Hiding in Plain Sight
When is it a good time to admit to your therapist that you have literally army crawled through your house like Rambo to avoid answering the door? I surely can’t be the only one to pin myself up against the wall and peek through the curtains, waiting for the...
Letter of Encouragement
Dear One, You’ve walked through storms that tested every part of you, and you stood back up, with courage in your heart. PTSD may have shaped part of your story, but it does not define who you are. You are still whole, still capable, and your light and strength...
When Being “Good” Hurts: The Doormat Syndrome
Setting Boundaries and Protecting Your Peace of Mind: Yes, because of my CPTSD, I was a people-pleaser. This was like a survival-mode I learned as a child. And that doormat syndrome was often painful for me, for many years. Until one day, I had had enough and decided...
When Dysregulation is not what First Appears: Differentiating BPD, CPTSD with Attachment Dysregulation, Trauma-Bonded Anxious Attachment, Chronic Pain Identity, and Long-Term Instability
In clinical and forensic settings, I have observed evaluators confuse intensity with diagnosis. High emotional amplitude is persuasive. It pulls focus. It pressures the room. But intensity is not structure. Presentation is not etiology. If we fail to separate the...