If you’ve read my blog for more than five minutes, you already know I’ve been on this healing ride for a long while. Long enough to have collected a whole scrapbook of “Oh wow, I finally get it” moments… and an equally thick stack of “what fresh hell is this?” ones.

You’d think by now I’d be used to what I can only describe as “the whiplash:” the emotional ebbs, the flows, and the rogue waves that smack you right in the face when you’re just trying to mind your business.

Hate to break it to you, but… nope. Still not used to it. Not even close.

When Every Emotion Shows Up Uninvited

The last 48 hours have felt like hitting some kind of emotional epicenter, as though every feeling I’ve ever had RSVP’d “yes” and showed up early. It’s blindsided me, if I’m honest. I still don’t know what to do with all of it. I’m just here, trying to breathe through the overwhelm and trying not to judge myself for having a nervous system that occasionally goes full fireworks display for no clear reason.

But this is the work, right? Showing up even when you don’t feel ready.

The Junk Drawer of Feelings We Pretend Doesn’t Exist

Sitting with what hurts instead of shoving it back into the drawer to deal with it later. We’ve all done it, right? Slid something painful into that imaginary junk drawer, intending to deal with it later–even though we know “later” could mean anywhere from next week to the next decade. And then one day that drawer bursts open like a pissed-off jack-in-the-box, and suddenly you’re knee-deep in feelings you did not schedule into your day.

That’s kind of what this week has felt like. As if the universe leaned over, tapped me on the shoulder, and whispered, “Hey, remember that unresolved emotional rubble you were hoping would sort itself out? Yeah… about that.” And listen, I try to be a good sport about healing. I try to roll with whatever comes up. But even I have to laugh when my nervous system decides to deliver all its notifications at once, like some chaotic emotional iPhone: You have 47 new feelings.

Cool. Thanks. Exactly what I wanted this Saturday.

My Nervous System’s Saturday Gift

And what’s funny is that none of the feelings I’m having are new. They’re all familiar regulars: fear, sadness, longing, and that weird anticipatory dread that pops up for no apparent reason, just arriving louder than usual. Like someone turned the emotional volume knob up to eleven and walked away, it’s a lot. And my instinct, the little old me who learned to survive chaos by shutting down, still says, “Push it down. Make it neat and tidy. Don’t feel all of that at once.”

The Old Instinct to Shut Down (And Why It Doesn’t Work Anymore)

But I can’t do that anymore. Every time I’ve tried, it’s ended in absolute fuckery. And that takes more out of me than sitting with the feelings, letting them be, and feeling them. So here I am, doing just that.

But what people don’t realize is that “sitting with it” sometimes looks like staring at a wall, drinking lukewarm tea, internally screaming, and wondering why healing doesn’t come with a handbook or at least a troubleshooting guide. I could use something like, “If you are suddenly overwhelmed by feelings for no apparent reason, please try turning yourself off and back on again.”

But no. All we get is the mess.

Healing Isn’t Neat, But It Is Honest

But at the end of the day, that’s the point. Because healing isn’t about becoming someone who never gets overwhelmed. It’s about becoming someone who doesn’t abandon themselves when they do. And let me tell you, that one stings a little. Because if I’m being brutally honest, the person I’ve abandoned the most over the years is me. I don’t say that to beat myself up, but to acknowledge the truth. When you grow up believing your feelings are “too much,” you learn to make yourself small. You learn to take up as little emotional space as possible.

Learning Not to Abandon Myself

But I’m not doing that anymore (or, at least, I’m trying really hard not to). So here I am, trying to stay with myself through all of this intensity. Trying to remind the younger parts of me that they’re not alone this time. To breathe instead of run. And trying to trust that there’s nothing wrong with me for having big feelings; there’s just a lot inside that finally feels safe enough to surface.

And maybe that’s what this emotional epicenter really is: proof that something inside me believes I can handle what’s coming up now. Proof that my system is opening, rather than breaking.

Messily. Loudly. Inconveniently.

But still opening.

