193: Disaster-Proof Your Nervous System, with Christen Rinaldi

From Notes on Resilience · 29:09

Show by Manya Chylinski

Send us Fan MailYour training can be solid, your intentions can be pure, and your heart can be in the right place, and you can still freeze when disaster hits. That moment can feel scary and humiliating, especially if you’re the one people expect to lead. We sit down with Christen Rinaldi, a licensed clinical mental health counselor and disaster mental health specialist, to talk about what changed for her after Hurricane Helene when she found herself living the crisis while also serving as a provider. We unpack the hidden “price tags” of overfunctioning, why the myth of being indestructible breaks down fast, and how leaders can protect their physical health and decision-making by tracking one thing: capacity. Kristen makes a sharp distinction between preparedness and chronic hypervigilance, explaining how constant nervous system strain narrows creativity and reduces options right when you need them most. From there, we get practical about what actually stabilizes people. We talk about the ripple effect of stabilizing responders first, the power of simply saying “what you’re experiencing is normal,” and how fight, flight, freeze, and fawn can play out in slow motion during a prolonged crisis. Kristen also walks us through the disaster recovery curve, including disillusionment and the jagged climb back, and we connect it to a polyvagal lens so the swings in energy, mood, and connection make more sense. If you care about disaster mental health, organizational preparedness, trauma recovery, and everyday resilience practices that keep your observer mind online, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who leads under pressure, and leave a review so more people can find these tools.Christen Rinaldi is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Disaster Mental Health Specialist. She served through deployments with disaster relief organizations in the wake of Hurricanes Ian and Idalia in Florida. And with Hurricane Helene, she quickly learned that when disaster arrives on your doorstep, there is a unique balance of being both a survivor and a provider.Email: [email protected]: https://www.christen-rinaldi.com/training Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREESupport the show__________Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity. Learn more: www.manyachylinski.com/servicesPlease subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

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