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I have wanted to share this article about the St. Paul firefighter on disability with PTSD; especially now in light of the recent events this last week. To me, this fireman’s story is heartbreaking because he doesn’t need to suffer in this way. There are scientific discoveries and breakthroughs in trauma therapies that still have not made it into clinical practice and understanding. Your doctor, psychiatrist, therapist, social worker, case manager, do not know about these more effective therapies and scientific discoveries.

As an employer or team leader, you know the importance of the resiliency of your workforce. A key factor in maintaining resiliency can be found in maintaining flexibility in your autonomic nervous system response. There are little known about breakthrough trauma therapies that can facilitate flexibility in your autonomic nervous system response.

 Stephan Porges, Ph.D., describes that when you can’t fight and you can’t flee, that survival energy gets trapped in the body. Sometimes a person will even experience fear-potentiated immobility – either a freeze or a (dorsal vagal) collapse. A really bad panic attack can bring on a dorsal vagal collapse; in this state, a person is completely immobilized and non-responsive. In my opinion, this dorsal vagus state can be as close to a near-death experience you will ever see; when this happens to my loved one it takes them about an hour to come out of the collapse state and a day to resume daily activities.

Attached you will find the MPR news article about the firefighter with PTSD; an article from me about the scientists and breakthrough therapies, and an online module 1 TRE® workshop.

 I am excited to share some opportunities to easily learn about and participate online:

TRE® – Tension and Trauma Release Exercises developed by David Berceli, Ph.D.

• Alex Greene, Founder of Red Beard BodyWork in Madison Wisconsin, is offering free TRE® – Tension and Trauma Release exercises sessions every M-W-F. You can easily do this TRE® practice in your office or at home.  
• Alex Greene is a certified global trainer for TRE; and is also offering a 3-day, On-Line TRE Module 1 TRE® workshop that is open to the public June 12 – 14. I highly recommend taking TRE® module 1 for your own self-care practice. Attached is the flyer.

I will email the links for the free M-W-F TRE® sessions in a separate email. This information would also be useful as part of your safety meetings. 

I want to ask a favor of you, please share this information with people that would benefit from this information; especially our police, fire, first responders, and people in high-stress environments. I can’t let another family suffer like mine has, or like the fireman on disability from PTSD in the MPR news article.

As Minnesota recognizes PTSD in first responders, cities brace for rising costs