The Double Helix of Imagination and Healing: How Biology and Values Transform Care
"Imagination is not escape — it is activation. Every image of healing you hold becomes chemistry, coherence, and the first stitch in our shared future." - Mary Coughlin
The Double Helix of Imagination and Healing: How Biology and Values Transform Care
This reflection was sparked by my own journaling this morning. I found myself writing about how self-doubt can creep in so quietly — and how quickly it can shut down my creative energy. But then I caught a different thread: what if imagination itself is biology? What if the images I hold in my mind actually shape the chemistry of my body and the coherence of my heart?
The more I sat with this, the more I realized: imagination is not a luxury. It’s not something extra we leave behind when the “real world” sets in. Imagination is a biological force — one that has the power to rewire us, restore us, and open us to creativity and healing.
When you imagine, your brain lights up as though you are actually experiencing what you picture. Athletes use visualization to shave seconds off their races. Patients use guided imagery to heal faster. And when you picture a hopeful possibility for your life — or the life of someone you love — your body responds as though that future is already on its way.
Imagination Creates Biology
Our thoughts spark neurotransmitters: dopamine when we anticipate joy, oxytocin when we imagine connection, serotonin when we envision calm. These are not abstract concepts — they are chemicals flooding our cells, shifting our hearts, our breath, our rhythms.
And when those rhythms synchronize into a state scientists call coherence — when the brain, heart, and nervous system are in harmony — we become fertile ground for creativity. Imagination + chemistry = coherence. Coherence = possibility.
Trauma Constricts Imagination
But here’s the hard truth: trauma shuts this down. Stress chemistry (cortisol, norepinephrine) narrows imagination. It pulls us into survival, where creativity feels impossible.
This is why trauma-informed developmental care matters so profoundly. In the NICU, parents and clinicians are often locked in survival mode. Trauma-informed practices restore safety, presence, and belonging. They reopen the imaginative pathways, allowing neurobiology to shift from fear toward coherence.
The Shadow of the Helix: Self-Doubt
Even without trauma, we all know the feeling of self-doubt. Neuroscience tells us doubt isn’t just in our heads — it shifts our chemistry. Cortisol rises, coherence falters, and imagination narrows. The helix tightens.
But doubt doesn’t have to be the end of the spiral. In fact, when we meet it with awareness, it can become a moment of repair and resilience.
The BUFFER Connection
This is where the BUFFER framework comes alive:
Belonging & Understanding flood the system with oxytocin and serotonin.
Forgiveness & Equanimity calm cortisol and hyperarousal.
Frameworks & Respect engage the prefrontal cortex, the seat of learning and creativity.
BUFFER is more than values — it is biology in motion. It is the medicine of imagination woven into the fabric of care.
From NICU to Nation
And what’s true at the bedside is also true in society. Authoritarianism thrives on fear chemistry. It narrows our vision, shrinks our imagination, and convinces us we have no choice but survival.
But when we reclaim imagination — when we allow ourselves to envision belonging, justice, and radical care — our very cells respond. Coherence arises. Creativity blooms. And with it, the courage to resist, to reimagine, to rebuild.
The Double Helix
Picture a double helix — two strands spiraling together.
One strand is biology: imagination → neurotransmitters → coherence → creativity.
The other strand is values: BUFFER → TIDC → Caring Science → justice.
Where they meet, something new is born: Transformation. Healing. Possibility.
Invitation
Our imagination is not frivolous. It is medicine. It is revolution. When we dare to imagine a better way, our very cells respond — and so does the world we are weaving together.
Journaling prompt: Hold one image of healing, justice, or belonging you want to weave into the future. Write it down. Return to it often. Let it become medicine in your cells.
TIP Call-to-Action
If you feel stirred by this vision of imagination, biology, and values weaving together, I invite you to take the next step. In the Trauma-Informed Professional (TIP) Certificate Program, we explore exactly these intersections — the science, the soul, and the skills that move us from survival into coherence and creativity. TIP 2.0 is more than a training; it’s a community of healers and leaders learning how to embody this double helix in real-world practice. Together, we’re not just imagining a better way — we’re creating it.
Take heart, and step into the weave of imagination and healing.
Mary
P.S. I’ve gathered all the journaling prompts and the self-doubt practice that bubbled up while I was writing this post and transferred them into a free Reflection Guide (nerd alert 🧐). I hope they resonate with you for your own weaving.
