Nobody comes out of a traumatic background unscathed unless they have fully done the difficult blood, sweat and tears work of recovery. Some of us (like myself) are really skilled at putting on a mask and blocking out pain so convincingly that people think we are not suffering! Those who are extroverts, laugh a lot,... Continue Reading →
Why Adult Trauma Might Be So Unbearable
It's not so much adult trauma that shapes us. The traumas that shape our lives and rule us from the shadows come from repressed childhood trauma. The reason adult trauma might have such an impact might be because it's causing the forgotten childhood trauma up to the surface through emotional flashbacks. Anytime we have a... Continue Reading →
The Dangers of Uncritical Belief in Popular Spiritual Teachings
I think perhaps popular spirituality can cause post traumatic distress so severe that we move to the opposite extreme of the opinions that traumatized us. I think that is how some of us might attempt to take our power back even if it's false power. I see that happening with religion (from fundamentalism to... Continue Reading →
What Might Be Behind The Creation of the Word “Empath”?
Did the establishment create the word "empath" to work as another form of spiritual bypass? I used to read all the empath memes and literature and used to think I was born special as I had thought I was an empath. I grew up feeling anything but special and I needed to feel special, so... Continue Reading →
Your Past Might Not Be in Your Past
Your past is probably in your present. The unresolved wounds have followed you here. Childhood trauma causes us to split off from ourselves leaving us fragmented. The split is the unconscious part of your mind (inner child/shadow self) and the unconscious rules roughly 80's of your mind, behavior, your emotions, thoughts and decisions. This means... Continue Reading →
The Worst Thing to Tell a Survivor
If I were going to die today and I just had one piece of advice I could give to the world, I would say the worst thing you could ever tell a survivor is to move on already or to get over it or something in that vein. Whether it is child abuse, shellshock or... Continue Reading →
TRIGGER NATION
Triggers could be reminding us to feel so we can heal. There are few accidents. We all come into each other's lives to help each other grow up. The healing process all begins with a trigger (if we let it). Triggers are gifts. Emotions act like the idiot light in your car. We can either... Continue Reading →
What Might Cause PTSD and How to Move Past it
I am not a doctor and so cannot pretend that I understand your trauma, but I do understand my own and the following is based only on my experience and what I believe to make sense. Having said that, post-traumatic stress might not be so much caused by the event, but rather the suppression of... Continue Reading →
The Trigger System and How it Works
Why we might sweat the small stuff... Hey, I knock people for sweating the small stuff sometimes. We have all probably done it and might still even do it. I get it, though. We say "don't cry over spilled milk", we tell others they are being melodramatic, we tell people they're just trying to get... Continue Reading →
How We Survive and How We Can Stop the Cycle of Abuse
If we don't break down later in life, it's only because we are being pulled up artificially by our addictions. Are we addicted to food? Alcohol? Materialism? TV? Drugs? Cigarettes? Sex? Working? Busy-ness (we can't sit still)? Most of us are addicted to something or have some kind of method we unconsciously employ to remain... Continue Reading →
What’s in a Smile?
Someone may look happy, but that doesn't mean they are. A lot of us wear a mask as that is the only way to survive in a world that shuns authenticity and feelings. We cannot handle depth because we cannot handle our own depth. We cannot handle other's feelings because we cannot handle our own.... Continue Reading →
How Our Past Shapes Our Present Day Opinions
Why getting triggered is a GOOD thing: On healing the past..... If we have any unresolved issues from childhood, our emotions can cloud our reasoning and can have a huge impact on how we opinie politically, philosophically and religiously. Post-traumatic stress can do weird things with our minds. If we had conservative parents, for example,... Continue Reading →