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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When a Victim Doesn’t Know She’s a Victim: Survivor’s Guilt, the “Fawn” Response, Trauma Bonds, and Setting Boundaries
“I can’t forgive myself.” Daily, I uttered this phrase. When I said it, my loved ones were concerned. “But what do you need to forgive yourself for?” They’d ask, perplexed. For them, there was...
From Healing Others to Healing Ourselves
A Resilient Career Coach’s Journey to Prioritizing Self-Care I recently had to step away from my coaching membership and community for a couple of weeks because I desperately needed some...
The Interface of Healing and Human Interactions
Trauma leaves deep imprints on our nervous system, often disrupting our ability to feel safe, connect with others, and regulate our emotions. The social engagement system, which encompasses our...
Being a Real Adult Means Choosing Yourself First
Putting Myself First? You’re Kidding, Right?! I had to step back recently from things that weren’t serving me anymore. Disappointing other people was so hard that I immediately wanted to...
Discernment Through the Fray…
Through the cacophony of media - social, alternative, traditional, and otherwise - I could no longer deny the need to walk away from it all and regroup. Heck, I even helped launch Fox News...
Complex PTSD and Coping with Change
We are all different and unique in our skill sets at work and in how we are as human beings Our world is busy and can feel overwhelming and unfriendly to anyone. With the internet and most...
Lessons from Hurricane Helene
When they said to fill the bathtub to have drinking water on hand, I thought it was overkill When they said to fill the bathtub to have drinking water on hand, I thought it was overkill. I didn’t...
Shame, the Gift that Keeps on Giving
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....
Do We Ever Truly Know Our Parents?
In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I find myself reflecting deeply on the strength and resilience of women—especially my mother. Her life was complex, filled with unspoken struggles...
The Man Who Lives Under The Bridge
The Man Who Lives Under the BridgeBy Jesse Donahue 2017 ©There is a man who lives in a large drainage culvert that goes under a road near my home. He has been there for nearly a decade. You see...
Connecting to Your Innermost Self
I’m pretty tired myself Hi. If you don't mind, I want to speak to your soul today. How are you doing, soul? I’m pretty tired myself. Life takes a lot of energy if you know what I mean. There are...
Empowering Your Work-Life: Requesting Accommodations for Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Over the past month, I have been exploring different solutions to help with anxiety and panic attacks in the workplace. I covered breathing techniques, mindfulness, and grounding techniques, and...
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”.
