by Rebekah Brown | Feb 22, 2023 | Abuse, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD and Inner Child Work, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Emotional Wellness, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Healthy Relationships, Parental Alienation, Relationships
A Short Childhood Story I was finally old enough to go to school and get away from my mother’s screaming, beatings, and sexual abuse. My older brother and I smiled together as we got on the school bus that day. We were both glad to be getting away. First grade was the...
by Madelon Wise | Feb 15, 2023 | ACEs, CPTSD, Gaslighting, Generational Trauma
I spent the summer of 1963 at my Aunt Sue’s house across the bay from San Francisco. It wasn’t clear to me nor is it now, exactly how Aunt Sue and I were related, but I know that her dead husband shared a name with my maternal grandfather. She was childless, and...
by Milena Koljensic | Dec 7, 2022 | Abuse, Emotional Wellness, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Relationships
Disclaimer: Partners in Men’s Health and Tar Tales — Change for Children. No one goes into a relationship wanting a partner who is mean, manipulative, and controlling. In most cases, the partner seems fine in the begging. They may be rough around the edges, but...
by Paul Michael Marinello | Dec 2, 2022 | CPTSD, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Holiday Stress, Holidays, Parental Alienation
The holiday season: despite your personal experiences during this time of year, if you asked most people upon shutting their eyes – they might picture a family meal with love and laughter, it could be a child lighting the menorah or setting a star upon a tree,...
by Paul Michael Marinello | Sep 13, 2022 | 12 Step Programs, Codependency, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Parental Alienation
For trauma sufferers as well as survivors, the burden of truth is often a difficult pill to swallow. In a recent dilemma, I have been stretched and squeezed into a mode of discomfort when it comes to decision-making. My only niece is to be married in late October....
by Jamie Donmoyer | Aug 24, 2022 | Attachment Trauma, Boundaries, Building Resilience in Healing, Codependency, Combat Trauma, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, CPTSD and Parenting, Family Estrangement, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Healthy Relationships, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Parental Aliention
The positives and pitfalls of cutting communication with a toxic parent. Written by the scapegoat child of a narcissistic parent. So, you’ve decided to go “no contact” with a toxic parent. Congratulations! Maybe you’re exhausted from the angry messages, controlling...