Trauma comes in several forms . It impacts brain health, cognition, and physical health. Joy is the answer to trauma. How to begin healing.

1. Return to JOY
Healing from Trauma

2. Trauma vs Grief

3. Trauma and Grief
• Trauma is any event or experience that overwhelms an individual’s
emotional and relational capacity to process the experience.
• Two types of trauma A neglect, abandonment, sickness, lack of
affection- deeply traumatic – impairs development
• Type B Trauma is an event (s) – unusual/unexpected - disaster, crime,
abuse, combat – death of a child – usually something out of someone’s
control - Trauma leading to PTSD is better understood as a syndrome
• PTSD is closer to a form of brain injury
• Grief from a normal experience (example - death of a loved one, loss of
job, health issues)
• Grief is primarily emotional
• Grief can be deep and lasting, but not a brain injury
• Trauma includes grief
• Recovery and healing from grief and trauma will have similar paths

4. What is Trauma?
• Change in reality and sense of safety
• Creates bio-chemical changes in brain
• Creates physiological changes in brain and body
• Changes perception of danger and fear
• Impacts memory
• Impairs cognitive function, decision making
• Changes behavior
• Impacts relationships, sense of connection
• Impacts human development/maturity
• Source of trauma can differ, effects are the same

5. Trauma and PTSD
• 1 out of 10 women – 10% (Sexual assault, childhood sexual
abuse, domestic violence)
• 4 out of 100 men – 4%
• About 7-8 million Americans at any one time
• Addiction now being understood as a response to trauma,
violent situations or natural disasters

6. Coping with Trauma
• Similar behaviors among men and women
• Women- more likely to use avoidance
• Women- more likely to share feelings and talk about it
• Men- more likely to use anger, more likely to isolate
• Addiction 25-75% of childhood abuse survivors develop alcohol
abuse problems
• Up to 33% of natural disaster survivors can develop alcohol
abuse problems
• Addictive behaviors are an attempt to numb and to interrupt the
brain cycle of trauma
• “Co-dependency” is really an attempt to manage trauma and
control environment to prevent further injury
• We ARE resilient but do not know how to heal

7. Facets of Trauma
• Loss of agency – “I am powerless against _____”
• Foreshortening of future
• Depression
• Pronounced anxiety, hypervigilance
• Sleep disturbances, nightmares, insomnia
• Flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, “daymares”
• Negative changes in thinking
• Poor attention span, poor focus
• Distorted sense of time around the event – relive it as if current
• Avoidance of triggers/events/ situations/people
• “Outsider-ness”
Brain
Injury

8. Facets of Trauma – Physical changes
• Lowered immune system – autoimmune disease, cancer
• Increased abdominal fat
• Increased inflammation – increased risk of heart disease
• Muscle tension – increased risk of injury
• Thyroid damage
• Blood sugar issues
• Lack of coordination
• Digestive issues – IBS, Chron’s
• Childhood trauma now being linked to adult chronic illness

9. Joy, Shalom, Healing

10. What is Joy?
Different from “happiness”
Relational
“…for the joy set before
Him He endured the
cross.”

11. Joy
“Joy means we are glad to be
together. Smiles appear and
faces light up. When shared,
joy produces strong bonds and
loving relationships. Joy is
what we search for from the
moment we are born, but we
often come away empty. ”
- JoyStartsHere.com

12. What is
Shalom?
According to Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance
7965, shalom means
“completeness, health,
soundness, welfare, safety, rest,
harmony, peace. Without
agitation or discord” It is
translated “success” and used as
part of an inspired blessing in 1
Chronicles 12:18. Shalom is
applicable to an external peace
between two entities—such as
individuals or nations—and to
an internal sense of peace within
the individual. –
Source – Got Questions.org,
TheRefinersfire.org

13. Return to Joy
& Shalom
Road back to JOY and Life
share wellness principles :
Rest
Clean eating
Exercise
Community
Spiritual life
Seeking Joy
Supplementation
Proper hydration

14. Drug Free Therapies
• Neurofeedback
• EMDR- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
• EFT - Emotional Freedom Techniques
• TRE- Trauma Release Exercises
• Supplementation
• Exercise – Mind/Body connection
• Art/music/play therapies
• Cognitive therapy preferably w/ trauma therapist
• Massage
• Chiropractic
• Acupuncture

15. Medical Intervention
Anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication may work in the
short term, but are risk factors for Alzheimer's .
Can have paradoxical effects in teens and children such as
increased anger/rage, violence, suicide
• May be needed, especially in acute situations

16. Healing Your Brain
• Increase the neurotransmitters for brain function
• Reduce stress hormones
• Supply brain with higher nutritional
needs
• Reduce/eliminate brain toxins
• Practice affirmations – change thinking
• Practice mindfulness techniques
• Protect your environment against
stressors
• Community, not isolation
• Sleep!
• Nature!

