by Madelon Wise | Jun 29, 2023 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Sexual Abuse, Shame
***TRIGGER WARNING: This blog discusses sexual abuse*** In the early days of my marriage, we moved to a different state every year for five years because that’s what my husband wanted. In Iowa the second time, I spent most of my time cooking, baking, and cleaning for...
by Rebekah Brown | Jun 28, 2023 | Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Family Estrangement, Narcissistic Personality Disorder
For part one of this series see What are The Roles in Dysfunctional Families Systems? A Short Childhood Story My brother glanced at me as we “read” the emotional temperature of the room. What was tonight going to be like? My mother already had one of those frowns on...
by Milena "Mila" Stankovic | Jun 27, 2023 | Guest Contributor, Relationships
Signs to look out for! Friends make our lives richer. But every now and again, friendships take more than they give. You have probably seen examples of toxic friendships in movies or TV shows — for example, Anna Delvey and her “friends” in “Inventing Anna,” or the...
by Shirley Davis | Jun 26, 2023 | Brain Chemistry, CPTSD, Gaslighting
Do you shake in your boots at the thought of seeing a doctor? Do you go out of your way to keep from seeing one? If so, you are not alone. Many people, especially those with mental health challenges, fear doctors. This piece will concentrate on the fear of doctors,...
by Rachel Grant | Jun 23, 2023 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor
We are all liars In the very moment that our trust is violated and we are abused, we have to make a decision – will we tell or will we cover it up?Most of us, because we are young when the abuse occurs, don’t even make this decision in a deeply insightful way. We...
by Terry Baranski | Jun 22, 2023 | CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Guest Contributor, Hypervigilance
Introduction One of the banes of our culture’s psychiatric ideology is its tendency to pathologize mental health difficulties as “disorders” and “diseases”, both of which imply that there’s something wrong with a person that needs to be fixed. This often leads someone...
by Milena "Mila" Stankovic | Jun 21, 2023 | Dr. Jamie Huyman, Guest Contributor, Mental Health Professional, TAR Tales, Trauma-Informed
Dr. Jamie, a trauma-certified therapist and our advisor wholeheartedly believes that caregiving has been too reliant on co-dependency as a core issue of compassion fatigue. Many of us care for our dependents: adults, seniors, and children because of genuine love....
by Sheri Heller | Jun 21, 2023 | ACEs, Brain Chemistry, CPTSD and PTSD, Guest Contributor, Recovery, Trauma-Informed
God asks no person whether he or she will accept life. That is not the choice. You must take it. The only choice is how ~ Henry Ward Beecher Trauma is a penetrating wound and injury, which threatens one’s life and arrests the course of normal development by its...
by Eric Zuniga | Jun 20, 2023 | CPTSD, Grief, Guest Contributor
It is a beautiful spring day, and all I want to do is pray. In my quirky way, I sat on the couch where the cushions did slouch. I then unzipped my drawing pouch. With my assortment of pencils, markers, and such, I started sketching an image of guess who? It was you! I...
by Shirley Davis | Jun 19, 2023 | ACEs, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, LGBTQ, LGBTQ and Complex Trauma Healing
With all the trauma the LGBTQIA+ community faces nowadays, we must discuss how complex trauma from your past has shaped who you are today. No, I don’t mean that childhood trauma caused you to be gay; you were born that way. However, there are many ways that...
