Befriend Your Brain: A Young Person's Guide to Dealing with Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Freak-Outs, and Triggers

by Faith G. Harper

Overview

Do you freak out at small things? Do you yell at people when you don't mean to? Do you cry or get scared and you aren't sure why? Does it feel like your feelings control you? All of these feelings are a normal part of life for everybody, but sometimes they're just too much and it seems like you're the only one on the planet that feels them. Our brains are doing their best to help us out, but sometimes we get hurt instead. And sometimes we hurt people we love, too, because we just don't know what to do with all of our feelings. With humor and patience, Dr. Faith G. Harper shows you the science behind why your brain is acting up and ideas for new ways to respond when you're feeling scared, sad, anxious, or angry. You can train your brain to be your friend and help you live a happy, calm, and healthy life. If you have experienced trauma or if you have a hard time feeling good and getting along with other people, this book can help. This is an adaptation of Dr. Faith's bestselling book (which has an R-rated title), written for tweens, teens, and the adults trying to help them navigate it all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781648410383
Publisher:	Microcosm Publishing
Publication date:	01/04/2022
Series:	5-Minute Therapy
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	1,046,441
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Faith G. Harper, PhD, LPC-S, ACS, ACN is a bad-ass, funny lady with a PhD. She’s a licensed professional counselor, board supervisor, certified sexologist, and applied clinical nutritionist with a private practice and consulting business in San Antonio, TX. She has been an adjunct professor and a TEDx presenter, and proudly identifies as a woman of color and uppity intersectional feminist. She is the author of the book Unf*ck Your Brain and many other popular zines and books on subjects such as anxiety, depression, and grief. She is available as a public speaker and for corporate and clinical trainings.Subscribe to the Unfuck Your Brain newsletter to get a discount on her books and zines.

Table of Contents

Preface 9

Introduction 13

Who Is This Book for? 15

What is Going to Happen in this Book? 16

Take Action: Taking Your Own Temperature 18

Part 1 This Is Your Brain on Trauma 23

Chapter 1 When Did My Brain Turn against Me? 23

Why Is My Brain a Big, Hot Mess? 24

Brain 101 28

The Annoying Amygdala 31

Fight, Flight, or Freeze … It's the Brainstem! 35

Squish It All Together? We Got Storytelling Brains 39

Yes, You Can Retrain Your Brain 42

It's Official. You Are Not Crazy. A Doctor Just Said So. 44

Take Action: Trigger Is Not Just Roy Rogers' Horse 48

Chapter 2 How Trauma Rewires the Brain 51

Okay, Lady, What Exactly Do You Mean by Trauma? 51

How Our Brains Handle Trauma 54

What Trauma Looks Like on an Ordinary Day 60

Take Action: Name It 67

Chapter 3 Befriend Your Brain 69

The Fancy Science of Befriending 70

Dealing with Trauma Right after It Happens 74

Dealing with Things Way Later 76

Okay, So It's Not Really a Trauma. But I Still Have a Messed-Up Brain. What's Up with That? 78

I Love Someone with a Serious Trauma History 80

Take Action: Ride the Wave 83

Take Action: Put It on Ice 84

Chapter 4 Getting Better-Retrain Your Brain 87

A Framework for Getting Better 87

Safety and Stabilization 88

Remembrance and Mourning 88

Reconnection 88

First Things First: Safety and Stabilization 90

Take Action: Create Coping Cards 94

Grounding Techniques 94

Mental Grounding 95

Physical Grounding 96

Soothing Grounding 99

Mindfulness Meditation 100

Prayer 104

Music 105

Self-Compassion Exercises 107

Mantras/Positive Self-Talk Strategies 109

Exercise 110

Get Yourself Outside 111

When You're Ready: Remembrance and Mourning 112

Writing or Journaling 112

Telling Your Story 114

Reframing Your Story 115

Getting Back Out There: Reconnection 117

Use Your Story to Create Meaning 117

Finding Forgiveness 119

Building Relationships with Safe Boundaries 120

Chapter 5 Getting (Professional) Help: Treatment Options 123

Traditional Talk Therapy 125

Allopathic Meds 128

Naturopathic Meds 131

Other Complementary Therapies 133

Acupressure/Acupuncture 133

Biofeedback/Neurofeedback 135

Nutrition Changes 136

Natural Supports 139

Part 2 This Is Your Brain on Life 141

Chapter 6 Anxiety 145

Symptoms of Anxiety 147

Do I Have Anxiety or Am I Just Anxious Sometimes? 149

So Where Does Anxiety Come From? 152

Self-Training for Learned Optimism 154

Take Action: Challenge Your Negative Gremlins 156

Chapter 7 Anger 159

A Culture of Anger 162

Anger Is a Secondary Emotion 165

More on Needs 168

Take Action: Where Does Your Anger Come From? 170

Chapter 8 Addiction and Unhealthy Behaviors 173

Where Addictions Come From 175

How We Heal 177

Abstinence-Based Treatment 178

Harm-Reduction 180

Reclaiming Our Lives 182

Take Action: Where Can You Say Yes? 189

Chapter 9 Depression 191

How Does the Getting Better Part Work, Then? 194

Activity: What I Want Back 197

Chapter 10 The Importance of Honoring Grief 199

What Is Grief? 201

Platitudes People Use That Don't Help (And My Responses) 203

Take Action: Honoring Your Own Grief through Ceremony 208

Conclusion: The New Normal 209

Sources 215