Trauma
First Responders
Addiction
The latest science tells us that traumatic experiences are stored in our nervous system: the body keeps the score.
We can carry those experience with us as if the danger is ever-present. A survival mechanism designed for safety, can be chronically over-activated in our modern world
The most effective trauma healing works both cognitively (your thinking) and somatically (your body and nervous system).
Addiction
First Responders
Addiction
We become addicted to things that help distract us from something painful, usually with something that gives us pleasure (at least at the beginning).
Recovery from any addiction involves recognizing our pain, managing our present situation, and healing what causes it.
Addiction and trauma are deeply linked and recovery is seldom durable without healing -- rather than distracting from -- the underlying pain.
First Responders
First Responders
First Responders
You are different: Intensive training, hundreds or thousands of calls, a near constant threat of danger, regular contact with the most distressing side of human life, and a 'suck it up' culture.
Your nervous system is simply not designed to encounter this much danger and distress. For many responders -- especially those who a high performers -- their system becomes overwhelmed and they develop post-traumatic stress injuries
With the right tools healing from a PTSI is both possible and achievable.