Poets Lie, Bodies Don’t: Movement Journaling with Mindy Levine
If “the moving finger writes, and having written, moves on,” as poet Omar Khayyam wrote, then I wonder if the moving body also writes in its own way. I think it must, for I see that trauma-informed yoga does exactly this. When we are not curious about the sensations...
Finding My Light
“At three, I started violin. At five, I started piano. At six, my life fell apart; my family was uprooted, and my mother, brother, and I were left homeless and penniless.” I didn’t write those words; my son did. It’s from his “getting into college essay.” Fifteen...
If Dad Were Here: Handling “Could’ve” Moments in Grieving and Trauma
A prevalent trope posits that a woman can be okay when her father faces off against her abuser. Stay away from his daughter or meet his wrath. Roots in sexism appear clear when wondering why a man becomes the focus as the hero in a story about female pain. I could...
Navigating the Dread Of Empathy in Trauma Recovery
Empathy: The Double-Edged Sword Being an empath means feeling deeply, not just for others but also for ourselves. The challenge arises when these deep feelings become too much, causing our nervous system to hit the brakes. It’s like having a heart that feels...
How Do you Emotionally Self-Regulate to Handle Life?
When feeling emotionally triggered or activated, we all have developed ways to ‘feel better’. For some, that is getting back into ourselves—being back in our bodies or getting to a calmer state. This is called emotional regulation, where we attempt to bring ourselves...
Trauma-Informed Goal Setting for Career Development
It is that time of year when we review our goals from the previous year and set goals for the next twelve months. There are all kinds of goal setting, including fitness, emotional wellness, and performance goals. In this article, I will explore the concept of career...
Effects of Trauma: The Fine Line Between Denial and Healing
Letting go comes in many forms, and letting go of denial can be an important one. It means letting go of what’s stopping you from facing fear, anxiety, isolation, and disconnection and growing and fully embracing your power. Fear and anxiety play a role in the short...
The Highway of Worries
The Highway of WorriesBy Jesse B. Donahue © 2019Neuronal pathways that run deep, deepening, and widening are so easily triggered. I sit, and my head, my being aches with a horrible sense of worry that builds to such an ongoing peak, a crescendo of pathology in a long...