For Anyone Riding Their Own Rogue Wave Right Now

If you’re here too, riding your own rogue wave right now, just know you’re not doing it wrong. Sometimes the heart cracks open not because you’re falling apart, but because something inside you is finally ready to be seen. And honestly? As brutal as it feels… that’s kind of beautiful.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Jack Brody

Born and raised in Boston, Jack Brody has called New York City home for over 30 years. He’s a proud father to a teenage daughter, a survivor of childhood abuse, and someone who knows firsthand what it means to live with Complex PTSD.

Diagnosed six years ago, Jack has been on a deep healing journey, one marked by therapy, growth, hard truths, and unexpected resilience. As a men’s mental health advocate, he shares his story to remind others that they’re not broken, not alone, and never beyond hope.

Whether through his writing, podcast, or quiet conversations with fellow survivors, Jack’s mission is simple: to speak honestly about the hard stuff, and to show that healing out loud is not only possible, it’s powerful.

aboutthatjack.com/

What am I feeling? It has been four to five years since the concept of a trauma disorder made an appearance and a diagnosis in my life; I am sixty-eight years old. A diagnosis of CPTSD, a trauma disorder, was made by a Clinical Psychologist. Admittedly, it is tough to be diagnosed with a disorder that hasn’t even been acknowledged to exist as a diagnosis in our land of the DSM.

I grew up in the sixties and sought out therapy in the late seventies or the first year of the eighties. Psychoanalysis still held sway with many of the powers that be back then. Psychoneurosis was the culprit I suffered from back then. It’s funny how the term lost favor over the decades, yielding to trauma disorders, but still, personality disorders have survived to our present day. Sometimes, it seems the baby was gleefully tossed out along with the bathwater regarding psychoanalysis as a legitimate source of intellectual understanding of the human mind. I suppose it is neither here nor there today, but I’ve just wanted to make a point: “Don’t completely whitewash the utter genius our forefathers handed down to us. Without them and their astonishing insights and mind maps of human suffering, we would be lost in the wilderness.” Returning to where I started, “What am I feeling?”

My lungs begin to clench, which makes filling them nearly impossible

As of the last year or so, I have been taking a new tactic when I experience what I’ve learned to call a CPTSD flashback of an earlier emotional state. My feelings at the moment can come upon me, often unexpectedly, as a raw state of gut-ugly, unexplainable psychological pain. What am I feeling? What is coming over me? Is this a panic attack? My lungs begin to clench, which makes filling them nearly impossible. My psychic state becomes that of being paranoid, unable to confront others in the moment. I typically feel as though I want to curl up into a fetal position and rock myself to make it stop, to make it go away. How would that look at the kitchen table or in the classroom? WHAT AM I FEELING?

If I take various medications, often this emotional experience is awakened, causing me to quickly get off the meds. I am extremely sensitive to this nearly unbearable feeling state that lives perpetually within me, but it is often held or kept out of my emotional experience. My behavior subconsciously knows this emotional upheaval is lurking below, and that sets the stage for other “diagnoses” that manifest from within. What do I feel?! I can no longer escape this question.

I can’t know what others are feeling or describe their experiential moment. Hell, I can barely describe what “I” am feeling. I cannot put a definitive finger on what comes over me. My present inclination is to label the torturous burden I have lived as “REJECTION.” Perhaps it is a state of abandonment emanating from the earliest memories of an internalized, living, traumatic experience. But as keenly and consistently as this energy is regurgitated and re-lived within me, it has to be an emotional experience I endured repeatedly. Repeated emotional states of being touched to the depths of what it is like to be flat-out rejected as a child. Wouldn’t you think? Why else would I know this lifelong, usually unconscious “terror” as a built-in framework of my inner emotional life? Where did this feeling that overtakes me come from? What am I feeling, and why am I feeling it?!

(RSD Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. I hope to finish soon an essay regarding Rejection Sensitivity and the state of Rejection dysphoria that many come to live with. Until then, if you relate to suffering from a feeling of rejection, look up RSD as used in psychology).

