Intro to Trauma Competent Care
Fear is a Bully Lesson 4
GOAL: To understand that an early toxic environment places our children in what we call the “fear brain” and what fear does to a child. Behavior is the language of children who have lost their voice. If we understand what fear does within the brain of a child, we can learn strategies to help them feel safe and lessen that fear. Reviewing the brain’s reaction to events: • Calm Brain. On a normal day, most of us operate from our calm brain. • Alert Brain. If we are startle, we move into our alert brain. • Fear Brain. If we experience a trauma event, we move to our fear brain. Developmental psychologist, Dr. Karyn Purvis, said that “fear bullies our kids into misbehavior.” Fear drives our kids into what looks like misbehavior. Fear is a big bully! There are many things that can happen to a child who is frozen in fear. The fear response is global. This means that fear affects the whole body- not just the mind. Here are just a few: 1. FEAR suppresses the conscience, creating trouble discerning right from wrong. 2. FEAR shuts off the cortex, which is the thinking part of the brain, causing difficulty in school. 3. FEAR has dramatic physical effects on a child’s body and biology. 4. FEAR causes our children to set up protective strategies for self-protection, including manipulation and lies, triangulation, control, aggression and violence. 5. FEAR alters brain chemistry. Stress chemicals continually flood the brain which has a damaging effect on a child’s ability to function. 6. FEAR suppresses the child’s voice. What children cannot talk out they will act out. 7. FEAR causes the child to be unable to discern the needs of others. 8. FEAR causes the child to go into fight or flight mode, and if they cannot fight or run away, they will freeze.
© 2019 Christian Alliance for Orphans & Back2Back Ministries. cafo.org/global