Childhood Exposure to Violence Changes Brain Function

This is what has happened to me as a result of being around violence as a child as well as as an adult. I have P.T.S.D. I stay very stressed. It is hard for me to relax.

When a person has been exposed to certain kinds of stressful situations, such as ongoing family violence, the amygdala may become overreactive. When this occurs, the body's alarm systems react more quickly and more energetically to threats than they do in normally reactive people. This neural phenomenon has been documented in soldiers who show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

This is an important article.