Control As a Trauma Response: Knowing You Were Powerless Helps You Heal
After living through abuse, neglect, or violence, it’s normal to promise yourself you will never let that happen again. That promise seems to make sense. You need to feel safe, to find some sense of control. Otherwise, the danger and powerlessness you feel are too...
What is Healing Through Parenting?
Healing Through Parenting is a trauma-informed approach to parenting that helps reduce misbehavior and increase cooperation using just 4 simple steps. Healing Through Parenting focuses on addressing the underlying emotions that drive behavior in children, as well as...The Paradox
Strange is my life, when I glaze off into the distance looking at my willow trees in my childhood garden, in my mind, I know why I do it now so many years later. This wonderful brain gave me a way to see something beautiful when something fracturing was done to my...Research on How Positive Childhood Experiences Change the Outcome of Children Who Experience Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to cause multiple types of illnesses and early death later in life (Felitti et al., 1998). ACEs cause untold misery and heartache because they shake the very fundamental foundations of who we believe we are and how we...The Threat of Peace
Hypervigilance: The state of being highly alert to potential danger or threat I sat on the floor practicing my trauma techniques as I rubbed my hands across the thick bedroom carpet. Grounding myself in the present, I took a deep breath. My eyes rested on a favorite...
The diagnosis of Complex PTSD
I still recall with almost crystal-like clarity the day my therapist first said I might have a form of PTSD. I found the idea to be ridiculous. I was so very normal. Nothing had ever happened to me. Nothing. As a matter of fact, that was one of the primary reasons I...This is What Triggered My Panic Attack!
Me: I am going to have a heart attack! Let’s get the ECG done, or else it would be too late. My rational mind: No, it can’t be a heart attack. RELAX! Me: I’m unable to breathe, and my chest hurts. It’s definitely an attack. My rational mind: If so, gather courage and...Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Childhood Experiences: Can One Mitigate the Effects of the Other?
Childhood should be a carefree time full of learning and joy. However, many children aren’t that lucky and grow up in homes that are dysfunctional and abusive. These encounters are known as adverse childhood experiences and change the future of the child forever. One...