Learning about the emotional brain or the limbic part of the brain is an important part of working with the child of divorce. The limbic system is located in the mid part of our brain and serves many functions including:
- Generating emotions/feelings
- Directing our emotions
- Helping to motivate us
- Directing our drive
- Arousing our attachment
- Establishing the ability for us to have attachments and relationships
- Storing highly charged emotional memories
- Being territorial
- Taping events as internally important
- Controlling appetite and sleep cycles
- Storing the unconscious part of the brain (everything ever said is stored in this part of the brain)
Brain research is showing that nurturing and encouraging environments shape brains for a lifetime of healthy adjustments, to strive and thrive. Our early life wires our brain for connecting and attaching to others. Child abuse, constant stress (like that which comes from living in two homes or generally through the divorce of parents) and discouraging environments may alter brain chemistry and affect a child’s learning ability and scripture memorization.