“If sensitivity inherited from both parents is high, and all stimuli feel very strong, the world can seem painful from the very beginning,” says neurologist and psychiatrist Dr. Julius Neverauskas.

For such a person, the world can feel like a tiger — the moment they see it, they freeze instead of running or fighting. This is an old survival strategy that helps avoid danger, but over time it can become a trap.

However, freezing is not a final state. How can a person learn to move again, to trust, and to act? There are psychotherapy methods (such as schema therapy) that use imagination, body sensations, and learned thinking patterns to help people experience again what they may have missed in childhood: closeness, love, and care.

“Even as adults, we can still receive what we didn’t have in childhood — a kind word, a hug. The brain accepts this as a real and healing experience,” says J. Neverauskas.

But is everyone ready to change? Trauma does not always weaken a person — for some, it becomes a driving force to fight, create, and prove themselves. Some respond to lack by freezing, others by acting. Some become withdrawn, others become hyperactive. Some live as if they have enough, others as if they will never have enough.

How do these differences appear? Are they shaped by childhood experiences, personality traits, or cultural expectations? These questions are discussed in the podcast “Beyond Economics and Back” with Dr. Julius Neverauskas and the president of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI), Elena Leontjeva.