by Rebekah Brown | Dec 15, 2022 | Boundaries, Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Hope
I watched as the old mule made one last pass across the field below my Grandmother’s house. Damp earth turned beneath the plow and I knew buried treasure would soon be exposed. My brother and I looked at one another in anticipation. It was the second half of...
by Rebekah Brown | Dec 6, 2022 | Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Hope
I’d like to tell you about impossibilities. I live in the hottest desert in North America, yet, we pick oranges in January. Out in my yard, a giant succulent named fire stick ought to be green all year, but it turns bright orange in December. Flowers put forth their...
by Rebekah Brown | Dec 1, 2022 | Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Hope
For a trauma survivor, there is no greater time for struggle and disappointment than the holidays. All the promises of hope, love, togetherness, and peace are empty echoes of the things we always wanted but could never have. When families and relationships are...
by Rebekah Brown | Nov 22, 2022 | Holiday Stress, Holidays, Hope
We know from past experience that the holidays can often lead to one place—disappointment. The dread steps in long before Thanksgiving and it’s the end of January before we feel like we’ve got our wits about us. It doesn’t have to be that way this year. I hope this...
by Rebekah Brown | Nov 15, 2022 | CPTSD, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Dissociation and CPTSD, Holiday Stress, Holidays
Why are the holidays so difficult for survivors of trauma? Because holidays bring up all of the helpless, paralyzing, vulnerable feelings of the family we have struggled with all our lives. Goaded by themes of gathering at Thanksgiving, heartbreak comes to the...
