When a child shuts down his painful emotional side, he also loses the ability to express his joyous side. Emotions are a whole. With anger comes the ability to express delight; with sadness comes the ability to express lightheartedness. This is the breadth of emotion that allows an adult to experience intimacy with a spouse, with God, and with his children.”
David Carder et al., Secrets of Your Family Tree: Healing for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families
The Power of Smell to Heal Trauma
Odors take a direct route to the limbic system, including the amygdala and the hippocampus, the regions related to emotion and memory.
In this powerful episode, “The Power of Smell to Heal Trauma,” I get to introduce you to one of my favorite clinical psychologists and friend, Dr. Ben Perkus.
In January 2019, I was introduced to him through a vivacious friend and life hasn’t been the same since. There are those times in our lives when a day changes the trajectory of one’s course.
She said to me, “You have to know about AFT.”
I said, “AF-what?”
She then shared everything she knew about Aroma Freedom Technique + how it had helped her resolve some deeply rooted, trauma-related issues in her life.
Two days later, I had signed up for the practitioner training and became certified in AFT six months later.
It changed my life.
It changed my practice.
It changed me.
Today, I pray it brings a beautiful change into your life. Or at least the beginning of one.
In this episode, you will:
- Learn all about Aroma Freedom Technique and how it works.
- Listen to Dr. Perkus’s story and how the “idea for AFT” came to him.
- Be schooled in the four parts of the memory complex.
- Be inspired to trace God’s hand in your own life story.
- Be invited to use the power of smell to heal trauma that might be keeping you from freedom.
- Experience a beautiful heart-centering exercise.
- Start your HEARTLIFTING JOURNEY today.
This week’s resources
Welcome to The Heartlifter Way—a gentle path back to yourself.
Hosted by award-winning author Janell Rardon, this podcast is a calm, reflective space where healing begins not with pressure or perfection, but with presence, awareness, and grace. Rooted in a somatic, mind-body approach, each episode invites you to reconnect your thoughts, feelings, and body—learning to move from overwhelm and anxiety into a steadier, more grounded way of living. Through gentle teachings on nervous system regulation, emotional healing, and embodied awareness, you’ll begin to live The Heartlifter Way.
How much can one heart hold? And how do we recognize when we're carrying more than we have the emotional capacity to manage?
In this episode of The Heartlifter Way, we explore the meaning of emotional capacity—our ability to experience difficult emotions, navigate uncertainty, and remain grounded without losing ourselves in the process.
Drawing inspiration from Chris M. Courey's What to Do with What You Feel, we'll consider the difference between emotional strength and emotional overfunctioning, the wisdom of listening to our nervous systems, and why growing our capacity doesn't always mean learning to carry more.
Through personal reflections, practical tools, and the beautiful invitation of Luke 13:10–17, we'll discover what it means to become women who can love deeply, honor their limits, and make room for joy—even in life's most uncertain seasons.
What You'll Take Away:
You'll learn how to recognize when you're approaching your emotional limits, distinguish healthy compassion from carrying other people's emotions, and practice five gentle ways to strengthen your emotional capacity. Most importantly, you'll discover how to remain fully yourself in difficult relationships and uncertain circumstances—without sacrificing your peace or joy.
A question to carry: What if emotional maturity isn't measured by how much we can carry, but by how faithfully we remain connected to ourselves, others, and God?
There is a gentler way of carrying life. And you were never meant to carry it alone.
Connect with Dr. Perkus & Aroma Freedom Technique
- Dr. Perkus’s Training Vault
- Order Dr. Perkus’s book, Aroma Freedom Technique
- Article on “Why Smells Trigger Such Vivid Memories”
- Article: How scent, emotion, and memory are intertwined
- Aroma Freedom website
- Become a Certified Practitioner
- Order Your Aroma Freedom Essential Oils Starter Kit
- Schedule your FIRST AFT SESSION with Janell