by Rebekah Brown | Jun 15, 2023 | Anxiety, Boundaries, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Guest Contributor
TRIGGER WARNING: This blog discusses sexual abuse ~In any bereavement, it is seldom clear what exactly is lost ~The things we have stored away deep in our hearts grapple with reality In any type of loss, there is a period of time when the loss does not seem...
by Rebekah Brown | May 3, 2023 | Attachment Trauma, Boundaries, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Family Estrangement, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Relationships, Trauma
This is the sixth and last installment in a series of blogs on relationship patterns found in dysfunctional families. We have seen how abusive families put members in roles and the way abusers dodge responsibility by blaming others and forcing children to become...
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 Elizabeth Woods | Apr 19, 2023 | Boundaries, Guest Contributor
Relatives who do not respect boundaries I’m a survivor of CSA and horrific trauma. The law in most of the world states that you are not an adult until you turn 18. It means that until then, you are at the mercy of your parents. It doesn’t matter if your parents...
by Madelon Wise | Apr 12, 2023 | Addiction, Boundaries, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Family Estrangement, Guest Contributor, Parental Alienation, Shame
I was here again in Colorado, staying in my stepsister’s depressing bedroom with the same intention as I had in 1968 when I returned to my parent’s home in an attempt to heal the never-ending rift between us. Dad worked as a pharmaceutical representative, and all of...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 29, 2023 | Attachment Trauma, Boundaries, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Generational Trauma, Guest Contributor, Healing from Toxic Shame, Living with Disabilities, Parental Alienation, Toxic Relationships, Trauma
When you look at patterns within dysfunctional family systems, without fail, you will find the hallmark of a false narrative. The engine of the family system runs on untruths, half-truths, and constructed reality. And it doesn’t start where your story begins....