Trauma and chronic stress damage the brain. Meditation can help fix it.

Rebekah Demirel meditating on a beach in Edmonds. Credit: Sinan Demirel

Fri, Jan 24, 5 a.m.

Rebekah Demirel survived the mean streets of Canada's big metropolis. It wasn't easy. This is her story.

As a teen living on the streets of Vancouver, I learned to pay attention to people and things that could hurt me. I had to be aware of my surroundings and look closely at faces and body language to get the information I needed to keep myself safe.

And yet, even when I sensed that a situation was dangerous, Id move towards it, like I was daring myself to see how far I could go. I couldnt explain why I made those choices and for years I simply thought I was incapable of good decisions. I thought I was a flawed human being.

What I learned much later is that my faulty judgement was related to a chemical change in my brain, a change brought about by the trauma and loss I experienced as a child. I learned too that the way our brains develop shapes the decisions we make, how we feel, the way we experience life.

There's a real connection between early childhood adversity and how a person lives their lives and a later appearance of addiction and diseases, physical and of course mental illnesses, physician and author Dr. Gabor Mate told Democracy Now! Being abused or neglected constitutes childhood adversity. So does living through domestic violence or a messy divorce, having a parent in prison or addicted to drugs or alcohol, or growing up poor.

Mate went on to explain that trauma alters brain chemistry in such a way that the brain fails to produce enough of the feel good neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, which helps regulate the brains reward and pleasure centers. This chemical imbalance is what sets us up for addiction and many other health related issues later in life.

Chronic stress also damages our brains. It atrophies the hippocampus the brain region associated with self-awareness, compassion, introspection and regulating emotions which impairs our ability to think clearly and rationally. Chronic stress also overstimulates the amygdala, the brain area that plays an important role in anxiety, stress and normal fear conditioning. The result is an exaggerated response to fear.

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How to heal a traumatized brain

On Sunday, four days into my monthlong vegan diet, I went to dinner with dear friends 10 people whod planned for many weeks to share a Chinese seafood feast.

Could I make an exception (a.k.a. cheat)? my son asked. I cannot say that wasnt tempting. But not workable. I wasnt ready to break this resolution, and I didnt want to lie. Fortunately, the friend who planned the dinner just laughed and ordered extra tofu and vegetable dishes.

I tried not to look at the gorgeous mountain of lobster on the platter. It helped that wine is vegan.

It also helps that I can cook. Ive been eating from my pot of vegan soup, made from what was in the fridge (potatoes, chard, carrots, celery and more) and added in some chickpeas for protein and wonderful pasta shells from the Los Angeles company Semolina Artisanal Pasta. I also love nuts. (Who could resist PB&;J on whole grain bread?)

After I announced in The Times that I would track a months progress as a vegan, I got lots of advice and support from readers, too, such as trying yogurt made from almond or soy milk and some restaurants to try. (An online search turned up 60 vegan restaurants in Los Angeles.)

I also heard from people who were upset with me for saying my motivation was not animal welfare, and I heard about the health benefits of a vegan diet from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The Paleo diet proponents havent been in touch yet.

Which raises the question: Why would anyone be a vegan? (According to a 2011 Harris Poll, about 5% of Americans are full-on vegetarian, including vegans.)

The answers fall mostly into these categories: being healthy, protecting the planet (water use and greenhouse gas emissions from the meat industry), promoting animal welfare.

But vegans havent cornered the market on those issues, said Brian Kateman, a 25-year-old New Yorker who grew up eating a standard American diet.

The question is not how can we can we increase the amount of vegetarians and vegans, but how can we reduce the amount of meat consumption, said Kateman, who with a friend came up with the concept of reducetarians, people who are working to reduce the amount of animal food they eat.

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Getting through the lobster feast as a vegan

"Being vegan isnt a trend, its a lifestyle," declares the website for DF Mavens, a newly-opened vegan shop on St. Marks Place. The new store graces the corner of 2nd Avenue, which has seen turnover from pizza places to coffee shops in recent years as the area continues its morph from punk hangout spot to a squeaky clean casual dining mecca. Trend or not, the menu features the kinds of buzzwords common in the urban culinary lexicon, with vegan, soy, acai, chia and juice abounding.

What began as a line of dairy-free frozen desserts has expanded into savories, health bowls and beverages, too. Hot soups, fresh juices, espresso drinks and kombucha are the name of the game here if you're feeling virtuous; ice creams, baked goods, shakes and frozen bars for times of indulgence.

The company's vegan ice creams are probably the main draw, in flavors like Chocolate Almond Fudge, New Orleans Slated Praline and Key Lime Creme. They also make their almond milk fresh on-site each day, which can be used to make cappuccinos, whipped up into a Mint Almond Cookie shake or consumed solo. Less filling drink options include a Lemon/Ginger/Cayenne "Juice Shot" and bottles of Found Elderflower Water.

37 St. Marks Place, 212-260-9800; website

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DF Mavens Brings Dairy-Free Ice Cream & Dessert To St. Marks