by Shigeko Ito | Mar 7, 2023 | ACEs, Anxiety, Attachment Trauma, CPTSD, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Generational Trauma, Guest Contributor
Growing up in Japan with a workaholic surgeon father, an often-absent socialite mother, and two older brothers who were seldom around, I was mostly raised by a revolving door of caregivers. This unstable home environment likely made me a melancholic, anxious child...
by Elizabeth Woods | Mar 7, 2023 | CPTSD and PTSD, Emotional Wellness, Family Estrangement, Grief, Guest Contributor
My name is Elizabeth and I am a survivor of CSA and horrific trauma. Abuse and fear are all I can remember from my childhood. I was a sex toy, loaned out for the pleasure of my so-called father’s and his pedophile friends’ enjoyment from his sports club. I was...
by Shirley Davis | Mar 6, 2023 | CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Emotional Wellness
All of us have core beliefs that we hold about ourselves. These beliefs shape who we fundamentally are and how we behave. This article, the first in this series, will focus on negative core beliefs, what they are, and how they affect our lives. What are Core Beliefs?...
by Madelon Wise | Mar 3, 2023 | ACEs, CPTSD, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Family Estrangement, Grief, Guest Contributor
Mom died in July 1960 at the age of 42 when I was 9 years old. My father remarried a year later. They said that it was a heart attack. Later in life, my oldest brother, Mike, and I would speculate for hours on end over glasses of wine about whether she had taken her...
by Cyndi Bennett | Mar 2, 2023 | Building Resilience in Healing, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Emotional Flashbacks, Guest Contributor, Life Management Skills, Occupational Mental Health & CPTSD, Symptoms of CPTSD, Trauma, Triggers, Workplace Trauma
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash One of the defining characteristics of CPTSD is severe and persistent problems in affect regulation. In my first article, I wrote, “Affect regulation, sometimes called emotional dysregulation, relates to having strongly felt...
by Elizabeth Woods | Mar 1, 2023 | CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD and PTSD, Family Estrangement, Guest Contributor
A child that has suffered trauma and abuse in one form or other has had to adapt to the stressors and hurt. It doesn’t matter if the abuse was emotional, physical, or sexual, that child has been damaged in his or her development. In an abusive environment, a...
by Lee Frost | Feb 28, 2023 | Complex PTSD Healing, Guest Contributor
When I first heard the term “authentic self,” I rolled my eyes. But in the 17 months since getting diagnosed with CPTSD, I’ve learned how important it is to discover your authentic self. It never occurred to me that I didn’t know who I was, and it pains me to think...
by Rebekah Brown | Feb 27, 2023 | Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, Healthy Relationships, Holiday Stress, Relationships
“A relationship wound requires a relationship cure.” -Mary Demuth February is the month of relationships. Love, love, love. Even the stupid dollar store is aflutter with hearts and chocolates. In case you didn’t get the hint from the holiday, relationships are...
by Ramon Diaz | Feb 24, 2023 | Brain Chemistry, Guest Contributor, Mental Health Advocacy, Mental Health Professional
The news and social media are some of the major ways that people are informed of current events, crises, and the latest social phenomena influencing ideas in society. Currently, the news is reporting on how Twitter, a major social media platform, colluded with federal...
by Cyndi Bennett | Feb 23, 2023 | Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Emotional Flashbacks, Guest Contributor, Life Management Skills, Occupational Mental Health & CPTSD, Post Traumatic Growth, PTSD, Trauma
Photo by Miłosz Klinowski on Unsplash When we Google personal safety in the workplace, the results will be related to environmental issues related to safety, such as OSHA, etc. IGI Global defines personal safety as “a basic need to be free of physical harm,...