by Erena DiGonis | Mar 28, 2024 | ACEs, CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Mental Health Advocacy, Mental Health Professional
Finding the courage and strength to be heard is a huge step in the journey of healing from trauma As a trauma therapist, I am humbled and privileged to bear witness to my client’s stories in every session. In this space, I recognize the immense courage it takes...
by Jesse Donahue | Mar 27, 2024 | CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Expressive Writing, Guest Contributor
Books in elementary school… remember, or did your elementary school have a book day? Buying books that would arrive in a big box that the teacher would distribute to the purchasers/students, class. I used to buy them for the fancy covers, the sense of ownership of a...
by Leah Erickson | Mar 26, 2024 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Shame, Toxic Relationships
Even Warthogs Feel Shame One of the first things that pops into my head when I hear the word “shame” is Pumbaa from The Lion King lamenting, “Oh the shame! Thought of changin’ my name!” A lot of us who carry deep shame from childhood trauma have probably also...
by Elizabeth Woods | Mar 25, 2024 | ACEs, CPTSD, Emotional Wellness
My name is Elizabeth and I am a survivor of trauma and sexual abuse. My younger, most impressionable years were far from anything resembling a childhood, and yet I’m still here to talk about my experiences of a fragmented life. I survived in an environment where...
by Roseanne Reilly | Mar 21, 2024 | ACEs, CPTSD, Emotional Flashbacks, Guest Contributor
Returning to the Source: The process of somatic healing and nervous system restoration involves a courageous return to the source—the origins of our limiting core beliefs. As we explore the sensitivities within our nervous system and sensations held within our bodies,...
by Jesse Donahue | Mar 20, 2024 | ACEs, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Guest Contributor
The sins of the parents are relived in the lives of the children; on and on it goes, and where it stops nobody knows During my walk this morning I saw, through my ongoing educating eyes of learning about C-PTSD, the horrible childhood my mother had endured. Her real...
by Elizabeth Woods | Mar 19, 2024 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Trauma-Informed
Trauma triggers are everywhere, and it is how you deal with them and move on that is important Living with Complex PTSD is not easy. Life does not give anyone a pass on the bad times, and as survivors of child abuse, we feel everything intensely. I can only relate...
by Paul Michael Marinello | Mar 18, 2024 | CPTSD, Emotional Wellness, Loneliness
“Loneliness corresponds to a discrepancy between an individual’s preferred and actual social relations (Peplau & Perlman, 1982). This discrepancy then leads to the negative experience of feeling alone and/or the distress and dysphoria of feeling...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 15, 2024 | CPTSD and PTSD, Guest Contributor, Insomnia
What Childhood Trauma Teaches Us In my childhood, the possibility of being attacked was everywhere. I never knew what my parents were going to do. Even when I was away at school, I remained terrified I would make some small mistake that would get reported to them....
by Rachel Grant | Mar 14, 2024 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Guilt, Shame
“Shame is the feeling of humiliating disgrace of having been violated. Shame tells you that you are bad.” (from Shelter from the Storm) It becomes challenging to correct for shame because it is rooted in a negative belief. For example, “I am unlovable, because [fill...
