In this episode, I sit with Hannah Kenny, who is currently earning her Master's of Social Work at Western Michigan University. She walks listeners first through the science behind how our brains work - including stress and trauma responses - and then uses that understanding to explain Restorative Circles and the Restorative Circle process. She details how we can add this practice to our own conflict resolution and healing toolkits, and she helps sift through the inner struggle often faced when determining whether a conflict is worth digging into or not. We touch on "flight, fight, or freeze"; why it's healthy to step away from conflicts before resuming; just how helpful the mindset of "winning" an argument is (hint: not very); and we adjust one of my usual ten rapid-fire questions.