by Susan Morris | Nov 24, 2021 | Abandonment and CPTSD, ACEs, Anxiety, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Holiday Stress, Hope, Self Care, Surviving the Holidays
If you’ve lived through a traumatic childhood or domestic violence situation, you may not know what it feels like to feel jolly. Some of us feel a sense of dread the closer it gets to the holidays as the holidays approach. The trauma triggers are different for...
by Matt | Nov 11, 2021 | Holiday Stress, Holidays, Surviving the Holidays
Let’s face it, really any day can be stressful for survivors. Random triggers, depression, anxiety, dissociating can simply occur at the drop of a hat. it’s all part of the deal in recovery. So even though there are countless circumstances that can raise the anxiety...
by Shirley Davis | Dec 28, 2020 | CPTSD, Holiday Stress, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Surviving the Holidays
The brain is a very complicated organ that rules over our lives engendering how we move, think, and feel. The way our brain cells (neurons) communicate with one another is by the use of chemicals known as neurotransmitters which they pass from one to the other. We...
by J Bradley O | Oct 28, 2020 | Complex PTSD Healing, Depression, Emotional Flashbacks, Family Estrangement, Grief, Healthy Relationships, Holiday Stress, Mindfulness, Surviving the Holidays
Chilled and humid, the air sticks to my skin. The sky is thickly overcast, a shock after three warm days of sunshine. Is this the perfect background for my somber mood or the conditions that provoke it? October starts a long anniversary I don’t want to recall, much...
by Shirley Davis | Dec 31, 2018 | ACEs, Complex PTSD Healing, Grief, Holiday Stress, Surviving the Holidays
December was very trying for those of us living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. We may have endured visiting relatives who lived up to our expectations of being highly triggering, which may have left us feeling exhausted. We may have been quick to put...
by Shirley Davis | Dec 10, 2018 | Holiday Stress, Surviving the Holidays
The stresses we impose upon ourselves and our families at Christmas, unfortunately, have become a tradition. This month, we are going to offer you a series of articles on surviving the holidays. We will be covering such topics as how the holidays affect complex trauma...