“ ‘Agency’ is the technical term for the feeling of being in charge of your life: knowing where you stand, knowing that you have a say in what happens to you, knowing that you have some ability to shape your circumstances. The veterans who put their fists through the wall at the VA are trying to assert their agency – to make something happen. But they end up feeling even more out of control, and many of these once-confident men are trapped in a cycle between frantic activity and immobility.
Agency starts with what scientists call interoception, our awareness of our subtle sensory, body-based feelings: the greater that awareness, the greater our potential to control our lives. Knowing what we feel is the first step to knowing why we feel that way. If we are aware of the constant changes in our inner and outer environment, we can mobilize to manage them. But we can’t do this unless our watchtower, the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), learns to observe what is going on inside of us. This is why mindfulness practice, which strengthens the MPFC, is a cornerstone of recovery from trauma.”
Bessel Van Der Kolk. “The Body Keeps the Score. Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.” Penguin Books, 2015.
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