The quality of the relationships with childhood caregivers determines the capacity for a healthy stress-response
The brains of babies mimic the emotional conditions of their caregivers. A persons capacity to handle psychological and physiological stress is completely dependent on the relationship with their parents. Infants have no ability to regulate their own stress-fear-memory pathway, which is why they will stress themselves to death if they are never picked up. We acquire that capacity gradually as we mature—or we don’t, depending on our childhood relationships with our caregivers. A responsive, predictable nurturing adult plays a key role in the development of a healthy stress-response.
References
- Mate, Gabor. (2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts Chapter 18. Trauma, Stress, and the Biology of Addiction (p. 244). Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Developmental Neurology Status:☀️