Video link to episode is: here
(https://youtu.be/HIe_IUu-R4k)

So what exactly is a critical illness?
A critical illness can be a progressive, degenerative or malignant condition that places a person’s life in jeopardy. It may also be a medical condition in which immediate medical support of vital organ functions is needed in order to survive due to severe illness or major surgery.

My story:
From about the age of 9 or 10 I remember getting dizzy at unexpected times and sometimes for great lengths of time. I remember swimming and suddenly the pool would look like it was rotating, but not fully. The pool would appear to start to move from left to right and then suddenly stop and the movement would start again at the left. This started to happen when I would lie down, when I would figure skate, when I would walk - anywhere and at any time. Then I started to get what doctors thought were regular bouts of the stomach flu. I would be so dizzy and throwing up so much that I would have to lie in bed for days and days and eventually, the symptoms would subside. It was not until I went on a ride over and over again at an amusement park and could barely walk after that I was sent to a specialist who discovered the tumor with an MRI. Two separate medical opinions confirmed that the tumor had to be removed within two months from the date it was discovered. It was benign yet growing and had been there for so long that liquid built up in my brain was becoming more and more dangerous.

Thank you for listening to todays episode! I would love to hear from you and to receive your questions and feedback.

You can reach me here:
Website
Facebook
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Until the next time - warmly yours,
Renata

We know enough about negative intergenerational trauma cycles to understand they are unhealthy and dangerous and that there is a huge personal and financial cost. However, what are we truly doing as a movement to prevent this? There are people trying to make a difference yet why has this not taken off when so many I would argue lesser important trends and issues have?

I am proof that one can heal from trauma, but I also know first hand this is a process that takes years, costs a lot of money and is easier to walk away from than to go through. It also must be completed in order to stop the vicious cycle.

I am going to give you some numbers to help put the problem into perspective, I expect most of you will be shocked to see how costly the problem is:

In 2018 child abuse cost Canadians $23 billion dollars annually and in the United States of America the cost was $2 trillion dollars annually - this is in the form of health care, court fees, social services and long-term effects on earnings, this is a conservative number because we know that not all cases are reported and addressed, this number has only increased over time. In 2023 a study came out explaining that in the United States the economic burden of health conditions caused by Adverse Childhood Experiences was $14 trillion dollars.

The countries I have just mentioned are prosperous - the United States is the world's third most wealthiest nation and Canada is the world's eighth wealthiest nation. Can you imagine what is happening in countries that are not prosperous?

Now you can understand why I am so puzzled as to why we are not doing more about this.

Please share this information with those around you, people need to be aware of a problem and then admit to it in order to make progress. This theme flows through my previous episodes, in order for us to work through our traumatic experiences, we need to acknowledge their very existence in the first place.

If anyone out there needs help pushing this movement out there, let me know, I would love to talk to you to see how we can make a positive meaningful change together.

You can find ways to contact and follow me here:
https://linktr.ee/cyclebreakerchangemaker

Thank you for listening to todays episode! I would love to hear from you and to receive your questions and feedback.

You can reach me here:
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Until the next time - warmly yours,
Renata

Episode 5 - Introduction To Triggers - emotional triggers, mental health triggers or psychological triggers

In today's episode I will be discussing an introduction to emotional, mental health or psychological triggers. It is important to understand that not all strong emotional reactions are a trigger response - if you are grieving the death of a loved one it is appropriate to have intense emotional and physical feelings. Those feelings are safe and should not be reduced or changed.
What I will be addressing today is when your trigger response is very significant when the event the trigger is in response to is actually not significant. I will be looking at why the response may not be appropriate for the situation at hand.

Trauma can lead to triggers because a traumatic event leaves the victim feeling completely powerless, sometimes even leading to dissociation in order to preserve yourself because of the immense emotional pain the experience may cause. This is why you may experience a trigger response that seems as if it has come out of nowhere. It in fact, comes out of a very important place - it means you are now able to look at and address the pain.

Here is a helpful link to breathwork with Melissa Seguin:

https://morning-fog-251.myflodesk.com/breathworkinfo?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3ifthmp6smjakphHP_auhYh_IwwdbsJcx9Sbde_71Q6qQ0wfQFKK0ykOQ_aem_AXXHwtoW2v1xwxuBe-bQbeounV5JlLLysGV7nDJj0kMY_CAkaJtpzCfgfkyOQ0fj-N6CkoaZxlqvoXrCud33vw0k

Thank you for listening to todays episode! I would love to hear from you and to receive your questions and feedback.

You can reach me here:
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Until the next time - warmly yours,
Renata