Selah Trauma Counseling Center

03/20/2026

Traumatic grief happens when loss occurs in a way that overwhelms the nervous system's ability to cope: sudden death, unexpected loss, violence, or circumstances that leave us without time to prepare. It isn't just sadness. There's grief and survival happening at the same time, in the same body. It's disorienting and complicated, making the loss that much more difficult.

Grief begins to live in memory and anticipation; the past that was lost, the future that changed, the present that is painful. You don’t have to leave your grief. You don’t have to change anything. It’s enough to let your body and brain know for just this moment, you can be with it, which is why we've included a slide to practice orienting in the present.

Where ever you are in your journey, we're wishing you gentleness.

03/20/2026

You can try to logic and reason your way through to ‘feel safe’ and if your body is tense or you’re nervous system isn’t receiving enough cues of connection, it won’t happen.

Logic and reason are higher order thinking. There’s a misattunement to the deeper parts of the brain. Logic may be right and you can’t force it when it’s not aligned.

You also can’t make someone else feel safe, even if you’re a therapist. Even if all the social media posts in the world claim to be a ‘safe space.’ They may be. That doesn’t mean you’ll experience it that way.

You can get there and sometimes it’s enough to start with ‘safe enough’ or ‘secure enough’. Time, neurobiological understanding, building in capacity and layering strategies, and the ability to experience cues of connection all help.

Reparenting and self-talk have limits — attachment healing and nervous system change happen through real relationship, not insight alone.

03/15/2026

Despite what social media, news, and reality shows put out, we rarely know the depth of what’s happening inside other people’s lives. Some folks put on a great show, exaggerate, or leave out information that may look questionable. Some folks reveal far too much.

In couples work, there’s often assumptions towards the negative and intentionality for hurt. For folks struggling with the long reaching symptoms from trauma, hypervigilance or cynicism may be confused with personality.

Invitation to explore: What if we intentionally assume others are struggling too? What if we give ourselves the same gentleness?

03/12/2026

Whimsy, frolicking, glimmers… the antidote to the heaviness and overwhelm that can creep in. Trauma insists on speed while resilience and healing need a slower pace.

Invitation: inhale, extend that exhale. Make a point to look for something whimsical or a glimmer today. Even if it seems absurd. Savor that moment as you take it in so you can recall it easier when you need it.

03/10/2026

A reminder: you are not too much or too hard to love. You are enough.

03/09/2026

The effects of short form videos are devastating to the brain. The attention span of humans is now less than a goldfish, ironically reducing over a very short time.

Where does the brain light up when completing work on a computer? Roughly two places in contrast to handwriting work which lights up more areas across the brain including language centers (brocas area), motor and sensory bands, the cerebellum, and supports encoding information involving more areas.

There’s a lot of discussion about the hippocampus and encoding of trauma memories, especially with methods like emdr.

I wonder how trauma resiliency will be impacted by the brain underdeveloping because of ‘brain rot’?

Marano G, Kotzalidis GD, Lisci FM, Anesini MB, Rossi S, Barbonetti S, Cangini A, Ronsisvalle A, Artuso L, Falsini C, Caso R, Mandracchia G, Brisi C, Traversi G, Mazza O, Pola R, Sani G, Mercuri EM, Gaetani E, Mazza M. The Neuroscience Behind Writing: Handwriting vs. Typing-Who Wins the Battle? Life (Basel). 2025 Feb 22;15(3):345. doi: 10.3390/life15030345. PMID: 40141690; PMCID: PMC11943480.

Brain rot isn’t just a meme — it’s a real cognitive pattern. It describes what happens when attention becomes harder to sustain after prolonged exposure to fast, low-effort digital content like endless scrolling and short-form feeds.

In 2024, brain rot was Oxford’s Word of the Year, officially defining a term born online:

“A perceived loss of intelligence or critical thinking skills… particularly associated with overconsumption of such content posted online.”

While the term is cultural, the effects are measurable. Brain rot reflects how the mind adapts to rapid, low-challenge digital interfaces, with impacts on attention, memory, and focus.

Learn more about the science behind brain rot: https://bit.ly/4bN7oKT

03/07/2026

National Social Work Month & International Women’s Day.

Cheers to Nef & Lora our favorite social workers!

03/05/2026

World Book Day! What book are you reading that’s helped your mental health?

Jen- Stolen Focus by Johan Hari

03/04/2026

🚑🔥👮‍♂️ The Stress Bucket — First Responder Edition

Every call.
Every report.
Every shift change.
Every critical incident.

It all goes in the bucket.

Workload.
Sleep disruption.
Shift work.
Public scrutiny.
Organizational pressure.
Family strain.
The call that sticks with you.

Some stress is normal. That’s part of the job.

But when the bucket fills faster than it drains… it overflows.

And overflow can look like:
• Irritability
• Numbness
• Trouble sleeping
• Increased drinking
• Pulling away
• Feeling “on edge” even off shift

The drain holes matter.

For first responders, that might be:
✔ Quality sleep (when possible)
✔ Physical training
✔ Time with your crew
✔ Time away from the job
✔ Peer support
✔ Therapy with someone who understands the culture
✔ Intentional recovery days

Resilience isn’t about having a bigger bucket.

It’s about protecting the drains.

If your bucket feels full right now, that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re human in a high-stress profession.

Protect your capacity like you protect your equipment.