Wind River Alum SpotLight - By Laura Renegar
PTSD and brain trauma aren’t just for those returning from an actual war zone; it is for any of us who have struggled with some of life’s hardest experiences.
Whether it’s cancer, divorce, mental or physical abuse, the loss of someone we love, a car accident, or a dysfunctional relationship … we all have something in common. Fear, anxiety, and hurt can prevent us from moving forward with hope for a happy future.
In my case I didn’t even know that I carried a traumatic wound in my brain from a spinal surgery I had 30 years ago. During that surgery I woke up and I remembered everything, so when my current doctors began discussing another surgery on my spine, I had visceral physical reactions to the idea. My body was reacting to what my brain was holding onto from the past. My anxiety was extremely high and I couldn’t control it, nor did I understand it since I have had 11 other non-related surgeries since that spinal surgery and for all those my level of nervousness was completely normal. This was different and alarming.
My friend Shannon of Wind River called me 3 weeks before my spinal surgery and I told her about my anxiety. She recommended a visit to a trauma therapist, Kim Leppert, MSW, LCSW-S, CSAT, of FlyLeaf Consulting. I went to see Kim and she changed my life.
At first I was skeptical because I didn’t feel like what I was experiencing was from actual trauma. I hadn’t been in a war or witnessed a shooting, it was “just” back surgery from 30 years ago. But I went ahead and made my appointment and I am so thankful that I did! My anxiety went from an 8 (1 to 10) to a 4, and within a few days, down to a 2!
How you ask? We did something called Brain Spotting. It is related to EMDR and biofeedback and works by locating points in the client’s visual field that help to access unprocessed trauma in the sub-cortical brain. I don’t fully understand how it works, but what I experienced was off the charts and life changing! My brain trauma has been released. It sounds crazy, right? Well, I cannot even describe how different I felt when I walked out of her office. I had two appointments for this issue, but the main release came in just one 2 hour appointment! I had my surgery in early February, with no anxiety, and my recovery has been so much better than I could have ever hoped for.
Think of how many people could be helped by something like this. Brain spotting works on anxiety, trauma, PTSD, addiction, grief….all kinds of things! Being involved in the breast cancer community I know many survivors that have come out of cancer treatments, and surgeries, with some level of trauma and or PTSD.
If any of this resonates with you, please consider getting help. I have been able to take the hundred-pound weight I have been carrying around (and didn’t know it) and toss it into the wind. Poof. It’s gone!
Thank you Kim Leppert for giving me back my mental and emotional freedom before my surgery. Thank you for changing my life! Laura Renegar
Whether it’s cancer, divorce, mental or physical abuse, the loss of someone we love, a car accident, or a dysfunctional relationship … we all have something in common. Fear, anxiety, and hurt can prevent us from moving forward with hope for a happy future.
In my case I didn’t even know that I carried a traumatic wound in my brain from a spinal surgery I had 30 years ago. During that surgery I woke up and I remembered everything, so when my current doctors began discussing another surgery on my spine, I had visceral physical reactions to the idea. My body was reacting to what my brain was holding onto from the past. My anxiety was extremely high and I couldn’t control it, nor did I understand it since I have had 11 other non-related surgeries since that spinal surgery and for all those my level of nervousness was completely normal. This was different and alarming.
My friend Shannon of Wind River called me 3 weeks before my spinal surgery and I told her about my anxiety. She recommended a visit to a trauma therapist, Kim Leppert, MSW, LCSW-S, CSAT, of FlyLeaf Consulting. I went to see Kim and she changed my life.
At first I was skeptical because I didn’t feel like what I was experiencing was from actual trauma. I hadn’t been in a war or witnessed a shooting, it was “just” back surgery from 30 years ago. But I went ahead and made my appointment and I am so thankful that I did! My anxiety went from an 8 (1 to 10) to a 4, and within a few days, down to a 2!
How you ask? We did something called Brain Spotting. It is related to EMDR and biofeedback and works by locating points in the client’s visual field that help to access unprocessed trauma in the sub-cortical brain. I don’t fully understand how it works, but what I experienced was off the charts and life changing! My brain trauma has been released. It sounds crazy, right? Well, I cannot even describe how different I felt when I walked out of her office. I had two appointments for this issue, but the main release came in just one 2 hour appointment! I had my surgery in early February, with no anxiety, and my recovery has been so much better than I could have ever hoped for.
Think of how many people could be helped by something like this. Brain spotting works on anxiety, trauma, PTSD, addiction, grief….all kinds of things! Being involved in the breast cancer community I know many survivors that have come out of cancer treatments, and surgeries, with some level of trauma and or PTSD.
If any of this resonates with you, please consider getting help. I have been able to take the hundred-pound weight I have been carrying around (and didn’t know it) and toss it into the wind. Poof. It’s gone!
Thank you Kim Leppert for giving me back my mental and emotional freedom before my surgery. Thank you for changing my life! Laura Renegar
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