IT IS NOT JUST ME WHO IS IN AN EMOTIONAL CRISIS

Was it okay for me to be different as a toddler and a growing boy, whether I was or wasn’t “different”? Were the raging assaults with “the belt” and the open hand truly appropriate to the moment’s punishment? Where did my mother’s rage toward me come from? I now know it was not I who caused her emotional rage; it was her own flavor of “What Am I Feeling” that hypnotically commandeered her emotional moment… driving her to assault me. As an adult, my mission is to seek and find the answer to what I feel. I know I’m not alone because one thing I’ve learned about us humans is that when I am feeling something, IT IS NOT JUST ME WHO IS IN AN EMOTIONAL CRISIS. It is me suffering the way others who were treated like me are also experiencing. I’ll bet that too many of us suffer the experience of WHAT AM I FEELING, yet we can’t bring ourselves to tell the familiar story. It feels too shameful, that toxic feeling of brutal shaming for feeling damaged (Toxic Shame).

If you are suffering, please don’t think you are alone. If you feel it, it is because that is how a human feels when they are mistreated in their youth. How could it possibly be our fault when we were such helpless children? You can’t argue with that. It was not our fault.

Cover Image created with AI

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Jesse Donahue

*Copyright notice. All writings copyrighted and registered with the Library of Congress.

Therapy has helped improve my self-understanding as well as writing skills through journaling and essays. Although this writing journey began in later years, it has led to 70+ essays oriented around issues with CPTSD – a trauma disorder.

My writings, which include therapy notes, poems, novels (unpublished), and essays, are all a part of my ongoing personal therapy. Initially, the essays, intended for my therapist’s eyes only, began with exposing my thoughts, fears, and feelings, or the lack of, onto paper, a journal of therapy notes. Then, with fear overcome and via a personal decision, I shared them with the readers. *My thanks to Paul Michael Marinello, the editor of the CPTSD Foundation. My intent is to encourage readers to recognize traits in themselves and find (if desired) a therapist when they are willing and ready for that step. For some of us, it can be a long and challenging process, over extensive periods, to awaken to the unconscious issues that cause us to act out in life. Our behavior may seem like dancing to a buried, invisible cause we cannot directly see or confront. It is my sincere hope that my insights will assist the reader in the process toward reaching a deeper self-understanding.

Bringing the unconscious out into the light of self-awareness, understanding, and acceptance fosters self-love and the process of change.

 Jesse B. Donahue

*Type a keyword into the foundations search engine. (Jesse, Heart, Personal, Twelve, Bugaboo, etc.) Or, Type Jesse Donahue at The CPTSD Foundation on a Google search.

Published with the CPTSD foundation. Top 10 essays in order of number of views:

1.  ** Personal Honor, Integrity, Dignity, Honesty
2.  ** The Heart of the Matter
3.  * The Smoldering Embers of C-PTSD
4.  * The Hidden Bugaboo (Parts 1-4 of 4)
5.  Twelve Days Without Coffee
6.  Learned Helplessness
7.  Cast Out of Eden by Toxic Shame
8.  *Codependency – Overriding the Monster of Self-Hate
9.  The Emptiness of Yesterday
10.  Surfing the Light Through the Darkness

One primary reason is men’s tendency to view themselves as “fixers.” Men often cling to the hope that they can repair the relationship, even when it becomes evident that their efforts are futile. This belief can trap them in an endless loop of wasted time and increased trauma as they hope for improvement that never comes.

Societal programming also plays a significant role. Men are often conditioned to deny their vulnerability to avoid shame and stigma. While women may openly discuss their emotional struggles with friends and family, men typically keep conversations light and avoid revealing their true feelings. During difficult times, men might overindulge in self-destructive behaviors or work excessively to mask their pain. Losing a primary confidante in a relationship can lead to devastating long-term effects due to this reluctance to open up.

Fear of conflict is another factor

Ending a committed relationship is inherently conflict-laden; the longer the relationship, the more complicated the process. Many men stay in unhappy relationships far too long because they fear the pain involved in breaking up and moving on. Some might even be attracted to toxic relationships because they are unaware of healthier alternatives.

