Trauma-Informed Blog
New content weekly! Survivor Stories, Research Articles, Poetry, and more written by clinicians, coaches, survivors, and mental health professionals.
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Overwhelming, Confusing Emotions? You May Be Having a Flashback
Note: if you are triggered while reading, take a break to do some gentle self-care before returning to the article, and if you find yourself in crisis, please reach out to your medical or mental...
First Responders, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and COVID 19
As Americans, we have grown accustomed to calling 911 when we are in trouble. We pick up the phone, talk to an operator, and fully expect first responders to appear as if by magic and save us....
How Trauma Can Stifle Creativity, and How to Find it Again
I was around 19 years old when I lost the ability to daydream. I didn’t notice it at the time. What I did notice was extreme difficulty with writing. I was taking creative writing courses at...
Major Depressive Disorder During the COVID 19 Pandemic.
COVID 19 has done much more than inconvenience people, it has a much darker and dangerous side. A disturbing consequence of the isolation and loneliness sparked by stay-at-home policies, that...
Dissociation: How People Cope with Trauma They Want to Forget
When you witness or experience something terrible, you may try not to think about it. To help you, your brain may call on one of its most creative and ingenious coping strategies to keep you...
Flashbacks, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the Brain
Everyone experiences flashbacks. Most of the time flashbacks are benign when they experience a trigger, such as the smell of fresh-baked bread, and it reminds them of their grandmother. However,...
Beating the Isolation Caused by COVID-19
There is no doubt that the coronavirus has taken the world's collective breath away. People are getting sick by the thousands, with many not surviving. The governments around the globe have...
Domestic abuse: More than just a bruise.
Domestic abuse can mean a multitude of things to different people. Our own experiences, responses and recoveries being shared can help other people to feel like they are not alone. These shared experiences can develop a network of support, and ways to help identify abuse before you are in too deep.
Survivor’s Guilt, the Coronavirus and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The world is facing unprecedented times in modern history as the coronavirus is spreading like wildfire and changing our lives forever. The human cost in lives lost is tremendous and none of us...
Let’s Talk About the Fear Response and Fighting the COVID-19 Virus
The COVID-19 virus has become something that people are terrified of getting. In response to this fear, people are hoarding everything from meat to toilet paper. However, being so afraid has an...
“Fog” and “Taking the Plunge” – Survivor Poetry
Fog The skies have turned gray, Rain’s starting to fall. Once upon a time, my life was clear. Now a fog’s settled over it all. Stumbling in the dark, I catch glimpses of my destination. But as I...
Polyvagal Theory and Hope In Healing from Childhood Trauma
Those who live with the after-effects of severe childhood trauma understand well how it feels to be continually on the lookout for danger. Some experience this as hypervigilance feeling unsafe no...
What is Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
“Complex PTSD comes in response to chronic traumatization over the course of months or, more often, years. This can include emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuses, domestic violence, living in a war zone, being held captive, human trafficking, and other organized rings of abuse, and more. While there are exceptional circumstances where adults develop C-PTSD, it is most often seen in those whose trauma occurred in childhood”.
