170 The Many Faces of Trauma | Single-Incident Trauma: When “Before” and “After” Split Artwork

How To Deal With Grief and Trauma

You can't go through life without experiencing loss and trauma the question is how do we deal and live with the grief and pain? Join Nathalie Himmelrich, grief expert and author, talking to people who have experienced grief and trauma first-hand. If you want to be inspired by others who traveled through their grief and trauma, found that healing is possible, and came out the other end knowing they can survive and thrive in life after loss. For more info: www.nathaliehimmelrich.com

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How To Deal With Grief and Trauma

170 The Many Faces of Trauma | Single-Incident Trauma: When “Before” and “After” Split

February 10, 2026 • Nathalie Himmelrich • Season 16 • Episode 170

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Single-incident trauma can create a sharp “before and after” in the nervous system—where an overwhelming event leaves the body stuck in protection long after it’s over. In this episode, we explore how trauma memories can be stored as sensory fragments and threat predictions, why triggers can feel like the event is happening again, and how avoidance develops as a protective strategy that can shrink life over time. Using simple polyvagal-informed language, we look at mobilised protection (fight/flight) and shutdown, and offer practical first steps for helping the nervous system update from “then” to “now.” We close with a grounding practice that uses the senses plus a temperature cue to anchor the present moment.

In this episode, you’ll learn

A clear definition of single-incident trauma (overwhelm + stuck protection afterwards)
Why the brain prioritises survival over storytelling during overwhelm
The difference between reminders and triggers
Polyvagal-informed patterns: hypervigilance vs shutdown, and cycling between them
Common post-incident signs (non-diagnostic): intrusive replay, startle, avoidance, checking, sleep disruption
What helps: normalisation, gentle exposure, completing the stress cycle, trauma-informed support
A short grounding practice to signal “this is now”

Grounding practice (2–3 minutes): “5–4–3–2–1 + Temperature”

5 things you see
4 things you feel
3 things you hear
2 things you smell (or imagine)
1 thing you taste
Notice one temperature cue
Phrase: “This is now. I’m here.”

Check the website for the free resources offered for both those affected by trauma and those supporting them.

Check the website for the free resources offered for both those affected by trauma and those supporting them.

What’s next: Medical & Birth Trauma: When Help Hurts

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