Birds Of A Feather: Pranksters and Brats Inc.
The closest I’ve ever been to anyone is my sister Melanie. She is my blood, my personal cheerleader, my referee, my best friend, and my counselor; though, during our childhood, she was also my scapegoat. Melanie and I are as different as vinegar and honey. She is...
You Are Worth the Fight
***Trigger warning: This article discusses child abuse.*** Eight years ago, I had the joy of connecting with Rebecca O’Donnell, author of Freak: The True Story of an Insecurity Addict. I immediately adored her fierceness, authenticity, and willingness to take on...
The Secret to Expanding Your Professional Comfort Zone: Micro-Stretches for Your Window of Tolerance
As trauma survivors, many of us have found that our window of tolerance — our capacity to handle stress and stay regulated — can feel frustratingly narrow in professional settings. But here’s a secret I’ve discovered on my own journey: we can gradually expand this...
The Wounds That Don’t Show
Reclaiming Safety after Narcissistic Abuse This post explores the unseen consequences of narcissistic abuse, the breakdown of psychological and physiological safety, and the slow, sacred journey of healing ‘functional freeze’ that invites us to reclaim our...
Consequences Of Absence of CPTSD Diagnoses in DSM-5
The lack of a complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPSTSD) diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the diagnostic resource used in the United States, can cause detrimental consequences. Without a CPTSD...
Finding Calm in the Chaos: My Journey with CPTSD
Somewhere along the way in my healing journey, I’ve stopped seeing myself as CPTSD personified. I don’t know the exact moment it happened; there wasn’t some grand epiphany or movie-montage-style healing moment. But slowly, quietly, I started seeing myself as… just me....
How Do We Live Amidst Uncertainty?
I am grateful to each of you who reads our articles, blogs, and messages. I am also so grateful to have followed my own dream and started writing, developing this space that allows me to share information in these posts. As we continue to live in what seems like...
CPTSD and Progressive Illness
The Invisible Wounds By Tracy Guy, BNurs, GradDipCounsel & Alison Rose-Hughes, BNurs. Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) is often associated with chronic, repeated trauma. Unlike PTSD, which can stem from a single incident, CPTSD develops through...