Fighting Battles No One Can See Living with CPTSD means spending vast portions of our lives fighting battles nobody else can see. On the outside, you might look “fine.” You show up to work, you smile at the right times, and you laugh when something’s funny. But inside? It’s a full-scale war zone. Flashbacks, shame […]
Speaking Out on Mental Health in Brooklyn
Facing the Fear Yesterday I was a guest speaker at a mental health panel in Brooklyn. I was one of four people invited to speak about our trauma experiences with mental health professionals, and as I looked around the room, I couldn’t help but think, “How on earth did I get here?” To say I […]
Healing Out Loud: Writing My Trauma Online
Why I Share My Story Online Some people keep diaries. I decided to keep mine on the internet, where strangers (hi!) can read it. And for someone who has always been a private person, it seems like an odd choice to make. On paper, it doesn’t make sense. Why would a guy who spent most […]
CPTSD Myths That Need Busting
I’ve heard so many CPTSD myths that I just had to lay them out and bust them here. CPTSD isn’t just a clinical term. For many, it’s a lived reality that gets twisted, watered down, and misunderstood. Honest conversations about CPTSD matter. It deserves to be understood, not simplified, dismissed, or reduced to a checklist. […]
What Being Human Looks Like with CPTSD
Armor, Bruises, and the Red Alert Life Living with CPTSD, I often wonder how other people see us. And what it actually means to be human for us. For me, being human with CPTSD feels like walking around wearing invisible armor while also nursing invisible bruises. I can be laughing at a joke, or cracking […]
Why The Brain Registers Absence In CPTSD
I came across a line recently that lodged itself in my head like a song lyric: “The brain registers absence, not cause.” At first, I thought, “Yeah, okay, sounds deep.” But the more I sat with it, the more it felt like someone had put words to a quiet truth I’d been carrying for years. […]