Submission and Freedom
this experience can be induced by repeatedly flipping a frightened animal onto its back and holding it there. Eventually, the animal will stop fighting and go limp. It is a shutting down of the nervous system.
(p.22)
At some point the nervous system shuts down to protect itself from psychological harm.
This happens to victims during rape.
our survival instincts resist being dominated, physically and psychologically, until they don’t. If fighting against physical and psychological submission begins to threaten our existence, then our biology has no other option but to submit. For a child living in a psychologically toxic environment, escape is impossible. The utter and absolute dependence of a child upon a parent requires that the child maintain a “positive” relationship with that parent, regardless of how much pain they experience in doing so. And if submission is required, then little else is possible. Eventually, the will to resist submission yields to the pressure of fear and the need to maintain connection with the parent. This is when our mind begins to pull us away from life.
(p.23)
⇒ Angst
see also
Tags: neuroscience science
Superlink: 050 🧠Neuroscience
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Created: 28-09-22 08:27