The right hemisphere of the brain stores an internal working model of a child’s relationships, determining how she handles her feelings (Schore 2002, 14). A securely attached person accepts her feelings and regulates her anxiety by paying careful attention to it. She regulates herself as others regulated her. In contrast, an insecurely attached person reacts as if others will reject her feelings and anxiety. Feelings, perceived as dangerous, trigger unconscious memories of early relationships, which take the form of anxiety (Schore 2002, 21). The hippocampus, immature until the third or fourth year of life, remembers only the quality of early experiences— the somatic sensations and behaviors (De Rijk, Kitraki, and De Kloet 2010, 142; O’Keefe and Nadel 1978). Feelings trigger anxiety: bodily memories of an insecure attachment, sensations when anxiety was not regulated. These primordial representations of bodily states are the foundation on which all emotional growth and future experience proceeds.

Jon, Frederickson (2013-07-01). Co-Creating Change: Effective Dynamic Therapy Techniques (p. 27). Seven Leaves Press. Kindle Edition.