by Heather Jurvelin | Feb 11, 2026 | Attachment Trauma, Core Beliefs, CPTSD, Guest Contributor
“What’s wrong with you?” she asks the person in the mirror. This echo reverberates within her head as a chorus of voices. Her mother’s voice mingles with her own, changing in tone and pitch throughout her four decades of life, yet always asking the same...
by Heather Jurvelin | Jan 26, 2026 | ACEs, Childhood Sexual Abuse, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, CPTSD Poetry, Guest Contributor
Trigger Warning: Detailed Description of Child Abuse I wrote this poem a few months ago, drawing from the well of ancient, long-buried feelings about the first time my mom forced my mouth open and poured Dawn dish soap into it. I was four. Although I had received...
by Heather Jurvelin | Dec 24, 2025 | CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Depression, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor, Therapy
Part I: As I listen to Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” on a loop, I mentally counter the lyrics with the fantasy that the sun will just fall from the sky. Can’t it do me the courtesy of burning out and shrouding me in complete darkness at long last? All...
by Heather Jurvelin | Nov 17, 2025 | Cognitive Behavior Therapy, CPTSD, Guest Contributor
Today, I know how to replace the arsenal of unhealthy crutches that once helped me blot out feelings Last spring, I was surprised by how gut-punched I felt, having decided to take an 18-day hiatus from therapy. Previous lapses in my therapy schedule barely registered...
by Heather Jurvelin | Oct 20, 2025 | CPTSD and PTSD, Guest Contributor, Self Care
It was easy to fall into a language of extremes to define the world around me For most of my life, I’ve been an “all or nothing” kind of gal. Either all in or all out, I left no space for the forgiving landscape of a “middle ground.” This black-and-white kind of...
