07/03/2026
As we head into the July 4th weekend, time with friends, food, and fireworks, it is important for some of us to be prepared to take care of our nervous system. Whether a survivor of a flood, car accident, domestic violence, or other trauma event, our body can struggle to tell what is a threat, and what is something benign.
Dr. Dan Siegel, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author has spent decades studying trauma and specializing in healing childhood trauma. His hand-brain model is a wonderful way to explain what our brain does with perceived trauma. When we feel a threat, our thinking brain (prefrontal cortex) goes “offline”, and we move to the back of the brain, where we have our fight, flight, freeze, fawn response. With practice, we can teach our brain to come back online, usually with mindfulness and grounding techniques.
Here are some ideas:
* Make a plan. Tell adults or those around you that you have feel overwhelmed tomorrow. Possibly have a code word to help communicate
* Prepare your strategies, make sure they are in reach.
* Tap into your senses; an essential oil on a cotton ball, spicy or sour candies, hum (your body automatically calms down when you sing or hum), find something soft to touch or squeeze (stress ball or PlayDoh are great), or name 5 things you can see around you.
* Take a couple of deep breaths…this may come when you’re more regulated
* Find your mantra: “I am safe. I can breathe. There are people here that care for me”.
* Pack some noise-cancelling headphones. We love these in our house, and it allows you to use your hands to engage in other activities.
Your body cannot tell the difference between a tiger and a big test (or much larger trauma), but with regulation skills and grounding techniques, we can be able to face the invisible tiger with more stability and confidence. 💚
