Part 2 of 3: Real Voices from the Battlefield: Can We Win the Battle Against Trauma With Half a Brain?

A few months ago, I was invited to attend an incredible community event held by a fantastic community mental health charity in London. The topic of the evening was sharing our raw lived experience of trauma and mental health challenges.

Sitting in that room, listening to other attendees share their experiences of trauma, mental health struggles, and the brutal ups and downs of recovery, the atmosphere became thick with raw truth. I listened closely as two attendees shared their heartbreaks, here is my recollection of the conversation:

Me: "I was unaware I had complex PTSD for three decades, and during that time I had a feeling something was wrong. While I managed to hold down a job, I struggled to develop in my career and was overlooked for promotions into leadership roles many times. After many failed interviews, and feeling lost and tired, I gave up. I also struggled with regulating my emotions and developing connections in relationships, and my communication skills. I felt how come other people are 'normal'—I can see them developing in their career and personal relationships, why do I feel stuck?"

Attendee 1: "I trained for a couple of years, completed a training course, qualified, and got a job. I enjoyed the role and turning up to work. However, after a couple of months, I found I struggled with managing the stress and anxiety, and some of the difficult relationships at work. I took time off work due to stress, returned to work, and after a while, had to take more time off work. In the end, I found it more stressful to be at work and it was making my mental health worse. I resigned."

Attendee 2: "I feel unwanted by my employer, and I feel really hurt. Last week, my employer arranged a meeting and told me that, even though I had the capacity to do my job, due to my mental health being unstable and unpredictable, I was not fit to continue with the role. They said, 'We will give you a payout to make it worthwhile for you if you resign.' I feel unwanted. I wish they supported me with my mental health."

Hassan: "Have you got help with your mental health condition?"

Attendee 1: "No. I got a lot of help from my father, who supports me."

Attendee 2: "I have seen a fantastic therapist for around a year, a couple of years ago, when my condition was really bad. I got better and stopped seeing my therapist. Since then, I have been trying to cope with my condition—it has been an uphill struggle. In recent months, there have been moments when I had significant lows."

Studying the Enemy: The Secret Briefing on Trauma We Never Received

Hearing their pain, I knew exactly what was missing. They were trying to navigate a highly sophisticated biological battlefield without a map or strategy. I looked at them and shared my perspective:

Hassan: "Let me share with you how I view my mental health and trauma healing. I see it as a war. I am going to learn as much information about the enemy as possible—their tactics, traps, and threats. I am then going to learn how to neutralise each strategy, and then learn how to turn the tide. I see poor mental health and trauma as a disregulation of my mind, and therefore I need to learn what good regulation looks like and adopt that strategy. Did you know the less information you have about the enemy, the lower your chances of winning?"

Attendee 1 & 2: "Yeah, that makes sense."

Attendee 2: "I have learned strategies that help me regulate my mental health, but every now and then, I have moments when nothing works and I struggle with my mental health and regulating my emotions. Why do you think this happens?"

Hassan: "I think of my trauma and mental health as a piano that has many keystrokes. The exact number I do not know, but let's imagine it is 30 keystrokes. The more information I know about the enemy, the more of the keystrokes I know how to play. Therefore, when I realize that I am unable to regulate my emotions, that is a sign for me that this is a new keystroke, which I need to learn how to play. I found that many people only know how to play 4 or 5 keystrokes on the piano, and they think they can play the piano fully. Trying to regulate your mental health and reach stability and healing when you only know how to play 3 or 4 keystrokes... do you think that is feasible?"

Attendee 1 & 2: "No... that makes sense."

Trauma’s Ultimate Deception: Disabling Our Left Brain

I leaned in closer to them to drop the ultimate truth about Trauma's Ultimate Deception —the wisdom that I did not find in countless traditional self-help books that I have over three decades.

Hassan: "Did you know that the ultimate deception trauma plays on us is that it switches off our left brain?"

Attendee 1 & 2: "What?!

"Hassan: "I learned in 'The Body Keeps the Score'', a book that changed my life, that one of the reasons why it is very difficult to heal from trauma is that it switches off our left brain! I was shocked when I learned it! I thought, "What? I have been operating with half a brain for three decades?!''

Let me ask you a question: ''Do you think you can regulate your mental health and heal fully while operating with only half your brain?"

Attendee 1 & 2: "No... that makes sense. What do you advise us to do?"

Tomorrow, in Part 3: the final instalment, I am going to reveal my three-step strategy that helped me shift from being a defensive victim to launching the ultimate counter-attack. I will show you how I switched my left brain back on, uncovered the tactics that defeat trauma, turned the tide, and won the battle.