by Dr. Mozelle Martin | Jun 5, 2025 | Boundaries, CPTSD, Guest Contributor, Healing from Toxic Shame, Mental Health Awareness, Mental Health Professional, Polyvagal Theory and CPTSD, Self-Acceptance, Symptoms of CPTSD
It often looks like compassion. It often gets praised as loyalty. But for many trauma survivors, the behavior known as the fawn response isn’t about kindness—it is about survival. The fawn response is the least recognized of the four primary trauma reactions: fight,...
by Polly Hansen | May 29, 2025 | ACEs, CPTSD, Emotional Wellness, Guest Contributor, Healing from Toxic Shame
“It’s amazing you survived. How come you’re so…normal and happy?”That’s what people say when I tell my story: parental neglect, sexual abuse, homelessness, being trafficked. My answer? I never gave up on me. Why? Because I wanted me. I wanted to believe I was good,...
by Bonni Benton | Dec 31, 2024 | CPTSD, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Gaslighting, Healing from Toxic Shame, Mental Health Advocacy
Part 5 of 5. Read the previous post here: https://cptsdfoundation.org/2024/10/09/the-weaponization-of-ambiguity-a-call-to-rename-npd-to-support-victims-of-sociopathic-violence-in-a-world-of-rising-narcissism-part-4/ Mushrooms are notorious for only being...
by Morrene Hauser | Oct 31, 2024 | ACEs, CPTSD, CPTSD and PTSD, Emotional Wellness, Family Disease, Guest Contributor, Healing from Toxic Shame
The first time I remember feeling shame was on my fifth birthday. MyMom’s boyfriend had just given me a present, and before I opened it, Imade some flippant comment in an effort to be funny. Although time haserased the words that came from my mouth that day, my...
by Bonni Benton | Oct 9, 2024 | CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Gaslighting, Healing from Toxic Shame, Mental Health Advocacy
Continued from: https://cptsdfoundation.org/2024/09/25/the-weaponization-of-ambiguity-a-call-to-rename-npd-to-support-victims-of-sociopathic-violence-in-a-world-of-rising-narcissism-part-3/ I want to preface the following with a distinction between “a narc” and...
by Bonni Benton | Sep 25, 2024 | CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Gaslighting, Guest Contributor, Healing from Toxic Shame, Mental Health Advocacy
Continued from Part 2: https://cptsdfoundation.org/2024/09/19/the-weaponization-of-ambiguity-a-call-to-rename-npd-to-support-victims-of-sociopathic-violence-in-a-world-of-rising-narcissism-part-2/ In an oversaturated language, I ran out of words to describe the extent...