Let’s talk triggers. If you’ve ever felt like you’re losing your grip in a situation that seems harmless to everyone else, you’re not alone. CPTSD triggers can sneak up on you from all directions, both inside your head and from the world around you. The thing is, these triggers don’t always make sense, and that […]
How I Manage Life with CPTSD (And a Lot of Sarcasm)
Living with CPTSD is the gift that keeps on giving. And by “gift,” I mean that weird mystery box you didn’t order; it showed up uninvited, and now you’re legally required to carry it with you everywhere you go. It’s like an invisible backpack filled with random triggers, unexpected flashbacks, and moments where you’re just […]
Finding Calm in the Chaos: My Journey with CPTSD
Somewhere along the way in my healing journey, I’ve stopped seeing myself as CPTSD personified. I don’t know the exact moment it happened; there wasn’t some grand epiphany or movie-montage-style healing moment. But slowly, quietly, I started seeing myself as… just me. As Jack. A messy, kind, resilient, funny, often-exhausted guy who happens to have […]
Letter to My Younger Self: A Message for Healing
I was asked to write a letter to my younger self in therapy this week, and I have spent some time thinking of what to write. It turned out to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, but I eventually came up with this. Hey, Younger Me, I know things feel […]
The Difficult Truths of Trauma Recovery
There are numerous challenges involved in recovering from trauma and CPTSD One of those difficulties is that recognizing something that heals also meant recognizing something else that hurts. For example, If I acknowledge that it was my abusers fault, then that meant there was nothing I could have done to help myself. Or If I acknowledge that I can now be the person […]
Finding Peace: A Journey Through CPTSD and Self-Discovery
Recovery means something different to everyone of us who have dealt with a lifelong diagnosis of living with cPTSD. We have faced pain and uphill struggles that none of us would wish on anybody. One thing I have come to realize is that non-traumatized people have less potential to achieve the deep inner peace that […]