Trauma-Informed Blog
Content relevant to survivors, mental health professionals, partners, and anyone interested in reading about CPTSD and mental health.
Weekly Content
New posts 4-5 times per week
Relevant & Informative
Survivor stories, research articles, poetry, and more
Staff and Guest Writers
Everyday survivors, clinicians, coaches, and mental health professionals
Featured Partner: TAR Network
Are You Ready to Release Resentments?
Dealing with conflict is probably at the bottom of most people‘s lists. It’s uncomfortable and requires vulnerability. We all carry dysfunction and unresolved issues, and I venture to guess that MOST of us have not had positive role models growing up showing us how...
Protecting The Children
“Mom, Dad doesn’t love you… or Spenser. He only loves me.” “That’s not true, sweetie, why do you say that?” “He doesn’t treat you nice.” I looked down at my 5-year-old boy. His innocent eyes stared up at me while he declared his truth. Inside, I fell apart. I knew...
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 nothing I’d done that needed forgiving. The voice in my head...
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 self-care. As a Resilient Career Coach who is also a survivor, full-time...
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 facial expressions, vocalizations, and body language, is crucial to...
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 backpedal on my choice. For many of us with childhood trauma, making changes...
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 Channel back in the day, attended editorial meetings, and certainly know...
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 businesses trading and communicating online, we can feel isolated in our...
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 think Helene would make it this far inland. Won’t all the mountains...
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. Although time haserased the words that came from my mouth that day, my...
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 and sacrifices that, even now, I’m only beginning to understand. She...
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 him frequently, standing out on the sidewalk at the large drainage pipe...
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”.
