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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The Simple Question a Crisis Worker Asked Me That Helped Calm My Panic Attack
This article was originally published on The Mighty. My thoughts come at me too quickly, too loudly — it’s as if my mind is shouting. At the same time, my heart is racing and I find it difficult...
Having Asperger’s Syndrome with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
There are many types of neurodivergence among humans, some helpful, others harmful. The two getting the most notice are Asperger's Syndrome and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, with...
Understanding Narcissism
(as published in The Friday Edition of HeartBalm Healing at https://heartbalm.substack.com) The term narcissism and its variations get thrown around quite often and the definitions are mixed up...
What I Needed to Hear to Begin Healing My Inner Critic
This article was originally published on The Mighty. There is a therapy trick that I’m willing to bet you’ve heard of. It’s a popular technique used to quiet down negative self-talk, a type of...
The Difficulties of Having Both CPTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) on its own is a severe diagnosis. However, when paired with another significant diagnosis, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD), the two...
Do I Have Toxic Parents? NARCISSISTIC ABUSE: Setting Boundaries – Choose Your Own Adventure
Experience a day in the life of an adult child of toxic parents. See how your choices affect the outcome in this "Choose Your Own Adventure" style story and learn to set healthy boundaries along the way. Written by the Scapegoat of a Narcissistic Parent.
The CPTSD and OCD Overlap
As I have delved further into trauma work and my recovery from Complex PTSD (CPTSD), I have noticed a vast overlap with my Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. I have had OCD since...
Teenagers’ Mental Health and Happiness Matter
It is clear for all to see: more needs to be done to support children and teenagers, here in the UK. At the time when young people need support, acceptance, compassion and love the most, they...
The Dread-Part I
The Dread is directly connected to the nightmare that was my childhood
Microglia to the Rescue
A body goes through many processes to defend itself from trauma. One of those processes is the activation of microglia. This type of cell accounts for nearly 15% of all cells found within the...
The Opioid Crisis and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
One of the defining symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is emotional dysregulation which can lead to survivors looking for ways to cope with how they feel. Unfortunately,...
I’m Not Wounded, Broken, F’d Up, And Neither Are You!
If someone considers you wounded, it just means they can’t see your authentic self. Of course, it might be buried under emotional rubble, but everyone has an innate intelligence. Collecting...
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”.
