Survivors of childhood trauma deserve all the peace and security that a loving relationship can provide. But a history of abuse or neglect can make trusting another person feel terrifying. Trying to form an intimate relationship may lead to frightening missteps and confusion.
How can we better understand the impact of trauma, and help survivors find
I started making myself throw up when I was 15.
I was raped the year before and kept it a secret, stuffing it deeply inside and keeping it down with self-hatred.
That, along with being in a religious community that wasn’t aligned with whom I really was, as well as being completely out of touch with myself,
The quieter moments of healing can be oddly disconcerting. Healing in general isn’t quiet: maybe loud is the wrong word, but intense would be accurate.
The feelings that go with healing from trauma loom large. The grief, sadness, sorrow, rage, anger, terror. These feelings take over your mind and your life. I have often compared them
In the last few weeks I lost track of how many times different clients uttered the phrase, “I must be crazy” as a way to make sense out of their symptoms or struggles.
It’s so poignantly common for trauma survivors to conclude that something is inherently wrong with them. Personal flaws and shortcomings become the explanation
Tonight I had the honor of attending Date Safe Project’s “Can I Kiss You?” event presented by their founder, Mike Domitrz. To say that it was incredible would be an understatement. I was blown away.
I was honestly surprised at the turnout, everyone was so excited to be there; the entire room was filled to the brim
Wow, Rockstar, what a day. Can you believe the remarkable outpouring of “me too’s” My Facebook is filled with a sea of #MeToo.
So why do I still feel so alone in this? Why is this keeping me up waaaaay past my bedtime? What if I’m not alone in feeling this way?
On all days to feel
When it comes to survivors (of all kinds of trauma) it takes more work than usual to build and establish trust, the 10 things listed below are not the only things, just the foundation of trust.
When working with survivors, a few things need to be clarified. Unfortunately some of these should be a given such as respect
To be completely transparent this is not the easiest subject for me to write about. I am pushing beyond my edge of comfort, as I have a sneaking suspicion that I am not alone; that what I am about to share about my story, will resonate with other Rockstars who have survived a
Recently I was sitting in a Starbucks catching up on my e-mail when it became impossible not to overhear the conversation happening in such close proximity at the next table. A young couple was engaged in the seemingly benign task of deciding what kind of coffees to order. What grabbed my attention was
There’s something the body does that reflects what the nervous system does – a reflex, in response to a trigger. I’d like to explore this with you.
When a person encounters a trigger, the body closes. What I seem to be noticing with myself and my clients is a popular trigger