Complacency and inertia also play significant roles. Men may become too comfortable with the status quo, even if it involves abuse. Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, which describes inertia, can be applied metaphorically: an object (or person) remains in its current state unless acted upon by an external force. In the context of toxic relationships, this external force must come from within, involving a decision to set boundaries, break unhealthy habits, and move away from complacency.

Fear of change and uncertainty can also keep men in toxic relationships. The status quo might feel safer, even if it is damaging. However, embracing change is essential for personal growth and avoiding harmful situations.

Without access to appropriate mental health services, some men might believe they do not deserve better. This lack of awareness and fear can lead them to repeatedly seek out toxic relationships. This cycle can be broken with proper support and care.

Some men may also stay in toxic relationships due to a misguided belief that their role as caretakers or martyrs has emotional or psychological benefits. They might feel undeserving of a healthier relationship.

The consequences of remaining in a TAR are severe and far-reaching. Victims may experience anxiety, depression, severe trauma, and suicidal thoughts. They might develop a distrust of people, emotional distance, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Isolation from friends and family and an inability to set healthy boundaries are also common effects.

Survivors of toxic relationships need to understand these behaviors to cope with their pain. Seeking help from therapists and support groups like the CPTSD Foundation can be crucial in learning to manage their trauma in healthy ways.

Recognizing that you are in a toxic, abusive relationship is the first critical step. Here are practical steps and resources for men to seek support and start the healing process:

Acknowledge the Situation

Understand and admit that you are in a toxic situation. Denial can prolong suffering and make it harder to seek help. Take time to reflect on your feelings and the reality of your relationship. Journaling can help articulate thoughts and emotions.

Reach Out for Support!

Share your experiences with trusted individuals who can provide emotional support and perspective.

Join TAR Anon, a free support group every Monday and Wednesday at 6 PM EDT via www.taranon.org.  These groups offer a sense of community and shared experiences.

Watch for free a webinar, with a groundbreaking session titled “Men! Have You Stepped in TAR?” For all men, and women who know of a man who has stepped in TAR.

Watch for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROhvhJMEdWA&feature=youtu.be

Men in toxic, abusive relationships face unique challenges, but recognizing the problem and taking proactive steps to seek help is crucial. By reaching out for support, creating a safety plan, setting boundaries, and focusing on self-care, men can start the journey toward healing and a healthier future. Remember, seeking help is a sign of strength, and there are resources and communities ready to support you through this process.

Ultimately, every experience, no matter how painful, shapes us. While the journey out of a toxic relationship is challenging, it is a step towards a better future. Understanding that you deserve better and moving on from the past is essential. Your life story is yours to write, and it is never too late to start a new chapter.

STAR Network

STAR Network, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to Support, Treatment, and Prevention of Narcissistic Abuse and Attachment Disorders. Narcissistic abuse is one of the most devastating triggers for CPTSD, robbing survivors of their authenticity. STAR Network empowers STARs (Survivors of Toxic Abusive Relationships) with its transformational program, TAR Anon™. STAR Network is the leading global trauma support network, offering free resources to heal individuals and families impacted by trauma, PTSD and CPTSD. Their mission is to transform lives, reduce relapse rates, and create a lasting, inclusive community of support.

https://starnetwork.org/

https://drjamie.com/

https://taranon.org/

https://tartales.org/

This article will be tough to read and may trigger some people. Caution is advised.

Suicide is tricky to write about because it brings up so many negative connotations. Writing about male suicide is even trickier because I am not a man; in some people’s minds, that disqualifies me from writing about it.

However, we shall tackle together the subject of male suicide and discuss ways society (including you and me) can help.

The Facts and the Statistics

 Our men are struggling as their role in society is shifting. This battle has existed for as long as there were men, but in 2023 the war turned from fighting enemies outside to slaying internal demons.

Between 1999 and 2017, suicide rates in the United States increased by 33 percent. Males of all ages are dying by suicide at incredible rates, with men between the ages of 25-44 making up 27%, and men ages 45-64 increasing in rate from 20.8% to 30.1%¹.

