by Jesse Donahue | Oct 11, 2023 | ACEs, CPTSD, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor
What does repeated trauma do to our emotions and why can a troubled childhood last a lifetime if not healed? Because experienced, generated emotions are alive! Throughout my entire life, I have not understood emotions, as they have always been a mystery to me. They...
by Susan Gold | Sep 28, 2023 | ACEs, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD
A cold sense of violence about to explode filled the airless kitchen. I paused and took a breath while gripping the tile beneath me with my small bare feet waiting for the eruption while plotting my exit. I felt my solar plexus tighten as my face went hot and time...
by Wendy Hoke | Aug 30, 2023 | ACEs, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Emotional Flashbacks, PTSD, Symptoms of CPTSD, Trauma, Trauma-Informed
I often find myself caught between two feelings. The first is the instinct to correct and clarify when someone misuses a term associated with my experience. The second is the desire to be understanding and non-judgmental. After all, everyone’s trauma is valid, no...
by Sunny Lynn, OMC | Aug 23, 2023 | ACEs, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD Poetry, Guest Contributor
The Game Afoot: Repatterning Old Patterns (as published in The Friday Edition of HeartBalm Healing at https://heartbalm.substack.com) There is a game afoot! It is there lying in wait for the next time you do something or act a certain way that mirrors an old pattern...
by Rachel Grant | Aug 22, 2023 | ACEs, CPTSD, Guest Contributor
In a meditation about regret I did recently, I was asked to allow a moment to arise in which I felt regret – to not direct it but just be open to what needed to show itself. My thoughts traveled to, “I regret being born.” I almost popped out of the...
by Rebekah Brown | Aug 16, 2023 | Abandonment and CPTSD, ACEs, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Guest Contributor, Trauma
Meaning—What does the loss & its impact say about me? I sat on the back porch of our custom-built little house in the backwoods of Virginia. I had everything I’d ever dreamed of except for one thing. A life. I thought I’d be free. Instead, I was drowning in...
