by Elizabeth Woods | May 12, 2026 | CPTSD, CPTSD Poetry
Trigger Warning: This guest post contains sensitive material that may be distressing for some readers. It includes themes related to childhood trauma, including sexual abuse, as well as emotional pain, memory, and recovery. A poem within the post reflects on these...
by Heather Jurvelin | Jan 26, 2026 | ACEs, Childhood Sexual Abuse, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, CPTSD Poetry, Guest Contributor
Trigger Warning: Detailed Description of Child Abuse I wrote this poem a few months ago, drawing from the well of ancient, long-buried feelings about the first time my mom forced my mouth open and poured Dawn dish soap into it. I was four. Although I had received...
by Heather Jurvelin | Oct 9, 2025 | Attachment Trauma, CPTSD and PTSD, CPTSD Poetry, Guest Contributor
I don’t always feel hopeful or strong. Abandoned insecurities masquerade as anxiety Splintering me into a million shards I seek safety in an impossibility A home to isolated and...
by Sunny Lynn, OMC | Aug 23, 2023 | ACEs, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD Poetry, Guest Contributor
The Game Afoot: Repatterning Old Patterns (as published in The Friday Edition of HeartBalm Healing at https://heartbalm.substack.com) There is a game afoot! It is there lying in wait for the next time you do something or act a certain way that mirrors an old pattern...
by Sunny Lynn, OMC | Nov 9, 2022 | Anxiety, Building Resilience in Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD Poetry, Dissociation and CPTSD
Haunted: The Recurring Horrors of CPTSD (as published in The Friday Edition of HeartBalm Healing at https://heartbalm.substack.com) It’s that time of the year – scary ghost stories, eerie face masks and costumes, and tricks and treats. Yet while it feels natural to be...
by Roseanne Reilly | Jan 4, 2022 | Anxiety, Building Resilience in Healing, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD Poetry, Hope, Hypervigilance, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD, Self Care, The Brain and CPTSD
We can know we are safe and still not feel safe? We come into the world wired for connection and safety. How do we shift from the appearance of safety to the experience of this at a neurological and physiological level? While we may think our brains are in charge, our...
