by Tracy Guy | Dec 19, 2024 | Betrayal, Building Resilience in Healing, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, Dysregulation, Guest Contributor, Healthy Relationships, self trust, Self-Acceptance, Shame, Trust, War & Combat Trauma
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) arises from prolonged exposure to trauma, often in situations where escape feels impossible. Unlike PTSD, which is generally linked to a single traumatic event, CPTSD develops over time in contexts like childhood abuse,...
by Morrene Hauser | Dec 18, 2024 | ACEs, CPTSD, Depression, Estrangement, Guest Contributor
***TRIGGER WARNING – The following article discusses childhood abuse. I always knew I wasn’t wanted. From as far back as I can remember, my mother told me that she had gotten pregnant with me a month after my brother was born and how she felt about that....
by Elizabeth Woods | Dec 17, 2024 | ACEs, CPTSD, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor
“Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm; when we look at each other, we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other...
by Rebekah Brown | Dec 16, 2024 | Anxiety, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Guest Contributor, Holidays, Pain, Surviving the Holidays
***TRIGGER WARNING – The following article discusses suicidal ideation and could be triggering. *** I opened the top of my prescription bottle and looked inside. There were only three little, round pills left. Xanax was more valuable to me than gold. I was...
by Gabrielle Lynch | Dec 12, 2024 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Triggers
The term “watershed moment” seems to be shorthand in news articles reporting on notable abuse allegations that survivors advance instead of the abusers. If a young person speaks up, they meet countless opinions they probably could not fathom. Their “watershed moment”...
by Rebekah Brown | Dec 11, 2024 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays
~Stepping Out of the Hopelessness Wait a minute, weren’t Thanksgiving and Christmas just last week? Here they come again. Celebration doesn’t mix well with trauma. Everyone talks about the busyness of the season as a source of stress, but for survivors of childhood...
by Lee Frost | Dec 10, 2024 | ACEs, CPTSD, Guest Contributor
***TRIGGER WARNING: The following article discusses childhood trauma and could be triggering.*** I found the photo not long after being diagnosed with CPSTD. Little broken me looking into the camera with a depth of pain and sorrow that no child should have to bear....
by STAR Network | Dec 9, 2024 | CPTSD, TAR Network, Toxic Relationships, Trauma
One of the most painful tactics in covert narcissism is turning family members against you. This manipulative strategy, designed to isolate and control, often pulls loved ones into the narcissist’s web to unknowingly serve as “flying monkeys”—trusted people who,...
by Kechi Mourer | Dec 6, 2024 | CPTSD, Family Estrangement, Guest Contributor, Holidays
The holidays are an intense time of reflection for me. I used to have a big family—a big, loud, Hispanic family—we would gather for birthdays, holidays, and random Sunday dinners. My grandmother held the group together with love and community. Those days are long...
by Jennifer DiOrio | Dec 5, 2024 | CPTSD
The physical and emotional changes associated with perimenopause and menopause can be overwhelming. Struggles with falling or staying asleep, fatigue, brain fog, hot and cold flashes, mood swings, anxiety, and a loss of motivation are common [1, 2, 3]. Unfortunately,...
