by Belinda Pyle | Apr 7, 2023 | Anxiety, Building Resilience in Healing, Combat Trauma, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Depression, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor, Healthy Relationships, Hope, Life Management Skills, Post Traumatic Growth, PTSD, Recovery, Relationships, Self Care, Self-Acceptance, Symptoms of CPTSD, Trauma
The stigma surrounding medications for mental illness often drives people away from what they need most. Many people innocently say, “I hate taking medications” or “I would never take them”. Isn’t it lovely that some people have a choice? People who don’t need...
by Shigeko Ito | Mar 31, 2023 | Anxiety, CPTSD and PTSD, Depression, Guest Contributor, Shame, Trauma
Sometimes I wonder what might have happened to me had I stayed in Japan. Might I have joined the million-plus ranks of hikikomori (shut-ins withdrawn from society) that exist in Japan today? This is an unsettling thought. It’s difficult to dismiss the hikikomori issue...
by Milena Koljensic | Feb 17, 2023 | CPTSD, Depression, Grief, Guest Contributor, Pain, Trauma
I spent my childhood terrified of the word “death”. I can remember lying in bed feeling my heart swell in my chest every time the thought of death crossed my mind. I feared death because my parents were much older than the parents of my peers — the thought of losing...
by Rebekah Brown | Jan 26, 2023 | Anxiety, Complex PTSD Healing, Depression, Emotional Flashbacks, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor, Hope, Mindfulness, Trauma, Trauma-Informed
Meditation is ceasing daily activity and entering into a focused time of attention on the inner life. It is one of the four components that create structure bringing about transformation in the life of a trauma survivor. The four components are regular mealtimes,...
by Sunny Lynn, OMC | Jan 5, 2023 | CPTSD, Depression, Dissociation and CPTSD, Guest Contributor
The Downward Spiral of Flashbacks & Dissociative Episodes (as published in The Friday Edition of HeartBalm Healing at https://heartbalm.substack.com) Recently, a very painful and triggering event dropped me into a deep hole of flashbacks and dissociation. Over the...
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...
