We are often witness to, or sometimes in the middle of, traumatic events. Whether it’s a mass casualty or cumulative stress over time, our nervous system can get stuck in an upregulated state. In this episode, we break down: training to handle stressful events, protective strategies to employ during and after traumatic events, the physiology of PTSD, specific techniques to downregulate your nervous system and getting to a place of equanimity.

Guest Bio:  Ryan Cheney is a mental health therapist, breath work, and performance coach based in Bend Oregon. Our guest on Stimulus Episode 5: The Art of Breathing, Ryan is a thought leader in the field of wellness for health care professions. You can contact him here for further questions and consultations.

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For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website

We discuss:  

• The Las Vegas mass casualty and the wide range of emotional responses of those who were involved [03:50];
• Trauma is different for every nervous system -What’s traumatic for one person may not be for another [05:50];
• Training to handle stressful events in a better way [08:15];
• What’s happening physiologically when you have PTSD after a traumatic event [10:40];
• Strategies that are protective of your nervous system DURING a traumatic event [14:20];
• The importance of PRE-TRAINING so that you have tools to down-regulate your nervous system in the moment [19:20];
• Protective, positive strategies that can be used AFTER a traumatic event to reduce the risk of PTSD [25:50];
• The role movement plays in down-regulation and why dosage matters [31:40];
• The benefit of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and other body-based therapies for processing acute trauma [35:10];
• The process of intentionally letting go, or “cutting strings”, when something is weighing heavily on you (such as a client, patient, etc.) [37:30];
• And more.