Trauma-Informed Blog
Content relevant to survivors, mental health professionals, partners, and anyone interested in reading about CPTSD and mental health.
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New posts 4-5 times per week
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The Importance of Community: How Connecting with Other Trauma Survivors Can Enhance Your Career Journey
Introduction As trauma survivors, we often feel isolated and alone in our experiences, especially when navigating the challenges of the professional world. We may try to hide our true selves, feelings, and trauma symptoms due to fear and shame, expending a great...
Exploring Love and Connections within CPTSD
***TRIGGER WARNING*** The following article discusses traumatic events, including sexual abuse. The word PTSD is often thrown out there into the ether of speech or within news broadcasts as a category for someone who has “mental problems.” It is often used in a...
Gaslighting – What I Learned from My Own Therapy
Even though I am a psychology and sociology professor, I couldn't see the abuse in my own home. It is embarrassing to admit, but I think telling the truth is important. Like so many people who go into careers working with people, I felt somehow; I could change the...
Inside Alienation: Introducing CPTSD’s PASS Program (Parental Alienation Support Systems)
The CPTSD Foundations PASS (Parental Alienation Support Systems) inaugural Zoom meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at 6 p.m. EST and every Tuesday following. Register here: https://cptsdfoundation.org/parental-alienation/ The PASS Program Mission...
Rising Strong: Navigating Adversity with Unshakeable Resilience
Adversity Just saying the word makes me cringe. We all experience it in our lifetime, but how many of us know what it is and appreciate it for the growth it brings to our lives? Adversity refers to difficulties, challenges, or unfavorable circumstances that an...
Standing Alone and Finding Strong Female Friendships After Falling Victim to Mean Girls
As a woman, I struggled with female friendships growing up. I found many other girls and women notoriously catty, jealous, and downright mean. I liked being “one of the guys” with my guy friends, and I much preferred having a steady boyfriend over being part of a...
Understanding Differences Narcissistic Personality Disorder vs. Borderline Personality Disorder
When you hear the word “narcissist,” what images come to mind? In my world, “narcissist” is a term that’s both overused and misunderstood. In common vernacular, it can be inflammatory and insulting, but in medical circles, Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is...
Managing CPTSD: Honoring How Far You’ve Come
Generations of negative family patterns and relational wounds are our legacies In healing from relational trauma or resulting Complex PTSD - a type of PTSD thought to arise as a result of extended or repeated trauma - we often forget or dismiss what it is we’ve...
The Healing Power of Horse Therapy for Trauma Survivors (Part 2 of 2)
(Part 2 of 2) I started dreaming of horses When I was 51 years old, my life was falling apart. My 30-plus-year career that I had worked so hard for was coming to an end, and so was my marriage. Little did I know, but my life was about to turn upside down in a...
Living Autistic Survival Amid PTSD: Finding Myself in Grace Tame’s Story
An autistic survivor holds the ability to shred apart norms but often also holds fears of not being the correct voice An autistic survivor of abuse seemingly stands on a pedestal about to fall into repression of feelings or being the needed honest one. An autistic...
Recognizing the Signs of Toxic Relationships: A Guide to Self-Awareness
Have you ever woken up on a sunny day only to realize by mid-afternoon that the sky had darkened and heavy clouds were threatening rain? You might have had no idea when the sun had ducked behind a cloud or when the day had darkened. That’s what toxic relationships...
Understanding Survival Mode in CPTSD: Why It Can Take Years to Identify
For those living with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), recognizing that they are stuck in survival mode can be incredibly challenging. Survival mode is a state where the body and mind are constantly on high alert, prepared to respond to perceived...

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”.