The other day, I fell into one of those classic spirals: trauma vs. identity crisis vs. internet rabbit hole. You know the ones. It started innocently enough, I was trying to figure out if CPTSD counts as neurodivergent. Before I knew it, I was eight tabs deep, reading about brain scans, childhood trauma, and how […]
Why CPTSD Is Still Misunderstood and Overlooked
When I first began therapy, I had no idea there even existed such a thing as CPTSD. I just knew that I was flooded with emotional flashbacks, perpetual anxiety, and this pit that never seemed to end of shame. But no one could diagnose it in me. One therapist said it was depression. Another floated […]
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 […]
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 […]
Living with CPTSD: What It’s Really Like
I write a lot about CPTSD, the facts, the symptoms, the definitions, and how it shows up in everyday life. And all of that matters. But lately, I’ve been thinking about how that’s only half of the picture. It’s one thing to explain what CPTSD is, but it’s another thing entirely to talk about what […]
Direct Communication Is A Lifeline for Trauma Survivors
If you’ve ever told me something like, ‘We need to talk later,’ and then walked away, I can almost guarantee you’ve just activated my fight-or-flight system like it’s Black Friday at Best Buy. It’s not that I’m overreacting (though, okay, maybe a little); it’s just that, when you live with CPTSD, vague communication doesn’t merely […]