by Roger Reynolds | May 26, 2022 | CPTSD Survivor Stories, Dissociation and CPTSD, Domestic Violence, Guest Contributor
(content warning: spanking, physical violence, blood) Which word? Violence or abuse is semantics, a distinction without a difference. Which word to use is not the most important consideration. If you have lived with No Contact Physical Violence/Abuse, what is most...
by Jamie Donmoyer | May 25, 2022 | CPTSD, Emotional Flashbacks, Guest Contributor, Hypervigilance, Narcissistic Personality Disorder
TRIGGER WARNING: This article discusses sexually illicit behavior. ___________________________________________________________ Excerpt from “GETTING HELP DAY 22 (8–5–21) ‘Because Horton Was Right’” posted on Medium.com 8/5/2021 Prologue: In July 2021...
by Cathy Hillman | May 24, 2022 | Childhood Sexual Abuse, CPTSD, Guest Contributor
TRIGGER WARNING At age ten, I knew that I could not play any party games involving my face being covered. That ruled out some party favourites straight away. Pin the tail on the donkey. Murder in the dar. Blind man’s bluff. And so, to avoid the embarrassment of not...
by Shirley Davis | May 23, 2022 | Emotional Flashbacks, Triggers
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a complicated and life-altering mental health challenge formed when a person is under extreme distress with no escape. Many symptoms accompany CPTSD, with perhaps the most painful being the horrific flashbacks one...
by Sylvie Rouhani | May 20, 2022 | Abandonment and CPTSD, ACEs, Addiction, Attachment Trauma, Codependency, Emotional Flashbacks, Guest Contributor, Healing Codependency, Relationships, Self-Acceptance
When a new relationship starts (actually, it doesn’t even need to start), we are overwhelmed with emotional flashbacks from younger “Inner Parts” desperate to be loved, protected, and supported. and other parts of us will do anything to appease these...
by Robyn Brickel | May 19, 2022 | Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor, Trauma, Trauma-Informed
The hard parts of life happen every day. Sometimes everything feels like a hard part — especially for trauma survivors. Being in traffic Arguing with partner Running late A dog growling Rising gas prices A certain smell Someone’s tone of voice An interaction that...
by Maria Anna van Driel | May 18, 2022 | Addiction, CPTSD, Guest Contributor
ADHD, PTSD, CPTSD, and Narcissism. Although these conditions are different, they all have one thing in common and that is ‘masking’ aka social camouflaging. Masking, first used to describe the act of concealing disgust by Ekman (1972) and Friesen (1969), is a...
by Sylvie Rouhani | May 17, 2022 | ACEs, Attachment Trauma, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Guest Contributor, Trauma-Informed
*** Trigger Warning*** please take care of yourself while reading this post: graphic details of Child Sexual Abuse ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ When we were children, adults often told us to...
by Jamie Donmoyer | May 17, 2022 | EMDR, Guest Contributor, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Self Care
Originally posted on Medium.com April 27, 2022* In August of 2021, I began EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy to deal with childhood trauma. With 15 years of talk therapy under my belt, I’d just finished a month of Cognitive Behavioral...
by Shirley Davis | May 16, 2022 | Complex PTSD Healing, Recovery, Trauma
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a condition that causes life-altering problems for those who experience it. The symptoms of CPTSD occur due to complex trauma, and building resilience is vital. In this article, we shall explore how to build resilience...