There is something that I do, and have done for as long as I can remember, and that is, I don’t sit with my back to the room. Ever. It’s not about being dramatic or antisocial. It’s because somewhere deep in my bones, my nervous system never really got the memo that the emergency ended. […]
PTSD or CPTSD? A Simple Breakdown Without the Psychobabble
So, you’ve been down a WebMD rabbit hole, or your therapist dropped “CPTSD” into a session like it’s a totally normal acronym. And somehow, you’ve found yourself here. Welcome. I write a lot about my own experience living with CPTSD, and I want you to know something from the start: you’re not alone. You’re not […]
The Pressure to Reinvent vs. the Power of Just Being
There’s something that’s always puzzled me: the need people seem to have to constantly reinvent themselves. New year? Reinvent. Breakup? Reinvent. Got bangs? Reinvent. It’s like we’re all supposed to be our own PR team, constantly rebranding to stay relevant, like some sort of personal SEO strategy. (See what I did there? Threw in some […]
CPTSD Recovery: Embracing Feelings to Heal and Grow
I used to think being in my feelings was a weakness. Especially living with CPTSD and trauma. That if I let myself feel anything, sadness, anger, even happiness, it meant I was giving my trauma a seat at the table. Like feeling was the same as surrendering. So I armored up. Numbed out. Laughed things […]
Loving Someone with CPTSD: A Survival Guide
Loving someone with CPTSD means, first and foremost, loving someone with a complicated past. We might not always say it, but we crave connection, deeply. Sometimes more than we know what to do with. And yet, every so often, we flinch. We pull back. We get quiet when things get too close. It’s not because […]
Recognizing Trauma Dysregulation as It Happens
(aka: Is This a Red Flag, or Am I Just Spiraling?) When CPTSD turns relationships into a weather system, dysregulation is exactly when your internal forecast suddenly calls for a hurricane… all because of a missed text. Meanwhile, everyone else is just seeing a light drizzle, and you’re busy grabbing sandbags. Suddenly, you’re frozen, flooded, […]