One
of the main symptoms of living in a "crazy making" environment is a
decreased intellectual capacity. The brain is being caused to do too
many things at once. It keeps getting switched from intellectual
learning and/or creativity to defensive mode or crisis management, which
are literally different areas of the brain. It's just like the
Enterprise, when they had to "divert all power to the Shields" or to the
transporter, or to the warp drive every time something happened. The
brain does that automatically so it can feel like the mind is being
controlled by outside forces, but really it's our own systems trying to
protect us from others, and trying to "put out fires". For those who
have natural empathy and learned ethics, the brain also automatically
diverts energy to "helping others in crisis or need", which is often
also part of a crazy-making environment.
~
In other words, if
we have a healthy brain (with functioning empathy and balanced ethics),
and we live around bullies or manipulators, our brain is constantly
switching to automatic defense, crisis management, or help mode, and we
are going to have a harder time getting our tasks done, or our own goals
met. Often we end up "behind the 8-ball", or feeling like we're less
capable than others because we can't seem to get things done. We can
become "forgetful", and "messy", and appear even to ourselves like we
can't hold things together.
~
The more our brain keeps getting
switched to automatic modes, the less we can see what's actually going
on. Bullies do this on purpose because it works, and the more they do
it, the less able we are to "keep our heads on straight", which they can
then use to further their agenda even more.
~
Bullies and
manipulators judge, shame, slander, and further bully those who seem
"forgetful", or "messy", or "airheaded", usually because they're the
ones who instigated the person's "issues" in the first place, and it
gives them an opportunity to appear "better" than someone else. They
certainly aren't going to tell the world the real story, or the full
story, they're going to portray the target as "screwed up", even while
the target is doing everything they can for them, or for others.
~
Non-bullies and those with empathy and genuine ethics, on the other
hand, have no agenda, and therefore no desire to shame, judge, or smear
anyone. They are much more likely to SEE what's really going on (which
is why they're often UNPOPULAR! There's apparently more bullies and
manipulators in the world now than non-bullies, sadly).
~
So
remember that feeling of being overwhelmed, less capable, messy, and
behind the 8-ball is most likely because the brain keeps switching to
automatic defense or crisis-intervention mode. It can keep on doing that
after we've left a crazy-making atmosphere; our subconscious cares a
lot more about protecting us and fixing crisis than it does about our
intellectual or creative goals, so we have to consciously heal ourselves
with safe Sanctuary, and any forms of therapy that we can find, that
work for us. That might include prayer, or remembering what compassion
really feels like by doing something purposely to help others, or
animals.
