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Writer, psyche-ologist, mythologist,
and ever curious…..
Feeling stuck? Stuck in an emotional rut or difficult mood such as anxiety, irritability, anger, hopelessness? Stuck in constant craving or an addictive habit you just can’t kick? or the same old negative thinking loop?
This is what I call S-o-S Brain, or Stuck-on-Stress Brain. I-brainmap is an invitation to curiosity, a practical-experiential map of how-and-why the brain gets stuck, offering reorientation with techniques to help your brain get unstuck. I-brainmap was developed in my clinical practice over many years, while incorporating and adapting the latest available research on post traumatic stress and neuroscience to assist clients.
I-brainmap, freeing your brain for happiness is now available on audio. I have made the audiobook of I-brainmap available for free. I hope you find it useful in understanding and freeing your brain for greater happiness, creativity and wellbeing. May you be happy and free
interview with writer and psychologist Rita McInnes discussing I-brainmap.
Introducing the brain, the characters, Jack and Mary, and I-brainmap, a process and technique for practical brain change, with an invitation to curiosity, as you listen and engage with this material.
In this chapter I describe my experience of traumatic and overwhelming events that have shaped my life. It was these events that kindled a fascination for, and deep exploration of, the impact of trauma on the brain-body-mind. My passion for this work culminated in the development of the I brainmap, and this book.
In this chapter I describe my experience of traumatic and overwhelming events that have shaped my life. It was these events that kindled a fascination for, and deep exploration of, the impact of trauma on the brain-body-mind. My passion for this work culminated in the development of the I-brainmap, and this book.
This chapter provides some of the fundamentals of I-brainmap, and relevant brain functions. It describes how I-brainmap works and some of the pitfalls in the use of I-brainmap.
Meet Mary, your other companion on this journey through I-brainmap. In this chapter I chat to Mary to explain the relevance of I-brainmap.
This chapter explores brain functions and structures relevant to I-brainmap, including principles of brain change such as bottom-up, brain change.
This chapter outlines the body-brain’s survival response to threat, and describes how the system can become Stuck on Stress (SoS brain).
Chapters 6 – 14 outlines each section of the I-brainmap. You can access a copy of the I- brainmap here.
In this chapter I describe some of the common ways the brain-body-mind is triggered by things that are linked to previous experience. Triggers can be internal or external.
In this chapter I explain the glitch in memory, associated with traumatic and overwhelming events, which can make some memories, or experiences, difficult for the brain to integrate.
The gesture of integration offers a way of explaining the process from activation to integration using the hand, showing the dynamic relationship between big brain and lower brain function, in a simple way.
This chapter describes the experience of activation as it relates to brain function. It provides a list of experiences frequently reported by clients that are associated with activation. Here I introduce the most challenging principle of I-brainmap; that we are not trying to stop activation, but to change our relationship with it. Activation is the brain-body attempting to integrate an overwhelming experience or memory, and trying to stop it gives the brain the message that it is still a potential threat.
Secondary activations are typically patterns of behaviour, or habits, in reaction to primary activation. Although initially adaptive, over time they can become mis-adaptive, when we lose our capacity to choose alternative behaviours.
This chapter explains the usual process of meaning making brain function that can perpetuate the activation cycles, through our beliefs and expectations, and the stories we repeatedly tell ourselves.
This chapter describes the process of brain integration in greater detail, while identifying helpful attitudes, and potential challenges, to allow you to more effectively shift, attune and move towards the Integration Zone, or I-Zone.
This chapter explores Orientation and the And Pathway in greater detail and their importance in brain integration and sustainable change. The practical application of Orientation and the AND pathway through I-brainmap is outlined.
Chapters 15-20 outlines each element in the AIRs sequence in greater detail.
You can access a copy of the AIRs protocol here
In this chapter I explain how to apply the AIRs protocol during activation. AIRs is the practical application of principles described in I-brainmap. Moving through the AIRs sequence during activation promotes AND pathways and brain integration.
Awareness as it happens is the first principle of the AIRs sequence, like an Aha! This is Activation. Initially recognising and naming Activation as it happens is the beginning of integration, through awareness.
In this chapter, the second principle of the AIRs sequence, Interrupting, is explained, especially how interrupting is different to stopping activation. In this chapter I provide multiple ways you can experiment with interrupting the activation loop, until you begin to
develop your own techniques.
Reorienting applies the function of orientation, which is central to integration and sustainable brain change. It invites an orientation to sensory detail, which is the primary language of the lower brain, survival brain, which has been running, and re-running, the
activation loop.
