The Importance of Awe

Finding OK - Healing After Sexual Assault and Abuse

The experience of awe is a rarely discussed but incredibly powerful part of growth and healing. In this episode I discuss the benefits of awe, I torture some metaphors, give you some ideas of how to seek out awe in your daily life, and share some of my most memorable experiences of awe that transformed my life or stuck with me over the years.
Tw/Cw: Trauma, abuse, PTSD, spirituality, and a metaphor involving hypothermia
Articles and research on awe:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_reasons_why_awe_makes_your_life_better
https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/GGSC-JTF_White_Paper-Awe_FINAL.pdf
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-awe/201704/the-emerging-science-awe-and-its-benefits
Shrinkage of the brain:
https://www.bbrfoundation.org/content/shrinkage-brain-structure-linked-severe-ptsd-symptoms-combat-exposure#:~:text=of%20the%20time.-,New%20research%20published%20in%20the%20April%20issue%20of%20the%20journal,with%20fear%20processing%20and%20emotion.
Neuroplasticity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity#:~:text=Neuroplasticity%2C%20also%20known%20as%20neural,systematic%20adjustments%20like%20cortical%20remapping.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01657/full

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