangling from trauma often requires creative and intuitive approaches that go beyond verbal expression. To propel the healing process forward, try them all. Or all that appeal to you.

This perspective shifts us from seeing the brain in parts to appreciating it as a whole, and that whole also includes the body and our whole external environment. This all-inclusive integration offers a promising holistic path to healing. One where emotional and cognitive processes are not at odds but in a dialogue, enriching our experiences and healing. It invites us to embrace our full cognitive and emotional potential in our journey toward recovery, offering a little united biology of hope that through such integration, we can find renewed strength, confidence, creativity, and resilience. Let this knowledge inspire us to approach healing with optimism and a right brain, knowing our brain's capability for perfect balance and unified integration is already there but waiting to be uncovered.

Keep working on opening to experience and getting out into the territory.

Just get in a boat. It will eventually take you to another boat. But all the boats are good.

Be Here. And Be Now.

Jen