by Rebekah Brown | Apr 23, 2021 | ACEs, Attachment Trauma, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD and PTSD, CPTSD Survivor Stories
The Voice Box No-Talk Rule – This foundational dysfunctional family rule demands children never tell the truth to outsiders and never speak up to their abusers. (always be kind to yourself as you read, as some content may feel triggering) Blurry shapes...
by Rebekah Brown | Apr 15, 2021 | Abandonment and CPTSD, Attachment Trauma, Complex PTSD Healing, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor, Healthy Relationships
The Friend of Love My best friend is moving away. She’d been dropping hints for months, but I decided to retreat behind a wall of denial and hope for the best. The best was not to be. Ellen is moving, and there isn’t anything I can do about it. We had our share of...
by Rebekah Brown | Apr 7, 2021 | Attachment Trauma, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Feeling Good Enough, Outer Critic, Self-Acceptance
First grade was the first time in my life I felt understood. I loved everything about school. The snacks, the smell of mimeographed worksheets, learning how to read and write, the playground, and most of all, I loved my teacher Mrs. King. She was the first adult I had...
by Andrew Corbett | Mar 29, 2021 | Attachment Trauma, CPTSD, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Symptoms of CPTSD, The Brain and CPTSD
It’s around 8 or 9 on a Saturday night and I’m on a 3-hour drive home. I’m returning from the field research I do every weekend in California’s Central Valley as part of my graduate studies. I’m feeling horrible, but not because of any particular event or problem. The...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 24, 2021 | Attachment Trauma, CPTSD, CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Emotional Flashbacks, Outer Critic, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD, Symptoms of CPTSD, The Brain and CPTSD
The Thumb-Sucker Fight or flight: the instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation, which readies one either to resist forcibly or to run away. **Please be kind to yourself as you read** I thought I was safe. At four years old, I believed if I...
by Rebecca Donaldson | Jan 14, 2021 | ACEs, Attachment Trauma, Complex PTSD Healing, Pyschotherapy, Trauma-Informed, Treatment for CPTSD
To those who have ever been harmed in therapy, I am sorry. To those who continue to ruminate over what happened and are unable to move past it, I can relate. We may never receive the answer we are looking for, but we can learn to be gentle with ourselves. I wrote this...