I see people throw around phrases. Phrases such as “If they wanted to, they would,” and it frustrates me. It frustrates me because that’s not how trauma works. When it comes to trauma, we have to remove the word “want” because nobody wants trauma, and when it rules your life, it can be quite debilitating. […]
Alexithymia CPTSD Emotional Awareness Healing Journey Mental Health Mindfulness Personal Growth Self-Compassion
Learning To Live With Alexithymia
On my healing journey, I discover new things every day. And when I learned I had Alexithymia, after the initial feeling of “great, another thing to contend with” because of my trauma, it actually helped me better understand what it was I was experiencing, how to better navigate emotions, and importantly, that I wasn’t an […]
Cognitive Distortions CPTSD Emotional Resilience Healing Journey Mental Health Personal Growth Self-Awareness Trauma Recovery
Life Isn’t All Black And White
Having cPTSD often makes you look at life through a black-and-white lens, and that your trauma response to life is not just constantly assessing whether or not people are safe but also whether our environments are safe too. For a really long time, my thinking was on a black-and-white level. You either liked/loved me or […]
Authenticity CPTSD Mental Health Personal Growth Self-Acceptance Self-Compassion Self-Worth Trauma Recovery
You Better Believe I Am Good Enough
For far too long, I have felt that I wasn’t good enough. I would seek validation from others. I saw the relationship I had with another as a grading point for my worthiness, and when those relationships ended, the reinforcement I received was the same every time. That I wasn’t worthy, and that’s why I […]
Authenticity CPTSD Emotional Resilience Empowerment Healing Journey Mental Health Personal Growth Self-Acceptance Self-Compassion
Being Who I Am: Embracing My True Self Fully
Being our authentic selves takes a lot of work. To understand what is truly going on in our mind and body. It’s not conditional, but instead going all in on self-acceptance. This requires making the effort to compassionately tolerate our flaws as well as celebrating our strengths. I have already written about letting go of […]
Not Having A positive Male Role Model
Any young boy looks for a hero. Someone they can rely on. A father figure. Someone to inspire them. To look up to. I grew up not having that. I remember being a kid in school and having to do a presentation on who in your life was your hero, and when the day came […]