Nicole Gardner, LMFT

Give An Hour, a program I participate in, is offering a wonderful opportunity to support our healthcare providers. Please consider participating and share! https://www.mobilize.us/nationaldayofservice/event/370919/

Honoring all who served

Being trauma triggered is an especially uncomfortable and difficult place to be. Anyone who’s suffered with it, knows how debilitating it can feel and downrig...ht scary at times too. What we need to do in these circumstances is to engage our front brain, because our back brain and limbic system has been activated. Ideally, we need to come back to our pre-frontal cortex and use some strategies to tell our amygdala that there is no threat or danger currently. The problem with trauma is the past enters into the present, our brain doesn’t know that was then and this is now. Anything we can do to tell the brain and the nervous system that this is a re-experiencing and reliving rather than a present moment event helps! I often get clients to do that see, hear, touch, taste, smell exercise which brings them back into the now quite effectively. 1. See three things around you, noticed them, name them if necessary out loud. What can you see in this moment? 2. What are you hearing? What are the sounds around you? Name three out loud and even the sound of your own voice. 3. Can you touch three different things? Do you have a nice warm blanket around you? Or a cuddly toy or a stress ball? See if you can find three things to touch that help ground you in the present? 4. What about taste? Can you have a swig of water, or coffee or herbal tea? And taste that as it enters your mouth? 5. Lastly, but most importantly almost because smell ranks higher in the brain than anything else and go straight to the brainstem. Can you smell anything around you? Often I get clients to have aromatherapy oils with them. There are even the ones with roller balls that you can put on your wrists. I hope the above is useful, do share the graphic above if you’d like or let me know anything that you find particularly helpful in bringing you back from a trauma trigger. I can add it to the list. Much love as always, Lou

I am thrilled to announce the re-opening of my private practice! I am now located in the beautiful community of Paso Robles, and will be providing therapy services via tele-therapy, which will allow me to meet with clients safely and securely within the state of California. Feel free to contact me for more information.