In this chapter I discuss the importance of approaching your experience of Activation with
kindness. This is to remind you that the part of the brain that is caught in activation is like a frightened child lost in a nightmare. So, be gentle.
In this chapter I discuss the importance of approaching your experience of Activation with kindness. This is to remind you that the part of the brain that is caught in activation is like a frightened child lost in a nightmare. So, be gentle.
In this chapter I explore the qualities of happiness and creativity as inherent brain states occurring when the brain is functioning optimally, and able to return to homeostasis or wellbeing, ease and presence, when its no longer fighting for survival, aka Activated.
So, it’s goodbye from me. Thanks for journeying with me through I-brainmap. May your brain be happy and may your curiosity never fade.
In this chapter I describe my experience of traumatic and overwhelming events that have shaped my life. It was these events that kindled a fascination for, and deep exploration of, the impact of trauma on the brain-body-mind. My passion for this work culminated in the development of the I brainmap, and this book.
In this chapter I describe my experience of traumatic and overwhelming events that have shaped my life. It was these events that kindled a fascination for, and deep exploration of, the impact of trauma on the brain-body-mind. My passion for this work culminated in the development of the I-brainmap, and this book.
This chapter provides some of the fundamentals of I-brainmap, and relevant brain functions. It describes how I-brainmap works and some of the pitfalls in the use of I-brainmap.
Meet Mary, your other companion on this journey through I-brainmap. In this chapter I chat to Mary to explain the relevance of I-brainmap.
This chapter explores brain functions and structures relevant to I-brainmap, including principles of brain change such as bottom-up, brain change.
This chapter outlines the body-brain’s survival response to threat, and describes how the system can become Stuck on Stress (SoS brain).
In this chapter I describe some of the common ways the brain-body-mind is triggered by things that are linked to previous experience. Triggers can be internal or external.
In this chapter I explain the glitch in memory, associated with traumatic and overwhelming events, which can make some memories, or experiences, difficult for the brain to integrate.
The gesture of integration offers a way of explaining the process from activation to integration using the hand, showing the dynamic relationship between big brain and lower brain function, in a simple way.
This chapter describes the experience of activation as it relates to brain function. It provides a list of experiences frequently reported by clients that are associated with activation. Here I introduce the most challenging principle of I-brainmap; that we are not trying to stop activation, but to change our relationship with it. Activation is the brain-body attempting to integrate an overwhelming experience or memory, and trying to stop it gives the brain the message that it is still a potential threat.
Secondary activations are typically patterns of behaviour, or habits, in reaction to primary activation. Although initially adaptive, over time they can become mis-adaptive, when we lose our capacity to choose alternative behaviours.
This chapter explains the usual process of meaning making brain function that can perpetuate the activation cycles, through our beliefs and expectations, and the stories we repeatedly tell ourselves.
This chapter describes the process of brain integration in greater detail, while identifying helpful attitudes, and potential challenges, to allow you to more effectively shift, attune and move towards the Integration Zone, or I-Zone.
This chapter explores Orientation and the And Pathway in greater detail and their importance in brain integration and sustainable change. The practical application of Orientation and the AND pathway through I-brainmap is outlined.
In this chapter I explain how to apply the AIRs protocol during activation. AIRs is the practical application of principles described in I-brainmap. Moving through the AIRs sequence during activation promotes AND pathways and brain integration.
Awareness as it happens is the first principle of the AIRs sequence, like an Aha! This is Activation. Initially recognising and naming Activation as it happens is the beginning of integration, through awareness.
In this chapter, the second principle of the AIRs sequence, Interrupting, is explained, especially how interrupting is different to stopping activation. In this chapter I provide multiple ways you can experiment with interrupting the activation loop, until you begin to
develop your own techniques.
Reorienting applies the function of orientation, which is central to integration and sustainable brain change. It invites an orientation to sensory detail, which is the primary language of the lower brain, survival brain, which has been running, and re-running, the
activation loop.
In this chapter I discuss the importance of approaching your experience of Activation with
kindness. This is to remind you that the part of the brain that is caught in activation is like a frightened child lost in a nightmare. So, be gentle.
In this chapter I discuss the importance of approaching your experience of Activation with kindness. This is to remind you that the part of the brain that is caught in activation is like a frightened child lost in a nightmare. So, be gentle.
In this chapter I explore the qualities of happiness and creativity as inherent brain states occurring when the brain is functioning optimally, and able to return to homeostasis or wellbeing, ease and presence, when its no longer fighting for survival, aka Activated.
So, it’s goodbye from me. Thanks for journeying with me through I-brainmap. May your brain be happy and may your curiosity never fade.