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. […]
CPTSD CPTSD Recovery Healing Journey Healing Out Loud Mental Health Personal Growth Therapy & Healing Trauma Trauma Recovery
Healing Hurts Before It Heals
The Truth No One Tells You at the Beginning In my most recent Healing Out Loud episode, I talk about something no one warns you about: healing hurts before it heals. Most people picture recovery as a peaceful climb into some serene place. But the truth? It feels more like tearing up the old floorboards […]
CPTSD CPTSD Recovery Flashbacks & Triggers Mental Health Relationships & Attachment Self-Care Trauma Triggers
When Trauma Hits Again: Living With CPTSD
Feeling “Off” For a while now, I’ve been feeling “off.” My nervous system has been stuck on high alert, and it’s been bugging me because I couldn’t figure out why. Nothing in my day-to-day life should be making me feel like this. And no matter what I tried, my breathing techniques, grounding, distracting myself, nothing […]
Why Healing Still Hurts After All the Work
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’ve put in the work. Not just little steps here and there, but years of therapy, really digging into the messy stuff, and a whole lot of uncomfortable growth. I’ve spent hours in therapy. Dug through emotional wreckage. Untangled beliefs that weren’t even mine. I faced parts […]
Inside Out, But Trauma Got the Remote
One of my daughter’s favorite movies is Pixar’s Inside Out. We’ve watched it together more times than I can count. And honestly? It’s become one of my favorites too. It’s clever, heartfelt, and somehow it makes all these big, messy feelings make sense, not just for kids, but for adults, too. And every time I […]