by Elizabeth Woods | Dec 8, 2022 | Abuse, CPTSD, Family Estrangement, Guest Contributor
I’m a survivor of sexual child abuse and horrific trauma. My start in life was difficult and painful and I grew up not knowing “how to live”. I didn’t know how to be a human being. I had no identity. I had not traveled and had no passport....
by Sunny Lynn, OMC | Dec 8, 2022 | Anxiety, Boundaries, CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Mindfulness, Self Care, Self-Acceptance
How to Celebrate “The Season” Your Way (as published in The Friday Edition of HeartBalm Healing at https://heartbalm.substack.com) As we roll into November, December, and the new year, it is inevitable that the holiday season will bring challenges, anxiety, fear,...
by Milena "Mila" Stankovic | Dec 7, 2022 | Abuse, Emotional Wellness, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Relationships
Disclaimer: Partners in Men’s Health and Tar Tales — Change for Children. No one goes into a relationship wanting a partner who is mean, manipulative, and controlling. In most cases, the partner seems fine in the begging. They may be rough around the edges, but...
by Robyn Brickel | Dec 7, 2022 | CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Trauma-Informed
Change in the most basic form means to become or make something different. Changes happen for everyone, whether they are small or large. They can be detours on the road due to construction, your favorite coffee shop closing, your child going to school, a relationship...
by Rebekah Brown | Dec 6, 2022 | Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Hope
I’d like to tell you about impossibilities. I live in the hottest desert in North America, yet, we pick oranges in January. Out in my yard, a giant succulent named fire stick ought to be green all year, but it turns bright orange in December. Flowers put forth their...
by Jamie Donmoyer | Dec 6, 2022 | Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor, Healing from Toxic Shame, Healing Self-Shame, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Shame, Symptoms of CPTSD, The Brain and CPTSD, Trauma, Trauma-Informed
Perched on a stone wall between Starbucks and a fancy purse boutique, I peer over my phone. The Hollywood Tower of Terror glows in the distance as determined parents push strollers filled with exhausted toddlers, bubble machines, and sippy cups. They can’t leave...
by Shirley Davis | Dec 5, 2022 | ACEs, CPTSD
Trauma and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) go hand-in-hand. You cannot have CPTSD without first experiencing repeated and severely traumatic events. However, you can experience trauma without forming CPTSD. What is trauma, and how is it connected to...
by Paul Michael Marinello | Dec 2, 2022 | CPTSD, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Parental Alienation
The holiday season: despite your personal experiences during this time of year, if you asked most people upon shutting their eyes – they might picture a family meal with love and laughter, it could be a child lighting the menorah or setting a star upon a tree,...
by Rebekah Brown | Dec 1, 2022 | Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Hope
For a trauma survivor, there is no greater time for struggle and disappointment than the holidays. All the promises of hope, love, togetherness, and peace are empty echoes of the things we always wanted but could never have. When families and relationships are...
by Brittany N. Dickey | Nov 30, 2022 | Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Surviving the Holidays, Uncategorized
1 Month | 3 Days | 15 Hours Till Holiday Season Ends Every year I battle depression during the holidays, and every year I judge myself for seeing the world through glass-half-empty lenses. Because let’s be real, no one actually likes the glass-half-empty relative or...
