I have found this book very helpful in re-thinking wellbeing from the perspective of the evolution and story of our nervous systems and brains, in a highly accessible, practical and jargon free format.

The essence is that through our older reptile and mammal brains, our nervous systems respond to threats (like Lions) by becoming charged to help us survive, triggering fight, flight freeze responses. This has worked for millions of years for mammals and once the threat has gone their nervous systems discharge and they get on with life as usual. The book shows how the human brain brings self awareness which interrupts this normal discharge in the nervous system, particularly as many of the threats we face now are social, rather than physical. As this discharge is interrupted we maintain a level of charge in our systems even though there is no visible threat (we have an invisible lion). The book helps to explain how this interrupted nervous system discharge can help to explain many symptoms like anxiety, depression, addictions and also relationship difficulties. It gives a plan for returning charged nervous systems to health by developing healthy boundaries and containment.

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Psychotherapy | Counselling Ian Baker

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