Feast and Famine
Healing is a little like coming off a diet that you didn’t want to be on in the first place. Suddenly, all the things you craved (along with some things you didn’t even know you wanted) lay before you like a feast. You find yourself at life’s table, ravenous and ready...
Living With Trauma: A Life On The Edge
Living with Trauma is not easy. It can include a daily rollercoaster of emotions, most of which are unwelcome. It feels like being inside a constant washer spin cycle of hurling emotions, as we plunge in and out of trauma memories. Some days, the nightmares keep us...
5 New Ways to Make Your Work Environment Support Your Healing Journey
As trauma survivors, we know all too well how our surroundings can profoundly impact our healing journey. Our work environment, where we spend a significant portion of our days, is no exception. It can either be a source of stress that hinders our recovery or a...
Nurturing the Garden, Nurturing the Self
This summer, I am celebrating ten years of gardening, so I thought it would be a great time to share some of the benefits I’ve discovered and experienced from this wonderful hobby. Stress Relief: Beneficial microbes in organic soil are proven to alleviate stress,...
How the Narcissistic Parent Uses Annihilation
Narcissistic Behavior I watched as the rage my father always carried washed over his face. Turing red, he stared at me with threatening eyes. I immediately looked for a way to back down. I had stepped over the boundary and committed the unpardonable sin—I had...
When Did the Tears Stop?
TRIGGER WARNING: This article discusses child abuse and suicidal ideation, which may be triggering for some readers. When I reflect on the earliest parts of my childhood, from approximately the ages of four to eight, the thing that stands out to me the most is how...
The Smoldering Embers of C-PTSD
The Smoldering Embers of Complex PTSDBy Jesse B. Donahue 2024 ©The metaphor of smoldering embers nicely depicts my experience of day-to-day life. No smoke is coming from my ears, but hiding and avoiding social experiences are efforts to control a threatening fire....
CPTSD and the Brain: A Battle Inside Your Head
The human brain is a wild mix of wiring, chemistry, and memory, running everything from your heartbeat to your deepest thoughts–all while somehow letting you remember the lyrics to songs you haven’t heard in twenty years. Beautifully magnificent… and sometimes,...