Quotes from Bruce D. Perry

We have to take care of ourselves so we can bring our best selves.

El cerebro infantil necesita más que palabras y lecciones y actividades organizadas: necesita amor y amistad y la libertad para jugar y soñar despierto.

The Neurosequential Model allows us to create a version of how the individual's brain appears to be organized; it is basically like an inspection of a house.

We'd found that these developmentally appropriate enrichment and therapeutic experiences had to be provided repeatedly and consistently in a respectful and caring manner.

All experience is processed from the bottom up, meaning, to get to the top, "smart" part of our brain, we have to go through the lower, not-so-smart part. This sequential processing means that the most primitive, reactive part of our brain is the first part to interpret and act on the information coming in from our senses. Bottom line: Our brain is organized to act and feel before we think.

El desarrollo del cerebro es uso-dependiente: o lo usas o lo pierdes.

How much do you think about your heart? Since before you were even born, that miraculous machine has been steadily pumping the energy of life throughout your body. Day in, day out, at least 115,000 beats each day, with the sole purpose of keeping you alive.

Yes, belonging and being loved are core to the human experience. We are a social species; we are meant to be in community—emotionally, socially, and physically interconnected with others. If you look at the fundamental organization and functioning of the human body, including the brain, you will see that so much of it is intended to help us create, maintain, and manage social interactions. We are relational creatures.

until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed.

how changes in our emotional state can affect how we learn.

If you do use words, it's best to restate what they're saying; this is called reflective listening. You can't talk someone out of feeling angry, sad, or frustrated, but you can be a sponge and absorb their emotional intensity. If you stay regulated, ultimately they will "catch" your calm.

Yes. We all want to be part of a group, yet so many children are marginalized, excluded, or bullied. This can be devastating. Being left out can have a deep and enduring impact.

Childhood experiences literally impact the biology of the brain.

The healthiest way to do this is through relationships. Connectedness regulates and rewards us.

There is a difference between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing you are worthy of happiness. So often we block our blessings because we don't, at our core, feel that we're enough. Even if you've accumulated a house full of nice things and the picture of your life fits inside a beautiful frame, if you have experienced trauma but haven't excavated it, the wounded parts of you will affect everything you've managed to build.

Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different. But we cannot move forward if we're still holding on to the pain of that past.

Debemos dejar que lo niños tomen decisiones y se equivoquen, y cuando tomen las decisiones estúpidas y con poca visión de futuro que son fruto de la falta de experiencia, debemos dejar que sufran las consecuencias.

Implicit bias is much more difficult. You may truly believe that racism is bad, that all people are equal. But those beliefs are in the intellectual part of your brain, and your implicit biases, which are in the lower part of your brain, will still play out every day—in the way you interact with others, the jokes you laugh at, the things you say.

our initial response is to keep them at arm's length. At times we make ourselves feel superior, smarter, or more competent by dehumanizing or degrading those who are different.

Because what I know for sure is that everything that has happened to you was also happening for you. And all that time, in all of those moments, you were building strength.

One of the most remarkable properties of our brain is its capacity to change and adapt to our individual world. Neurons and neural networks actually make physical changes when stimulated; this is called neuroplasticity. The way they become stimulated is through our particular experiences:

A key principle of neuroplasticity is specificity. In order to change any part of the brain, that specific part of the brain must be activated. If you want to learn to play the piano, you can't simply read about piano playing, or watch and listen to YouTube clips of other people playing piano.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.

Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential—and Endangered Maia Szalavitz and Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.