by Adina Lynn LeCompte | Jun 10, 2024 | 12 Step Programs, Addiction, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Guest Contributor, Healing from Toxic Shame, Recovery, Self-Acceptance, Sexual Abuse, Shame, Sobriety, Substance Abuse
The imagined scene fades in: silhouette and shadow, sepia and blue-black charcoal. Fading dusk bleeds its final hint of burnt sienna. The rhythmic slap and skip-step of a single figure jumping rope. Those turning the rope and their haunting sing-song chant are just...
by Celeste Mendelsohn | Sep 22, 2023 | 12 Step Programs, CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Yoga
I enjoy reading the sayings on my meditation app. I’ve also enjoyed sharing some of them in various places on social media recently. Today, I found one that connected for me, immediately, but that I hadn’t heard in its current iteration before: “Nobody can bring you...
by Madelon Wise | May 2, 2023 | 12 Step Programs, Addiction, Boundaries, Healthy Relationships, LGBTQ, Relationships
Once you come to your senses… Sarah and I kept in close contact after they moved, and I expected her support when I finally made the decision to leave my marriage. I was wrong. I had fallen in love with another woman. I think of this affair as more of a catalyst...
by Paul Michael Marinello | Sep 13, 2022 | 12 Step Programs, Codependency, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Parental Alienation
For trauma sufferers as well as survivors, the burden of truth is often a difficult pill to swallow. In a recent dilemma, I have been stretched and squeezed into a mode of discomfort when it comes to decision-making. My only niece is to be married in late October....
by Paul Michael Marinello | Jul 13, 2022 | 12 Step Programs, CPTSD, Gaslighting, Grief, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Parental Alienation
“I will admit, in my darkest moments my hope for others is much clearer than my hope for myself.” Anna-Maija Lee For the purposes of understanding this post, please review the following terms as it comes to parental alienation, alienating parent (a parent or loved one...
by Paul Michael Marinello | May 10, 2022 | 12 Step Programs, Family Estrangement, Gaslighting, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Parental Alienation
On May 9th of this year, it will have been a full 365 days since I was erased from my daughter’s life. The process of alienating a child from a loving parent often takes years of quietly applied maneuvering, codependence, coercion, and the profound altering of a...