--- title: Limbic Revision - Love Heals Your Traumatized Brain date: 2018-11-24T17:55:49Z modified: 2025-07-04T07:50:05Z permalink: "https://mindkindmom.com/limbic-revision-love-heals-your-traumatized-brain/" type: post status: publish excerpt: "" wpid: 2607 categories: - Mind, Body & Spirit tags: - Mind, Body & Spirit - Abuse - Body - brain - Child - Healing - Parenting - Relationships featured_image: "https://i.imgur.com/7huqvve.jpg" featured_image_alt: Limbic Revision – Love Heals Your Traumatized Brain timestamp: 2025-07-04T07:50:05Z --- Healing from childhood abuse entails rewiring our brain from fear reactivity to one of feeling safe. This can happen through limbic revision. The rewiring of our limbic system, the part of the brain that controls our emotions, memories, sensory inputs, and the regulation of our hormones. ![Limbic revision Love brain trauma heals rewires](https://i.imgur.com/7huqvve.jpg) **Loving relationships heal our damaged limbic brain**### The Limbic System The limbic system is a set of [brain structures](https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/limbic-system/) located on top of the brainstem and buried under the cortex. It consists of the **hypothalamus**, the control center which processes and maintains homeostasis over the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system. The **hippocampus** plays an important role in memory and spatial navigation. And the **amygdala**, our fear center, processes our emotions and decides our responses to any threat. Additionally, the limbic system also includes the _cingulate gyrus_, which deals with emotion and memory. The _ventral tegmental area_ is made up of [dopamine](https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/dopamine) pathways that affect the pleasure a person may or may not feel. The _prefrontal cortex_ also deals with pleasure, as well as one’s plans for the future. And the _basal ganglia,_ which controls repetitive behaviors. ### Trauma and The Limbic System Chronic childhood trauma causes developmental damage to our _limbic system,_ which severely affects how we feel and behave even as adults. We are caught in a limbic loop. Our brain has been programmed to reactivity and our _flight-fight-freeze_ response kicks in even when there is no danger. We perceive danger at any sight, smell, or sound that reminds us of our past trauma. Subconsciously, the amygdala processes information from the senses, and our past experiences color our reactions. It concludes danger, without the input from the more logical cortex. This amps up our autonomic nervous system, for action by increasing heart rate, respiration, blood oxygen levels, and blood flow to muscles, and deactivates all non-crucial bodily systems. This could lead to a host of [chronic illnesses](https://chronicillnesstraumastudies.com/cell-danger-response-disease/). [Childhood trauma](https://mindkindmom.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/post/what-you-need-to-be-aware-of-to-heal-childhood-trauma.md) keeps us in a state of high levels of arousal and reactivity. We are easily triggered and unable to calm down. Life for us is one constant battle – hyper-alert and hyper-sensitive. We are unable to think clearly and rationally. We over-react or sometimes under-react, being numbed to the point of apathy. ### Limbic Resonance & The Baby’s Brain Limbic resonance is the attunement of a mother via [deep eye contact with her baby](https://mindkindmom.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/post/looking-with-eyes-of-love.md). When the mother attunes to her infant with deep love, the infant learns that love is safe, forms a secure attachment, and feels a sense of belonging and a sense of peace. Deep attuned attachment penetrates the neural core of what it means to be a human being. In short, _‘_[Our caregivers create our infant brain via “limbic resonance.,’](http://attachmentdisorderhealing.com/2015/09/) Limbic resonance is of crucial importance for the emotional well-being of a human being. However, if your mother was consistently, **poorly attuned to you** at this early stage of your life, failing to attend to your basic needs, your brain’s chemical composition and its limbic system’s ability to interact with the reptilian brain and neocortex in a manner conducive to emotional health and well-being may be seriously disrupted. This leads to limbic dysregulation and impaired development of personality as well as emotional difficulties in later life. ### How Limbic System Therapy Can Help Resolve Trauma ### Limbic Revision [Limbic revision](https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/06/25/limbic-revision/) is simply another name for revising and rewiring the faulty development of our brain, namely our limbic system. In simple terms, to truly heal, we need to experience deep and attuned loving care. We have to undo the encoding of the abusive and poor-quality relationships we suffered as kids. What our parents and primary caregivers failed to give us, we have to find other sources to become attuned. This can happen in therapy or any other warm and deeply caring relationship. The authors of [A General Theory of Love](https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/0375709223/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=3638&creative=24630&creativeASIN=0375709223&linkCode=as2&tag=mindkindmom-21&linkId=1b234785ff3aadcc09e7bf52bcefc5d3) suggest that the resultant psychological problems due to abuse may be effectively treated with the use of a therapy known as **Limbic Revision**. Put simply, [love is the only real cure](https://mindkindmom.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/post/love-the-only-real-cure-for-mental-illness.md) for mental illness. ### Why Healing Is Not Easy Most of us who have been abused by our families desperately crave love. However, unfortunately, due to our childhood priming, we end up getting into relationships with people who ‘resonate’ with us. And if we experienced abuse, well, we usually end up falling for the guiles of [abusive narcissists.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_abuse) Why? Sadly, this happens because of our impaired limbic resonance. We are drawn to abusers because they seem familiar. When our experiences of love in our childhoods were chaotic, unpredictable, and violent, abuse feels comfortable; they feel like home. Furthermore, that’s one of the key reasons not to get into any romantic relationships when one is struggling with childhood trauma. Unconsciously, we are attracted to abusive partners and end up being further abused. That’s what happened to me. I got into a relationship with a man whom I felt I had known for a long time. Yes, he turned out to be the replica, if not worse than my abusive father. ### Limbic Regulation & Revision In order to really heal, we need to have a safe and stress-free place. An environment where limbic regulation can happen. Where there are no fear-inducing spikes in our daily life, no unnecessary triggers, and emotional consistency. Something akin to those fancy rehab centers where one can go long-term. Since most of us cannot afford those expensive places, we have to find ways to replicate that kind of positive environment. For me, it meant taking time off work and not interacting with many people. And having a loving son to support my recovery. Healing takes time, and it gets harder to [overcome early experiences the older one gets](https://www.madinamerica.com/2018/11/trauma-informed-trend-falls-short/), and the more layers of pain and adversity are added over the years. But, one has to believe and be optimistic about the possibilities of what life could be without the pain of trauma memories. I know the quality of my life has improved. No longer is my limbic system hijacked by common everyday stress. It has been rewired to be calm and in control. Image Source: [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/en/people-woman-mother-child-kid-2566854/) ## Further Reading: [The Impact of Trauma](http://www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk/Services/EVA%20Services/Documents/Impact-of-Trauma.pdf) [Learning the Dance of](https://www.nais.org/articles/pages/learning-the-dance-of-limbic-resonance/) Limbic Resonance #### Books [General Theory of Love](https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/0375709223/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=3638&creative=24630&creativeASIN=0375709223&linkCode=as2&tag=mindkindmom-21&linkId=1b234785ff3aadcc09e7bf52bcefc5d3) – Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini & Richard Lannon [Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find? and Keep? Love](https://amzn.to/3yTGKfa) – Amir Levine [Becoming Attached](https://amzn.to/3nPDlrt) – Robert Karen [Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience](https://amzn.to/3nTj3gI) – Brené Brown [Attachment Disturbances in Adults: Treatment for Comprehensive Repair](https://amzn.to/3yLYl8Y) – Daniel P. Brown