Description

• Do you have irrational triggers such as an Anger or Fear over seemingly small things?
• Do you suffer mental health conditions like depression or anxiety?
• Have you experienced childhood trauma and are looking to heal?

In this conversation, I chat with Liz Mullinar, the founder of the Heal for Life Foundation, who discusses different aspects of trauma and its implications. She explains how the brain stores traumatic experiences and the impact it can have on individuals as they grow older. Liz proposes that acknowledging and expressing fear or anger rather than suppressing these emotions can lead to healthier mental states.

She lays emphasis on the role of parents in helping their children deal with such emotional episodes. She also talks about strategies to cope with triggers, noting how releasing the fear connected with these triggers can help in mitigating their impact.

Takeaways:

•  Childhood trauma can be the perception of life threatening moments when as a baby they perceived danger, say a mother leaving the baby in a crib and the perceived danger.  Real or not.  Examples include abandonment or forced separation from a primary caregiver, divorce, neglect, bullying, death of a parent or sibling, abuse, and serious childhood illness or accidents.
•  As a parent, we can support our children in releasing these fears and angers now so they don’t build up into larger more impactful triggers.  We need to allow our children to sit in the anger or fear, to realise it and to let it out of the system. 
•  Based on the latest trauma recovery and neuroscience research, Liz studies shows that trauma causes involuntary emotional responses that often underpins challenging behaviour in children and teens. Simply by honouring, releasing and letting go, we can remove and release the trauma and the emotion.
•  When we hold fear in our brain, in our amygdala, when we face a reminder of that fear even as adults, whether conscious or not, we relive that feeling of that moment and of that trauma.   Hence our trigger and fight or flight.
•  For many children who experience emotional or behavioural difficulties, behaviours are an outward display of difficult emotions such as fear, anger and shame that are caused by the neurobiological damage of trauma on the brain. 

Thanks for tuning in.  Keep connecting. 

Lots of love, Nicole.

What We Discuss:

00:00 Understanding Trauma and Its Impact

01:26 Introduction to the Guest Speaker: Liz Mullinar

02:56 Liz Mullinar's Journey and Mission

04:53 Defining Trauma and Its Effects

06:49 Real-life Examples of Trauma and Healing

10:00 Understanding Triggers and How to Overcome Them

11:55 The Importance of Healing from Trauma

16:51 Healing Programs and Their Impact

20:08 Healing Trauma in Children

22:01 Understanding the Impact of Parenting

22:35 Addressing Childhood Fears

24:34 The Brain's Response to Fear

26:25 The Role of Trauma in Fear Response

28:33 The Importance of Acknowledging Feelings

30:26 The Impact of Suppressed Emotions

31:01 The Power of Releasing Fear

34:22 The Effects of Trauma on Prisoners

37:42 The Importance of Seeking Help

39:42 Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Resources:

Heal For Life Website: https://healforlife.com.au/

Books: https://healforlife.com.au/shop/

Connect with Nicole:  https://www.instagram.com/nicolesharanam