in the culture of violence we're all harmed. folks who've been harmed parts of their brain shuts down when they think about or speak about the trauma. elevated levels of cortisol prolonged over time injure the hippocampus or hippocampi (one in each hemisphere) where memory and emotion are formed and reside.

folks who cause harm have been harmed, but not all folks who've been harmed cause harm. often they become healers, but they have to be healing to be healers. maybe nobody is fully healed when the trauma is specific and also so diffuse, but we can stop harm if we can be aware and not perpetuate it.