Trauma Triage, Seeking Psychological Safety
Interested in Trauma 101? Click here. Both live versions with group interaction along with the option to get a recorded link. Don’t let trauma continue to steal your life, learn how to navigate triggers and more! Click here.
Want the trauma detective PDF? Click here.
Trauma often shows up later as a trigger that makes a safe moment feel like the past is happening again. We break down what trauma is, why your nervous system flips into alarm, and how to ground yourself back in the present with a simple “Trigger Detective” process.
In this episode we dive deeper into trauma, brain alterations, triggers, and more.
• Trauma is defined as loss of safety or choice, including witnessing it happen to someone else (Dr. Watson’s definition)
• Big T traumas and the way chronic stress can become traumatic when it overwhelms capacity
• The window of tolerance and why people respond differently to the same event, this is why we do not compare traumas.
• Stress versus trauma, plus acute stress disorder (ASD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Complex post traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD)
• What happens when the prefrontal cortex goes offline and the amygdala takes over?
• Common trigger categories, including sensory, emotional, relational, anniversaries, thoughts and body sensations.
• Trigger triage steps: ask, remember, name, remain curious
• “Trigger Detective” grounding questions to orient to time, place, age and safety
• Trauma 101 options, including a live group and recorded version
Trauma detective PDF