Lecture Notes: Releasing Stress and Trauma

Speaker

• Gina Ross, President and Founder of the International Trauma Healing Institute

Overview

• Objective: Learn how to release stress and trauma instantly, balance the nervous system, and regain control during overwhelming situations.
• Significance: Helps manage stress, fear, anger by using stress hormones effectively.

Bodily Reactions to Stress

• Trigger: Fear, anger, threat prepare body to defend itself.
• Hormones Involved: Adrenaline and cortisol.
• Physical Changes:
  • Muscle tension
  • Rapid heart rate
  • Quick, shallow breathing

Problem

• If unable to fight or flee, feelings remain trapped, causing disorientation, anxiety, and panic.

Solution: Emotion Aid Technique

• Purpose: Calm and release feelings, develop emotional resiliency, overcome panic.

Five Steps to Release Stress and Trauma

Step 1: Grounding

• Purpose: Lower stress levels if overwhelmed.
• Stress Check: Rate stress from 1 to 10 (or use high, medium, low).
• Techniques:
  1. Tapping Grounding (Butterfly Hug):
     • Cross arms, tap alternately 25 times, breathe deeply.
  2. Counting Grounding:
     • Press feet on floor, count ten similar objects.
  3. Breath Grounding:
     • Hand on chest and stomach, follow breath.
  4. Heart Grounding:
     • Fingers in heart shape, tongue on palate, breathe and connect to calming word.

Step 2: Discharge

• Goal: Release stress hormones through natural body responses.
• Signs of Discharge:
  • Deep diaphragmatic breaths
  • Trembling, shaking
  • Warm sweat, yawning
  • Stomach gurgles, goosebumps
• Process:
  • Focus on one sensation at a time, notice without judgment.

Step 3: Revisiting the Event

• Action: Continue noticing sensations and discharge until the event is fully processed.
• Evaluation: Reassess stress level.

Step 4: Thoughts and Emotions

• Technique:
  • Address negative thoughts and emotions by locating related bodily sensations and discharging them.

Step 5: Resources

• Definition: Resources are anything that strengthens or calms.
• Action: Create an inventory of personal resources and ground them in the body.

Practice and Application

• Use the emotion aid technique regularly to manage stress effectively.
• Reminder: Stress is contagious. Manage your stress first, then help others.

Contact and Further Information

• Visit International Trauma Healing Institute for more resources and information.
• Collaboration available with Israeli Institute for Healing Trauma, Stress, and Anxiety.

Remember to use these techniques as a proactive measure to manage stress and trauma for yourself and to assist others when needed.