“Less and more?” you may ask. “Don’t you mean less is more?” Well, if this was a topic on minimalism, we would be discussing the latter. However, this is a tool for increasing our bandwidth to see our goals as more within our reach. First we declutter the mind and address, “What is it I …
Less and More: A Self-Exploration Tool for Improving Habits Read More »
I spoke of the healing powers of creativity and how to unlock your own last week. One sure sign of healing is when our creativity starts to flourish. But in what direction varies from person to person. Just as no two healing journeys are the same, the same applies to our creative journey. So, since …
My Creative Journey So Far: A Heal-Along with Jaena Read More »
Maximize creativity does not mean perfecting a skill. At least, not where healing is concerned. It’s safely practicing new things, recovering from mistakes, and learning to associate our creative lessons with life. Not all healing work has to feel like work. In fact, this article addresses the magical healing powers of right-brain work. Creativity, that …
Maximize Your Creativity for Maximum Healing Read More »
Hyper-vigilance is a fear-based state of scanning for threats even in non-threatening situations. We tend to think of threats as the life-threatening kind. However, there are also the sort of threats that won’t hurt us physically and that’s why we often overlook these. We also tend to scan for threats to our emotional, mental, and …
Hyper-Vigilance: The Over-Guarding of the Self Read More »
Setting boundaries and holding firm to them is the greatest challenge in our Complex-PTSD community. That’s because our self-abandonment programming tends to run our life. Until we do the healing work, of course. You see, behind our programming is toxic shame. And so, when attempting to assert, it tends to trigger a shame spiral, or …
Setting Boundaries and Holding Your Position Read More »
True story time. In 2014, I shared my dirty little secret with my therapist. “I don’t like helping people.” Yes, I – who considers myself a servant to my Complex-PTSD community and gets much satisfaction from doing so – once said and fully believed my own words. That’s how severe my self-abandonment programming once was. …
Self-Abandonment: People Pleasing versus Helping People Read More »
For most of us, we tend to be adults once we learn that we have Complex-PTSD. And as adults slammed with this diagnosis, we also tend to be busy handling our adult responsibilities. We have jobs, home maintenance, errands to run, and if we have kids, we have even more adult responsibilities. We certainly want …
How to Make Room in Your Life for Healing Your Trauma Read More »
In our Complex-PTSD community, we tend to get excited when we find the right tools. Our first instinct is to share what works with everyone else. It’s certainly well-meaning. We just want to save others the time and trouble it took us to find it. But we forget the time and trouble was what led …
How to Find the Right Tools For Your Unique Needs Read More »
When processing our trauma, there are three things we must practice. Mindfulness, Grounding, and building and maintaining our Window of Tolerance. Mindfulness means being present and aware of the moment. Grounding helps us feel fully present inside our bodies by using our five senses. So, put it together, it’s presence of both mind and body. …
Mindfulness, Grounding, and the Window of Tolerance Read More »
To understand our goals, we must first understand the major problems we tend to have as survivors of childhood trauma. Have you ever come across the term, interpersonal trauma? You can also think of it as an attachment trauma. When we are abused, abandoned, neglected, or betrayed by someone who is supposed to care for …
Interpersonal Trauma is the No Closure Wound Read More »