Incredibly, the number of men who die by suicide is 1.8 times larger in rural areas than in the cities.

Suicide has become the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 10-34 and the fourth leading cause of death among people aged 35-54².

Although women attempt suicide more than men, men die 75% more often because of their choice of weapon. Women prefer pills or other means, while men often choose to use a weapon or weaponize a vehicle.

The reason so many men are dying by suicide is that they are more likely to hold all their emotions and distress in and suffer in silence.

Which Men Die by Suicide? You Might Be Surprised

It is nearly impossible to know which men are in danger of suicide. You may think the people in therapy working on problems are most at risk, but you would be wrong.

The men who appear strong, stoic, and as if they have it all together are more at risk because they don’t see speaking about how they feel emotionally as masculine. The idea that seeking help for suicidal ideations is wimpy kills more men than society will acknowledge.

Where do men get these fallacies about their masculinity not being compatible with seeking help? From all of us. We are to blame, and we are complicit in their deaths.

Farmers are at high risk of dying by suicide from the stress of doing their job mixed with holding in their emotions. Truck drivers are dying by suicide because we expect them to travel 24/7 with little sleep and bad food, plus needing to leave their families for weeks.

Doctors are dying by suicide because of the long hours they keep, the illnesses they see, and financial difficulties due to student debt.

You see, it isn’t only males who are being treated for depression; it is also men on who society places unreasonable expectations.

Men cry and become overwhelmed with emotion. That’s okay; they are human beings with limits and fears, just like everyone else.

We must improve the way we treat men.

How Society Can Enhance a Man’s Self-Confidence

Men today face a critical problem that is one of the driving forces behind the increasing suicide rates among them. That problem is a lack of self-confidence. This lack of self-esteem leaves men vulnerable to negative thinking that can lead to suicide.

The definition of self-confidence is it is the ability to trust in one’s skills, judgments, and qualities. Men today must fight, if not physically, then mentally, against those who would belittle them. Those behaviors cause men to feel deep inside that they cannot trust themselves in many areas of their lives, including forming relationships. Some believe that self-confidence is not a skill, but one is born with it. Instead, self-confidence is something men learn from their environment³.

Our men are afraid. They would never tell anyone that they are experiencing fear, but they are afraid. Many factors play into their fear, but the everyday stress they face, combined with their lack of self-confidence, causes men to fear that they are not enough and that they cannot and should not find a loving relationship with anyone, including friends.

Self-confidence helps men as it is linked to being more resilient, less fearful, and less anxious. Confident men are more resilient, less fearful, and less anxious because they have a stronger sense of identity and can silence their self-defeating inner voices.

A man who feels self-confident and at peace with their inner self when facing stress or loss will bounce back faster than men who do not. This ability to bounce back is critical to avoid the negative thinking of suicidal ideation.

How Men Can Build Their Self-Confidence

Many men believe that being macho builds them up and makes them more self-confident. Reality states that this belief is not supported. The more macho a man appears self-confident, the lower his self-esteem and the greater their internal fear.

There are six methods men can use to build higher self-esteem for themselves.

Begin a Quest to Belief in Your Decision-Making Skills. You must work on this skill as it is the basis for all the other steps to building self-confidence. Focus on this moment and remind yourself that you have the intelligence and experience to make decisions.

Acknowledge your mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, whether or not you have low self-confidence. Instead of being embarrassed or feeling shame because of past mistakes, acknowledge and embrace them as potential learning experiences. Take responsibility for your errors and move on.

Learn to practice gratitude. Gratitude has a positive impact and practicing it will raise your self-confidence. Try practicing mindfulness, ask yourself what you are grateful for, and list them on paper or aloud. If you have a difficult time with this step, start small. Can you hear, see, do you have enough food, etc.

Accept the fact that change is constant. You must recognize that change is constant by continually happening. Face the changes you fear head-on and change what you can while accepting the things you cannot.

