Sierra Blanco AMFT

Here we go! Let's dive in. Concepts of the triune brain and it's functions in response to trauma. ⬇️

🧠 The Brainstem: Our instinctual protector, responsible for survival instincts. When trauma strikes, this part of the brain is responsible for orchestrating our survival and shutting down non-essential functions and processes. Sends message to autonomic nervous system in response to trauma, elicits changes in breathing, heart rate, sweating, etc and activates the fight-flight-freeze states in the body.

🧠 The Limbic System: The emotional center, dealing with memories and emotions. Trauma can create imprints here, leading to triggers and emotional turmoil. Memories are often fragmented and needing support to be integrated. Here resides our handy Amygdala or "Amy" who detects threat & sets off our fear alarm, releasing stress hormones to prepare the body to fight-flight-freeze.

🧠 The Neocortex: The thinking, reasoning brain goes offline, including self-regulating capacities. Getd interrupted in it's job to store the traumatic experience in the long term memory file cabinet. So the experience doesn't get filed away as "there and then" and often presents as "here and now", leading to PTSD symptoms.

Getting support is so important when dealing with after-effects of trauma and/or prolonged stress.
Post-traumatic stress symptoms do not mean you're broken. You're mind-body system responded appropriately to keep you safe.

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Sierra Blanco, Marriage & Family Therapist Associate, Redding, CA, 96001 | Psychology Today Sierra Blanco, Marriage & Family Therapist Associate, Redding, CA, 96001, (530) 670-0760, Therapy is a place to unravel and make sense of your story, heal deep wounds, rewrite painful beliefs, change dysfunctional patterns, process relational difficulties, discover hope, and overcome the blocks that...

"Positive" affirmations and mantras don't always resonate. It's hard to lie to our nervous system. In the therapeutic field, we work toward adaptive and supportive self-talk by engaging in cognitive restructuring. For me, this means working with what resonates and taking small, digestible steps toward a more positive thought life.
Saying "I am amazing and fantastic and stunning" in the mirror when our internal reality feels disconnected from those affirmations will not get us to our end goal of reconstructing our thought life.
Take tolerable steps. Start with, "I am okay" versus extremes, such as "I am horrible" or "I am perfect".
This is also why Emotional Freedom Technique is so powerful and supportive. Check out EFT tapping on youtube, especially Tapping with Brad Yates! 🦋

I absolutely love incorporating sand tray and here's why. ⬆️🦋