by Randi | Feb 2, 2021 | Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor, Outer Critic
We assume we know people’s lives by the mere glimpses they show us. We think we know someone based on the brief encounters we exchange on our way to work or when we bump into each other. The playdates where we talk about our kids. The smiling family photos on...
by Shirley Davis | Feb 1, 2021 | Building Resilience in Healing
Much research has been done on the topic of this series of posts in February 2021. Scientists want to understand how people who go through sometimes horrific events often overcome adversity and seem to thrive afterward. In this first part of the series, we’ll...
by Charlene Kwan | Jan 29, 2021 | CPTSD, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Emotional Flashbacks, Guest Contributor, Symptoms of CPTSD, What is CPTSD
It’s been years since she broke free from being either goddess of the universe or scum of the earth – usually the latter more than the former. On one hand, she was bestowed extravagant devotion to the point of embarrassment. Conversely, without warning, a cloak of...
by Megan Griffith | Jan 28, 2021 | CPTSD Survivor Stories
Yes, yes you can. It took me a really long time to accept this, but it’s true. You can have all kinds of happy memories from your childhood, you can recognize that you always had enough to eat, you can know that your family loved each other, and still...
by Rebekah Brown | Jan 27, 2021 | Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Depression, Emotional Flashbacks
In the early morning hours of a winter’s day in 1944, Corrie Ten Boom stood in line for roll call at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. A middle-aged woman, she and her family had been arrested by the Nazi’s for saving Jews. Standing in that awful place surrounded by...
by Hannah Kearney | Jan 26, 2021 | Guest Contributor
When I was little, I used to love swinging across the monkey bars. I found a consistent fluidity, allowing for an area of growth and movement, but a sense of security the next rung would always be within grasp. As I aged, I lost sight of the strength and bravery it...
by Shirley Davis | Jan 25, 2021 | Emotional Flashbacks
Emotional flashbacks take a horrendous toll on those who experience them. To feel like you are in danger with all the emotions that accompany it, fear, anxiety, startle, and a myriad of other feelings without understanding where they are coming from is both...
by Rebecca Donaldson | Jan 22, 2021 | ACEs, Complex PTSD Healing, Dissociation and CPTSD, Family Estrangement
It’s been 13 years since I have been to the dentist. While I finally have insurance now, I fear going. How does someone explain to a doctor their reason for not going to the dentist for 13 years or never having had a pap smear? I prefer nobody to know my history. Even...
by Cassie Sands | Jan 21, 2021 | Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Guest Contributor
I distinctly remember the first time I met my inner child. It was the fall of 2019, and I had just started grappling with the realization that the things I went through with my parents did and do, in fact, affect me deeply. Perhaps this is obvious and easy to you,...
by Elizabeth Connis | Jan 20, 2021 | COVID-19, First Responders and CPTSD, The Brain and CPTSD, Trauma-Informed
The coronavirus pandemic has forced me (like far too many others) to think further about the world around me in a more precise, exact way. And, I know I am not alone in this. Every detail, all around us, has suddenly become very, very relevant to…. everyone. We have...
