To Experience Trauma Is To Be Human

The Story of Our Trauma is a new podcast hosted Stella co-founder and leading trauma expert Dr. Shauna Springer.

Each episode dives into honest and real conversations about trauma with experts, doctors, athletes, survivors, CEOs, and everyone in between, to explore the peaks and valleys of our trauma and what we know about the paths to recovery.

Episode One: From a Marine to Inmate to Giving Back

How did Ron Self find himself in a situation that had him pulling the trigger in an attempted hit on a doctor’s life? The events of Self’s past shaped his traumatic and turbulent future. Listen in to how this U.S. Marine overcame his trauma and went from being an inmate of the country’s most notorious prisons to becoming the founder of Veterans Healing Veterans. 

“If you get with the right people and you work through that and sit it in that fire and burn clean of it, there’s a sunrise on the other side and that sunrise looks unlike any sunrise you’ve ever seen. It just has so much more meaning to it.” – Ron Self

Episode Two: Unfolding Trauma and its Collective Weight

When it comes to support for mental health providers, who heals the healers? Guy MacPherson has been answering that question for the better part of a decade. MacPherson sits down with Dr. Springer to discuss the broader definitions of trauma, his number one rated trauma podcast, and The Trauma Therapist, and The Trauma Therapist Project – an organization that creates an educational and supportive community for therapists and trauma workers.

“We have to remember that what can be traumatizing for one person isn’t necessarily traumatizing for another person.” – Guy MacPherson

Episode Three: The Resilience Muscle & Shaping Life with Cancer

Sally Wolf’s life took a sharp turn when she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She stepped away from her role as a media executive and her new mission in life was to inspire others. She talks with Dr. Springer about her time at Harvard, her diagnosis, and taking pleasure in the simple things, like being an “auntie” to her nephew and nieces. For Sally Wolf, there’s always something special when you look for it, even on the most challenging days.

“I couldn’t control a diagnosis, but I could definitely control the team that I built, the people I let in. And that was huge for me.” – Sally Wolf

Listen to all of the episodes on Spotify now and tune in every other Wednesday for a new episode with exciting new guests.

The following article refers to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), whereas at Stella, we use the term PTSI (Post-Traumatic Stress Injury). We encourage you to adopt this language to break the stigma against Post-Traumatic Stress.  Read more about the shift from PTSD to PSTI here.

Stella is built on a life-changing understanding of trauma treatment and advocates that trauma is a universal human truth. To get to this point, we have to look back at how trauma has traditionally been defined:

We now know that trauma can be the accumulation of multiple stressors over a long period of time, or it can happen instantly.

Stella co-founder and leading trauma expert Dr. Shauna Springer notes that many used to think that “trauma is trauma,” regardless of the source. Now, it is clear that multiple factors can complicate recovery from a traumatic experience or ongoing stressors.

For example, sexual assault is a particularly insidious trauma. In general, trauma causes feelings of helplessness and horror. In addition to these, when we experience a sexual assault, we may feel shame.

Trauma comes in many forms. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, and finding the proper care can be exhausting.

Recently, Dr. Shauna Springer spoke with the host of the top-rated trauma podcast, Guy MacPherson, on our new podcast, The Story of Our Trauma. He said:

“What can be traumatizing for one person isn’t necessarily traumatizing for another person. It’s very easy for people to think, bullying? Come on! Kids are like that. Get over it. Sometimes that’s true, and other times it’s not.”

Trauma looks and feels different for everyone so each treatment plan must be tailored to meet each individuals needs. 

We’re measuring success in lives changed and are dedicated to providing life-changing treatment for life-changing results. Watch below to hear two new voices with very real stories.

Coco’s Story

Recently, Coco met with Stella’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lipov and received a diagnosis that led to her receiving SGB, the Dual Sympathetic Reset, to treat her symptoms.

“This has been the best treatment I’ve ever received in all of the years of healing and it’s quite overwhelming and a lot, but the immediate changes that I’ve been feeling, it’s incredible. I think it saved my life.”

Lexi’s Story

Lexi, who had been in therapy for the last decade started researching SGB, she realized that her symptoms had to do with the amygdala, which is what Stellate Ganglion Block treats.

“When I woke up… I was immediately angry because for the first time in my life, I felt peace and I could breathe. Those two things are reasons why survivors like me never thrive. I knew that everyone needed to have access to this and know that it existed.”

To learn more about SGB with Stella, join us every Thursday at 3pm CST for our 30-minute webinar with live Q&A: SGB 101: A New Model of Trauma Treatment. All are welcome and it’s free to attend.