Believe in yourself that you are worthy of being happy. Being happy is vital for men to continue, just as it is for women. One cannot successfully form lasting relationships without believing in oneself. Believing you are worthy of happiness also is critical to self-confidence. Your worth is not tied to your sexual orientation, ethnicity, or race. You are worthy because you exist; it is your human right. Believing you are worthy means you can absorb happiness into yourself and your life.

Embrace that you are not perfect. All people have imperfections. If you have imperfections, it is critical to realize that millions of other guys share your issues. It is judicious to remember that it is good to incorporate your flaws into yourself and learn from them.

In Closing

For too long, society has denied men their humanness, telling them they must never cry or show their emotions, leaving men alone and suffering. Is it any wonder that horrific suicide rates exist?

Our men are in trouble, but we can change everything for them if we convince them that seeking help from a mental health professional is ‘normal.’ One way to do this is to point out that men would go to the doctor if they had severe pain, so why cannot they go to the doctor for emotional pain?

Society must ease up on our expectations of men. We must back them up when they seek help by reminding them that they are worthy of all life has to offer them and that the stigma against them is wrong.

Working together, we can help men live long and happy lives.

If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, please, call 988. 988 is a free and confidential mental health hotline to help people when they are feeling like self-harming.

“It dawns on you one day… how precious your life is and how not okay it is for anyone, ever, to cause you any amount of suffering, ever. Then the next time you step out the door you look at everyone and you’re thinking, “My life is precious and you’re not allowed to hurt me.”
― C. JoyBell C.

“Life is so precious! Live with love, joy, happiness, and abundance.”
― Debasish Mridha

References

1. Top 10 Causes of Death in Men. Illinois Department of Public Health. Retrieved from: https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/life-stages-populations/mens-health/top-10-causes-death.html

2. Suicide Mortality in the United States, 1999–2017. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db330.htm

3. Stewart, S. (2005). Suicidality, interpersonal trauma and cultural diversity: A review of the literature. Australian e-Journal for the advancement of Mental Health, 4(2), 108-128.

Shirley Davis

My name is Shirley Davis and I am a freelance writer with over 40-years- experience writing short stories and poetry. Living as I do among the corn and bean fields of Illinois (USA), working from home using the Internet has become the best way to communicate with the world. My interests are wide and varied. I love any kind of science and read several research papers per week to satisfy my curiosity. I have earned an Associate Degree in Psychology and enjoy writing books on the subjects that most interest me.

www.learnaboutdid.com

At PMH we wish you to know that your children aren’t the enemy — even though it seems like it is their word against yours. Never stop loving them unconditionally.

Milena "Mila" Stankovic

Milena “Mila” Stankovic is a Co-Founder at STAR Network, TAR Anon and Partners In Mens Health. Milena “Mila” Stankovic is a mental health advocate & ambassador , screenwriter, writer and creator. She covers clinical and experience-based standpoints on topics such as Toxic Abusive Relationships, trauma, CPTSD, Toxic Families,  Parental Alienation, and Narcissism. Mila provides practical, vulnerable, and real-life examples to help those who have been abused to overcome their fears. She will help you heal: one article at a time. She is also a Please check the organizations which are still under development here:

https://partnersinmenshealth.com/
https://tartales.org
https://starnetwork.org
https://taranon.org
If you wish to write and share your stories and get in touch with Mila, please contact her at mila@starnetwork.org

medium.com/@milena-koljensic

While the journey itself can take on a life of its own the most important questions we always have to come back to, i.e. “What do I need?”, “How do I feel?”, “What is right for me?” contain answers that only lie within ourselves. In answering these, we take responsibility for our power and in doing so empower ourselves and heal.

Go within don’t go without.

“Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
~Rilke

Autobiographical Chronicles: https://vocal.media/authors/jeff-spiteri

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Jeff Spiteri

Jeff Spiteri is an author of the unpublished book ‘The Bridge Within’ a memoir chronicling his experiences as a homeless young adult riding freight trains around the United States and the childhood trauma he uncovered along the way. Jeff is proud to use his voice as an instrument of influence, guidance and impact with young adults and educators sharing his experiences and tools for resilience and healing.

www.thebridgewithin.com