Traumatic stress, neural self and the spiritual mind.
Consciousness and Cognition November 1, 2016 Petr Bob, Matthew Laker
Stressful experiences can cause physiological disturbances and neuroanatomical changes, while psychotherapy and meditation may influence brain functions. Traumatic stress often involves a dissociative response that disintegrates conscious experience. Self-reflection is essential for posttraumatic growth, which is linked to spiritual experiences and meditation states that enable mental integration and create a novel integrated self. There is no widely accepted evidence about specific neural mechanisms of mental integration related to spiritual experiences and meditation, but growing evidence shows these integrative experiences relate to alterations in brain physiology and morphology. These findings offer a new paradigm for understanding mental disorders and emphasize the fundamental role of mental integration and an integrated self in psychiatric therapy.