A therapy hangover is the emotional and physical exhaustion some people experience after a difficult therapy session. It can leave you feeling foggy, anxious, drained, detached, or emotionally raw for hours, and sometimes even days, afterward. It’s wild how surprisingly few people talk about therapy hangovers. Everyone tells you therapy is supposed to help, but […]
Why Trauma-Informed Therapy Matters for Healing
When I first started therapy to deal with my CPTSD and the trauma from years of childhood sexual abuse, I honestly thought I was ready to heal. I’d done the research, found the courage, and showed up. What I wasn’t prepared for was how often I’d end up feeling like the problem, misunderstood, rushed, or […]
Healing Is Boring, and That’s the Point
I woke this morning and nothing was wrong. I had a good night’s sleep. It was the weekend and I had a chilled and relaxing few days to look forward to, but still, I was feeling like something was off. This has been happening a lot lately. And as unsettling as it is, there’s a […]
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 […]
Healing from CPTSD: When Hurt People Hurt People
There’s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot: hurt people hurt people. Sometimes it’s said with compassion, sometimes as a defense, and sometimes as a throwaway line. But for me, it’s a truth I’ve had to look directly in the eye. Because I was hurting. And I hurt people. I was one of them. […]