The Rock and the Hard Place
I only found the “language” surrounding CPTSD very late in my life. Learning the reason for my decades of dysfunction and brokenness was my fiftieth birthday present from the universe–a genuine revelation. And long overdue. Like so many people who...
The Body Knew Before I Did
How I accidentally built a healing practice without knowing what I was healing from In 1987, I walked into a job interview in Montreal and couldn’t say my own name. I was twenty-two. Two days earlier, I’d been at a party with friends, cracking jokes,...
In Fight Mode: When Survival Looks Like Defiance
Trigger Warning: This post contains references to traumatic childhood experiences, including recalled memories of abuse and descriptions of the author’s trauma responses. Please take care while reading. I’m surprised I wasn’t born wearing a tiny pair of...
How Collaging Brings Me Peace, Confidence, and Empowerment
It’s a gloomy winter evening, my seasonal depression is at its worst, and I’ve just finished a difficult day at work. What’s keeping me together? Ripping, cutting, arranging, and gluing pieces of textured paper down on a page in my art journal. My mind goes from...