This is Your Brain on PTSD: Trauma Recovery Using Brain Science (Oct. 2017)

This is Your Brain on PTSD: Trauma Recovery Using Brain Science (Oct. 2017)

42 pages, b&w, 5.5x8.5 inches, $5 US (? CAN/MEX, ? World), ? trades

Faith G. Harper, PhD, LPC-S, ACS, ACN

https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/8520

The first line of this zine reads: "If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (or if you suspect that it might be an accurate diagnosis, this zine is designed to help you get a handle on what that is and what to do next" and I would say that's a fully accurate description of what follows. The zine explains what PTSD is and how that's different from a trauma response as well as talks about what a trauma is (it doesn't have to be huge and dramatic, either; "any kind of life event that kicks your ass" falls into this category) including things that are sometimes left out of how we think about trauma: bullying, school and community violence, impaired caregiver, forced displacement, systems trauma, and others. There's some discussion of the brain science of trauma, what trauma can look like on an ordinary day, as well as some exercises for, as the author puts it, unfucking your brain. It's an interesting reading and well worth your time.