17. Your Second Brain
Gut instinct is real!
Gut sends signals to brain
Gut brain can say “no” to big brain
Travels via the vagus nerve
Gut bacteria - biome – has own DNA
Gut makes neurotransmitters
Gut makes 80% of immune system
Stress from trauma destroys gut biome

18. Healing your spirit
• God has not abandoned you!
• He is Sovereign and His judgements are right
• He collects your tears in a bottle
• He desires Shalom for you
• He commands us to not be anxious
• Do not forsake the assembly of the brothers
• Seek to serve where you can as you can
• Pray for discernment between trauma and spiritual attacks
• Increase you capacity for relationship
• Increase your capacity for joy

19. Joy and Community
• Life Model : Connexus, Thrive, Living from the Heart
Christ Gave You
• Multi generational
• Increase relational capacity with God
• Increase relational ability with others

20. Heal Your Body
• Healthy weight management
• Exercise – stretching,
“praise moves”, Essentrics,
dance hiking, sports
• Massage – release trauma, stress
• Trauma release exercises
• Chiropractic – support central
nervous system
• Gut health
• Immune system health
• Rest/sleep
• Limit activity

21. Supplementation
• Omega fatty acids – important for mood, sadness, brain
function, reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol, help
balance other hormones
• Protein- critical building block of all cells. Stabilizes blood
sugar, improve immunity, healing, muscle health, brain
function
• Vitamin D3 - helps with depression and brain function
• Anti-Oxidants: Vitamin C, E, polyphenols – protect vascular
health, cleans up stress damage, detox, immunity, protect
DNA
• B-Complex = central nervous system. Also , hormonal
balance, protects the heart, immunity, reduces stress

22. Cortisol and Ashwaghanda
• Prolonged high cortisol levels
• Impaired cognitive performance
• Dampened thyroid function
• Blood sugar imbalances, such as hyperglycemia
• Decreased bone density
• Sleep disruption
• Decreased muscle mass
• Elevated blood pressure
• Lowered immune function
• Slow wound healing
• Increased abdominal fat
• Increased inflammation
• Benefits of Ashwaghanda
• Helps reduce brain-cell degeneration
• Improves learning, memory, and reaction
time
• Stabilizes blood sugar
• Helps combat the effects of stress
• Reduces anxiety and depression wo/ causing
drowsiness
• Helps lower cholesterol
• Protects the immune system
• Contains anti-malarial properties
• Enhances sexual potency for both men and
women
• Anti-inflammatory benefits

23. L-Tryosine
• Benefits in healing from trauma:
• Prevents decline in cognitive function
during stress
• Increases alertness
• Increases production of
neurotransmitters: dopamine &
norepinephrine
• Mitigates effects of acute stress
• Lessen effects of loud noise, extreme
cold, sleep deprivation
• Help thyroid produce T3 and T4
• Studied by military for combat
• Quickly metabolized
• Used in treating PKU
Non-essential amino
acid

24. L-theanine
• In studies, helps “smooth” brain waves
• Relaxes and calms mind wo/drowsiness
• Helps achieve a deeper, more restful
sleep
• Enhance mood by mood balance
• Helps protect liver from alcohol
• Offers protective effects against brain
degeneration
• Possible immune system benefits
• Very safe
Also known as
Glutamic acid, it is
derived from tea

25. Stress Relief
Complex
• Help you cope with stress
• Stops mental “spinning”
• Increases calmness
• Increases focus
• Severe to mild anxiety
• Works quickly
• Take as needed
• Non-habit forming
• Blocks cortisol
• Supports adrenals
Anxiety and stress relief

26. Return to
JOY
• Give yourself some time but can see
benefits quickly
• Whole wellness approach that
focuses on mind, gut, reduce stress
• Community
• Spiritual health
• Whole body
• Whole, clean foods
• Supportive health
• Supplementation is essential

27. Karen Hurd
757-301-1855
WomanWize.com
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