Throughout the day, we encounter a host of annoying jerks. That's just the reality of navigating life. There are rude people everywhere. However, rarely do we ever question why someone was rude to us. While not every unfavorable interaction is some form of repressed trauma acting as a puppet master for the guy who jumped the line at Starbucks, it's important to remember that everyone has their own internal battle. Since our society is only starting to recognize mental health as a valid and rather rampant form of impairment, millions of people are wandering the streets with their brains resting in a murky pool of unresolved trauma. The lack of resources available for people harboring the aforementioned trauma is even more troubling.
In the video linked above, Bessel van der Kolk, by way of the YouTube channel Big Think, explains the neurological differences between normal brains and those of trauma patients. Through understanding how trauma chokes the brain's frontal lobe, maybe you'll give the line jumping jerk at Starbucks a little more leeway.
