by Madelon Wise | Jan 3, 2023 | ACEs, Addiction, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Guest Contributor
They were my only true friends, the books. Comic books. Fairy tales. Nancy Drew. I read incessantly, hoping to create a shell and a safe zone from the chaos all around me. I would get lost in the books. I loved having a world where I could go. They were at it again....
by Shirley Davis | Sep 26, 2022 | Addiction, CPTSD
One of the defining symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is emotional dysregulation which can lead to survivors looking for ways to cope with how they feel. Unfortunately, opioids are one of the ways that people with CPTSD turn for relief. This...
by Penny Payton | Aug 30, 2022 | Addiction, Anxiety, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor
When I first started this journey back on Easter of 2012, I had no idea where it would lead me. Somehow it seemed as if I was being led away from a life that had not been right for me and shoved onto an entirely new path. Now almost eight years later I can see why and...
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 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 Kelly Palmer | Mar 8, 2022 | Addiction, Guest Contributor, Recovery
Why are we so reluctant to let go of outdated ideas and concepts, terrified that we will relapse if we don’t maintain the status quo? Recovery is about stories. Stories of hope, stories of change. In addiction, the stories we tell about ourselves...
