Faith G. Harper

“The brain is trying to protect you, even when the protection is outdated.”

Harper makes symptoms less mysterious by treating them as nervous-system strategies with a history.

“Naming the reaction creates a little room to choose.”

The first practical win is language: triggered, flooded, shut down, activated, dissociated.

“Shame makes every spiral stickier.”

The book repeatedly separates having a reaction from being broken or bad.

“Regulation has to happen before reasoning works well.”

When the body is in alarm, the smartest thought may be a breath, a walk, or a safe person.

“The goal is not never freaking out; it is recovering faster.”

Progress looks like a shorter loop, a kinder repair, and fewer secondary attacks on yourself.