Must reads to recognize & heal complex ptsd
How to understand the freeze response and its purpose
Have you been in situations where looking back you should have felt intense fear but instead felt nothing? Did you minimize or deny rather than assess the circumstance accurately?
3 myths about boundaries and how to navigate them
When you start healing from dysfunctional family dynamics, you learn the importance of setting boundaries. But those lessons from well-meaning people often re-inforce myths about boundaries that hinder your progress.
How to parent when you have complex PTSD
I’ve received countless questions about the challenges of being a parent with complex PTSD. How do you avoid making the same mistakes your parents did?
How to stop dimming your light and 3 reasons you do
Do you ever dim your light or play small in order to feel accepted by others? Have you ever pretended to be less than what you really are because you had the feeling that belonging meant dumbing that down?
How to not should on yourself while you heal
Tara Brach is a mindfulness teacher and psychologist who says when you should on yourself, you argue with reality. The word ‘should’ shows a lack of acceptance and a disconnection with yourself.
How to overcome avoidance strategies as coping mechanisms
If you grew up with unmet childhood needs, you may have adopted avoidance strategies as a way to cope. Instead of facing the issue head on, you distracted yourself from it.
How to get over feeling like you don't belong
Feeling like you don’t belong can be linked to adverse events in childhood. If you felt forced to suppress your own needs to win the love and acceptance of your caregivers, you never felt celebrated for your authentic self.
How to stop feeling triggered about being responsible for healing
Have you been told you’re responsible for healing after trauma? For example, someone says it’s not your fault what happened to you, but it’s your responsibility to heal from it.
How to know you have a narcissistic mother wound
When Christina Crawford wrote about her abusive mother, Joan, in Mommie Dearest, several celebrities came out in defense of the actress.
How to attract the right people into your life
There’s a saying that your level of success and satisfaction in life is dependent on your ability to attract the right people into your life.
How to overcome maladaptive daydreaming
Many people who experienced childhood trauma learn to avoid painful feelings by escaping into fantasies or maladaptive daydreaming. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my reality was too painful to bear, so I escaped into daydreaming instead.
How to stop catastrophizing and improve your life
Catastrophizing means expecting the worst when something bad happens. It could be a coping mechanism learned in childhood to help you regulate your emotions.
How to stop wishing things were different to be happy
Oprah Winfrey says forgiveness means “giving up the hope that the past could be any different.” We hold ourselves back when we keep wishing things were different, either now or in the past.
How to overcome exhaustion from standing up for yourself
If you grew up in a family like mine, you probably never learned the art of standing up for yourself. In fact, you learned the opposite: how to suppress your needs in favor of others.
Signs you're in a fantasy relationship and how to stop
If you grew up with childhood emotional abuse and neglect, relationships of all kinds may baffle you. In romance you skip the getting to know you phase and propel yourself into a future of undying devotion.