When I first started unpacking the tangled mess that is CPTSD, there were a lot of flashy things that caught my attention. Trauma modalities. Therapy jargon. Inner child work. Nervous system regulation. (Still not over how much of healing sounds like fixing a spaceship.) There’s so much terminology, so many tools, and all of them […]
How Trauma Builds Tolerance for Emotional Pain
One of the sneakiest things about living with CPTSD or carrying trauma is how we slowly build a sky-high tolerance for emotional pain, and don’t even realize we’re doing it. It becomes second nature, like breathing. At first, we tell ourselves we’re strong, tough, resilient, and yes, all those things are true. Those words aren’t […]
Staying Present When Your Nervous System Shuts Down
Everyone, at some point, has dealt with high-stress conflict situations, and I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling of having your nervous system hijack the moment. However, those of us who have CPTSD can experience those kinds of moments more significantly. It can become a challenge when your brain decides it’s […]
How a Superman Body Spray Triggered a CPTSD Flashback
Yesterday, I time-traveled. Not in the cool, H.G. Wells, steampunk kind of way, but the CPTSD way. The no warning, no mercy, full-body flashback kind of way. The time machine? A body spray. Specifically, the Old Spice Superman limited edition. Yeah. A superhero-branded deodorant did me in. But this wasn’t about smelling fresh. This was […]
Healing Childhood Trauma: Loving the Kid I Was
I was five years old when the abuse happened. That’s a sentence I still have trouble writing, let alone fully grasping, even after all this time. At five, you’re supposed to be discovering the world with wide eyes and open hands, not learning how to protect yourself from the very people meant to keep you […]
Hyper-Empathy: The Unwanted Superpower
Let’s talk about one of the lesser-known side effects of living with CPTSD, hyper-empathy. If you’ve ever walked into a room and instantly felt like you just downloaded everyone’s emotional data through some invisible trauma-powered Bluetooth, congratulations! You might be a hyper-empath. Or a sponge. Same difference. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Wait, so […]