by Elizabeth Marando | Dec 21, 2022 | Attachment Trauma, Boundaries, Codependency, Guest Contributor, Healing Self-Shame
Children are often raised to be emotional jesters or even emotional objects, but my upbringing represents an unconsidered scenario: being raised as a human stuffed animal. I never realized how harmful my upbringing was until I was nineteen years old and diagnosed with...
by Jeff Spiteri | Dec 15, 2022 | Boundaries, Depression, Emotional Wellness, Feeling Good Enough, Guest Contributor, Hope, Post Traumatic Growth, PTSD, Recovery, Self Care, Suicide Prevention
My Friend Steve: I met my friend Steve in a park on the west side of Chicago in a rougher neighborhood at a homeless feeding. I was on the street at the time and passing through the city riding freight trains to the west coast of the United States. Steve was 17 and...
by Rebekah Brown | Dec 15, 2022 | Boundaries, Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Hope
I watched as the old mule made one last pass across the field below my Grandmother’s house. Damp earth turned beneath the plow and I knew buried treasure would soon be exposed. My brother and I looked at one another in anticipation. It was the second half of...
by Sunny Lynn, OMC | Dec 8, 2022 | Anxiety, Boundaries, CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Mindfulness, Self Care, Self-Acceptance
How to Celebrate “The Season” Your Way (as published in The Friday Edition of HeartBalm Healing at https://heartbalm.substack.com) As we roll into November, December, and the new year, it is inevitable that the holiday season will bring challenges, anxiety, fear,...
by Susan Morris | Nov 29, 2022 | Boundaries, Building Resilience in Healing, Codependency, Domestic Violence, Emotional Wellness, Feeling Good Enough, Guest Contributor, Healing Codependency, Healing Self-Shame, Hope, Recovery, Self Care, Self-Acceptance
The aftermath of an abusive relationship can be a challenging time. You may feel like you’re not good enough, that you deserve the abuse, or that you’ll never be able to find someone else. It’s important to remember that none of these things are...
by Shirley Davis | Nov 21, 2022 | Boundaries, Complex PTSD Healing
Growing up in an abusive home, many survivors weren’t allowed to stand up for themselves; sometimes, doing so was dangerous. This lack of autonomy leaves survivors struggling with building and maintaining healthy boundaries. People who have formed complex...
