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Why the symptoms of trauma make sense
So this was me, then: a tick-box list of symptoms demonstrating how screwed up I was. ‘Loser!!’ it screamed at me, casually. The more items I ticked, the more it screamed: ‘Bigger loser!’ Forty items – tick, tick, tick: ‘Biggest loser in the world!’ And so shame sat like a heavy puddle of tar in my stomach.
Trauma affects us in multiple ways, and delineating its ‘signs and symptoms’ like this can be utterly devastating.
Three challenges of trauma: why recovery is so hard
We don’t fail to heal from trauma quickly because there’s something wrong with us – because we’re stupid, because we enjoy being victims, because we’re mentally ill, because we’re lazy, because we’re weak. Trauma is difficult to heal from. It’s meant to be.
Why is shame such a central experience of child sexual abuse?
Child sexual abuse and shame are inextricably intertwined. As victims, we feel the shame that the perpetrator doesn’t. But why is it so hard to shift this shame? This article looks at six reasons why the deck is stacked against us.
What grounding is and isn’t
What is grounding? What is its purpose and aim? What if a particular grounding technique isn’t actually very effective at grounding? Do we confuse the outcome of grounding with a list of techniques?
Trust is built
FacebookTwitterLinkedInInstagramYoutube‘Trust me,’ says the therapist. And everything in me wants to curl up and away, disappear some place in my head, and never come back. It is an understatement to say it, but those two words are a massive trigger. Because ‘Trust...
What triggers you to joy?
As trauma survivors we all know what it’s like to be triggered by reminders of danger from the past. But do we know what our joy triggers are? And how does paying attention to what we enjoy help turn down our sensitivity to danger?
