Banana Bread

“Banana bread at work, dude? Hell yeah.” Hilarious video if you’ve never had the pleasure. Consider navigating to your preferred search engine to investigate; and for a laugh. Have you ever had memories linked to redolent wafts of sweet, warm, fresh-out-the oven banana bread? A term called olfactory memory, associated memories, sensory memories, etc. shoot a response to your amygdala (that which processes emotion) and the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and cognition. Hold that mental visualization in your mind for a moment as we take a trip down memory lane. Allow the conceptualization of the smell of banana bread lead you to a memory (if you’re ambitious enough you’ll go bake some banana bread right now, and for good measure, include a few chocolate chips) that is closely associated – what we call free association, more or less – with the thought, smell, or remembrance of banana bread. It is uniquely curious how brains are so advanced. It’s capable of drawing linear paths starting with a sense, morphing to a feeling, and finally, computing a contextual memory.

Now I want you to consider what you believe to know a trauma response to be. An innate, internal, subconscious reaction to a noxious stimuli resulting in autonomic, sporadically intervalled, protective measure that is typically ignited by adrenaline while your sympathetic nervous system determines if ‘fight or flight’ is the correct recourse. Phew. Our brains are highly calibrated and responsive to protecting ourselves, particularly against danger. A trauma response, whatever that subjectively looks like to you, is essentially a reactive provision your brain has optimized to deal with the prescribed situation, were it to occur again, to ensure safety. Your brain doesn’t want to associate that emotional response to a stimulus that has manifested before causing another potentially devastating impact. So, your brain sets off a type of warning system to alert the user. Sound mechanical yet? How is a trauma response uniquely an alarm while also being reactive at its core? Sort of a paradoxical concept of sorts. Just as your aromatic banana bread triggers a memory of grandma’s house; incidentally, so can a word, phrase, or image cascade you into a cyclical pattern of panic and desire to escape the toxic memory – or at the very least, initiate extreme discomfort.

We live in a world of consumption. Most of us are continuously subscribed patrons of social media, television, Youtube, etc. Frankly, most technology comprised of blue light we, as a society, chronically use and obsess over. Other clinicians would start using the term addiction at about this point; though, that isn’t the topic of discussion today. There are times where those associated memories are triggered inadvertently, potentially resulting in those uncomfortable survival instincts our brain has so aptly put into place as firewalls. What can be done? Perhaps that’s the main priority of reading this far into a Blog post titled ‘Banana Bread’ is in hopes I’ll strategically navigate the paradigm of our freely associating brains’ linear pathway from a sense, to a feeling, to a memory. Well, you’re in luck! Trauma responses don’t need to be a permanent fixture of your reality. Neither does how long you can hold your breath underwater, nor the way you consider your rigidity and close-minded perception of political parties. Luckily for us, the brain is incredibly plastic, not concrete. Which essentially means it is malleable to change as dough is pliable for crafting into a croissant. Many people interpret the sequence of our life to be a definitive illustration as a mason’s brick, that the shape is fixed and it can be utilized as is, or require manipulation to deconstruct and materialize into something else, shifting its properties. We believe our brains to oftentimes be solid structures, shaped permanently to the conglomeration of our past and that’s it; leaving little wiggle room to employ healthy replacement behaviors to maladaptive ones. Pretty cut and dry. However, our brains are capable of adaptation, reconstruction, reconfiguration, adaptability, and so much more. Hence, the term ‘plastic’.

As for applicable skills to reorient this ‘plastic’ brain of ours, there are a few areas of navigation we can take to elicit a healthier mindset, less association with negative stimulus, and freedom from the despair of reactivity that our trauma response induces. Firstly, concentrating on the subliminal subconscious origin of the protective measure our brain employs. When you begin to recognize the instances in which a trauma response occurs, are you intuitive enough or purposeful enough about recognizing the originating event? If you’re like an elephant: massive brain and a 50 pound heart, you may become extremely startled and even panic at the site of Ratatouille creating a five-star chef’s meal under the hat of your spouse. In layman’s terms, and more colloquial for the average reader, a mouse in your house may cause a surge of fear. When you see a mouse on your instagram feed or even a flicker of a shadow in the peripheral view at home, a similar reaction occurs, sometimes eliciting a response to the trauma. Even reading about it could cause some of those emotions to flair (sorry in advance if mice are the cause of a trauma response). This is a minimal descriptor of what a trauma response may look like, but if you weren’t sure, now you know. Firstly, identify the origin of the event that caused your brain to emit a trauma response.

Secondly, take into consideration what the term solidification means to you. Naturally, we fall into habitual grooves in life and have radical acceptance regarding our situation (which is a healthy skill, just poor application). Some people would call that groove a ‘rut’. Nevertheless, most of us have had something happen to us. Whether it is to make an important decision, choose a career, marry, etc. and just accept it wholly for what it is and do nothing to change it. Reframe your understanding of your motivation for change. Do you have a trauma response and utilize it as a crutch for attention, secretly wishing you never deal with it and it remains forever? Or are you more adamant about fixing and improving yourself to be the best version you can be. Pastor Levi Lusko said in his sermon on 5/7/2023, “We all want a testimony, but nobody wants a test”. Even if you aren’t spiritual or religious, how does that reflect onto the outlook you have for your life and your situation? Are you willing to do what it takes to change, modify, or improve it? Secondly, where are you at in your life regarding yearning for self-improvement?

Lastly, the National Institute of Health subscribes to making ‘wise choices’ to mitigate severity of trauma responses. Not a bad heading. Most of our issues in life require identification, willingness, and subsequent skill acquisition and implementation. The ‘wise choice’ suggestion from the venerable NIH is the latter. Implementation of skills. You may be thinking, “Ok? What skills do I use to deal with ‘X’ event (trauma), and ‘Y’ trauma response; my situation is more pervasive than seeing a mouse in a kitchen”. I understand that the magnitude in both trauma and trauma responses is unique and subjective to the individual. However, I still think these concepts apply as you continue to work with a mental health professional. First skill: Communication. Learn to use your voice to explain your situation to a coveted friend or trustworthy loved one. By vocalizing not only our problems, but pervasive dilemmas, helps us break from the cyclical pattern of deeply rooted issues and into propagating growth. Next, how can I ground myself? I tell my clients with panic attacks, why would you think about the panic attack as it’s happening and not put a block of ice on the back of your hand while you reminisce about your favorite dish at Thanksgiving? Grounding has powerful properties that shift that adrenaline your sympathetic nervous system is producing into a tangible thought process, hence, reorienting you to being grounded. Trauma responses are similar. Avoid the situation instigating the response for now, ground yourself, acknowledge the origin, and work on dealing with it. Trauma is a pretty big and complicated topic at times, so I will finish the blog here and suggest you talk with your therapist about what implications, skill acquisition, and implementation could potentially benefit you.

If there are three takeaways I want you to remember: trauma responses are a protective response solicited by your mind. They can be uncomfortable. If you want to work through them you need to identify where it comes from, accept that it is potentially pervasive and require ‘fixing’ and have a desire to work toward ‘fixing’ it. Then finally, what skills can I use to ground myself before, during, or after it happens as I continue to work with a professional.