Trauma
Trauma
Holocaust Remembrance Day 2022
The Brave Talk Show
A Fresh Agenda with Cristina Mendonsa
Rewiring Your Life Podcast: Rewiring Your Trauma
A Lifetime of Resilience
Tap Into Your Ancestral Resilience
Tap into your ancestral resilience
Maintaining a positive mindset during present, uncharted, challenging times of the COVID-19 environment is not easy but definitely doable. Wars, epidemics and natural disasters are ALL part of OUR human history and experience. Keep in mind, we are the most resilient species in the universe. Our ancestors before US, survived and thrived through thick and thin — so will WE.
Meantime, practicing a positive, can-do attitude is essential to see US through these unexpected, scary days. You Can Do It! Keep calm and adapt to the temporary ‘new normal’ of social isolation.
Zoom, Skype, FaceTime with your family and friends, ‘visit’ your drawers and closets, get rid of excessive treasured clutter to be donated to charitable organizations. Thoughts of future acts of kindness, positive memories of past adventures and visions of our life journey still to be is bound to empower, uplift and promote resilience and inner strength as we weather this temporary trauma.
As a Holocaust survivor and Israeli Air Force veteran, I KNOW ‘This to Shall Pass’. I will survive and thrive in my ongoing, amazing Life Journey. So will YOU 
If I can Do It, so Can You
Life is an amazing, adventurous, uncharted journey: what to do when the unexpected happens
When the unexpected happens
Did you know that when the unexpected suddenly happens, our first tendency is to “freak.” It’s just human nature. Fight or flight is part of our ancestral DNA (coping, survival skills) in response to an imminent or imagined danger.
Wars, epidemics and natural disasters are part of our ancestral experience. We’ve survived those from the past. We shall survive and weather the temporary crisis at hand. Remember, we are not dinosaurs. We have evolved for many generations and are the most resilient species ever. This too will also pass. 🖐
As a Holocaust survivor and an Israeli Air Force veteran, I have a ‘can-do’ attitude ✌. I not only plan to survive, I am doing everything I can to stay informed, keep my distance, wash my hands etc. so that I can continue living healthily to 123. If I can do it, so can you. 🎸
Tackling Trauma and Adversity
As a Holocaust survivor, I understand what trauma is and how to cherish the moment I’m in and enjoy it, in spite of it and because of it. As a young girl, I spent four years in a Nazi holding camp during WWII. I saw starvation, cruelty, disease and death daily. As a result I learned to be detached, but more importantly, I learned to believe in myself, to see what I had, not what I didn’t have. While everyone experiences loss, sadness, disappointment, it’s how we respond to those events that matters. I made the decision at an early age not to become a victim. I adopted a mindset of gratitude in the face of adversity. I learned to make decisions in the present and live life with no regrets. When we surround ourselves with positive people and focus on what’s good in our lives, we lessen the impact of trauma and adversity. In this way, we learn to take charge of our destiny and live the life we want to live. You can do it!
Surviving Trauma
On December 30, 2005, I was awakened by a deafening noise, explosions, thick smoke and the rattling of fire raging mercilessly and engulfing my home. In an instant, I was back in the Holocaust war zone of my youth. Although half asleep, my thoughts came quickly. “Run, run for your life. Get out.” My breathing was shallow, and my heart was beating fast.
Fortunately, my husband and I got out in the nick of time. As we exited the house, the roof over our bedroom collapsed. From the front yard, I watched the house burn. As it did, the survivor in me kicked in. It was the house that was burning, not me. I was safe.
The Nazis did not get me as a child, and the fire was not going to get me now. The lessons learned about surviving have to do with free will and destiny (Beshert). In addition, surviving is a conscious decision that comes from the ability to stay calm in the face of danger. As a child in the Nazi concentration camp, I learned to carry-on, entertain myself, and avoid panic.
Those traits served me well through the years and have helped me deal with all types of threats, disappointments and vulnerabilities. These are the skills I’ve developed and applied in my personal and professional life. If I can do it, so can you. What traumas have you experienced, and how did you survive them?
The unpleasant feelings we experience in the aftermath of hurt are gifts (Romania)
In life, the unpleasant feelings we experience in the aftermath of hurt are gifts. Received with gratitude, we can use them to become stronger.What let downs or disappointments have you over come? When something didn’t work for you, what steps did you take to over come the let down?
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