Pre-trauma:
There are a few things you can do before getting traumatized. Having a structure in place before can actually help.

Your brain operates on “dendrite tracks”. Unexpected trauma derails the set normal nuro-activity and sets off a mid-brain survival system that can last for weeks or years. That survival system is activated and memories of the life threatening event, after the event is over, cause Post Trauma Stress. (It becomes a Disorder , PTSD, when it disrupts your normative life)

Turning off that survival system in your brain can lessen the intensity of the Post Trauma Stress experience.

Basically the idea is to return the brain to its normal “dendrite tracks. Here is what I suggest:


• Establish a thought process and a behavior that you can easily return to.


• Reinforce the process significantly enough that when you return you don’t need to think about it to do it.


• When you get back, go back to that thought process and behavior as SOON as possible.


• Keep going back to those things until you feel your brain is normalized.




Try to not to think of your personal strengths as you work on your pre-trauma structure. This is a mid-brain processing that is automatic. Personal strengths being; personality, cognitive abilities, humor, abilities to press through hard tasks …

Cognitive Suggestions thinking on:

Spiritual
Philosophical
Mathematical
Reading /writing


Behavior Suggestions

Being at a place; library, living room, park… It can be anything that is meaningful or restful/peaceful to you.
Exercising/sitting
Gardening, (or shoveling snow)
Knitting/ cooking
Playing music /listening to music/art work
Work that does not stress you


Annotations:
A number of times, more than I like to recall, a parent in my practice was leaving an abusive situation. Their child however, being mandated by the courts, had to return to that abusive home. When the toddler gets back to the safe parent his emotions and behavior are out of control. By establishing a clear repeatable home composition for the child to come back to, the child returns back to normal behaviors within hours rather than days. The toddler’s brain returns to knowing that things are now safe..

A person has a work environment that is immensely stressful, like a pastor, and needs to avoid burning out. The entire congregation ether wants him to referee, pardon their sins, or take over his job… When the phone rings it is inevitably a crisis. Those phone calls that are not stemming from a crisis become one when he does not return the calls within an hour.

To return to a normal on-traumatic baseline the pastor has found that making his own coffee from uncooked coffee beans helps him to be removed from the ongoing work stress. He keeps the phone off, smells the coffee beans, drinks the coffee and all is right on the earth and in heaven. (Also in this story the pastor’s neighbors are all devoted Christians and sing hymns and psalms to one another daily.)

We have 14 new nets, coming in tomorrow, insecticide built in.

Bill

click here for Bill's doc on PTSD

http://www.nc4.org/downloads/Church Documents/pts haiti 1.pdf

Tony P. and Denise have arranged for 3 drivers to take 10 of us to JFK with luggage.

Fran Molinari
Mike Stauffer
John Dewhurst


For the 10 of us returning on Sat. eve. 13 March

Brent Evans - (trying to get him a 12 passenger van to do a single vehicle.)

From Quisqueya Relief Center..

Dear Rev. Rentler,

Please email us the time of your arrival, and call us at: 509-3619-3431 as soon as you get out of the airport.

Sincerely,
Jamie Cartright
======================

I reported 11 arriving on 6 March 1:30pm requiring a pickup.
and 3 arriving on Sun 7 March about 1:30 pm.

For all arriving, please note and call
509-3619-3431 upon exiting, as they asked.

I will have a Haiti cell phone. How about Patrick, Anna, Nadine?

American Airlines has established a "luggage embargo" on baggage to Haiti until April 1, meaning they are limiting checked baggage per the posted guidelines. When I asked about waiving fees for relief team, she suggested we try to send luggage via Red Cross. What? That's too risky for bags to arrive separate from our flight. We may have to pay fees.