Author Archives: Shay Seaborne, CPTSD
I Can’t Trust a Doctor Who Doesn’t Trust Me
Over the past eight years, the biggest barrier to my health has been my practitioner’s refusal to trust me. They don’t believe what I say about my body, my experience, my reality. They can’t take in what I need, what … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Why Conversations End When You Expose the Hierarchy
A few months ago, I agreed to a podcast interview with a prominent pain specialist, someone widely known for using Stellate Ganglion Blocks (SGBs) to treat people diagnosed with PTSD. He states that the shot works fast, with people often … Continue reading
Posted in IPNB of Hierarchy
Tagged Complex PTSD, hierarchy, pain specialist, podcast, SGB, SGB4PTSD, Trauma
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What Are Our Core Biological Needs?
From an Interpersonal Neurobiology perspective, the core biological needs that are chronically unmet in people with severe CPTSD involve safety, connection, and regulation. These needs are not abstract, but embodied. 1. Co-regulation. Human nervous systems are designed to settle in … Continue reading
The Great Misdiagnosis: Why Medical Trauma Requires a Different Lens
The standard treatment for PTSD is the problem. It nearly killed me. And then the standard treatment for that was even worse. It locked me into psychiatric hospitalization for 8 days and nights. There, my rights were violated, I received … Continue reading
Posted in PTSD
Tagged medical abuse, medical harm, Medical PTSD, MPTSD, PTSD, therapy, treatment
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Big Ways to Support Your Nervous System With Tiny Actions
You can support your nervous system by building small, regular practices into your daily life to support your system’s ability to find steadiness over time. These practices don’t have to be complicated or take much time; consistency is what matters … Continue reading
Posted in Neurobiology
Tagged coregulation, Nervous System, Regulation, repair, safety, support
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My Best Ever Hospital Experience
In the past few years, I had too many awful hospital experiences here in Delaware. They are a stark contrast to those I previously had in Virginia. Twenty years ago I had a severe gallbladder attack. The pain was intense. … Continue reading
Brutal Work: Trauma, Mushrooms, and Integration
Four years ago I bought “magic” mushrooms from a company in Canada. The box arrived wrapped in holiday paper. Inside was a quality t-shirt and a pair of cheap footies. At first I was alarmed that I might have been … Continue reading
Welfare Systems Trap the Nervous System and Hold People Down
A friend also lives with severe Complex PTSD rooted in extreme developmental trauma. They are profoundly disabled by it, not because they are incapable or unmotivated, but because their nervous system learned very early that survival required constant vigilance. The … Continue reading
Posted in IPNB of Hierarchy
Tagged hierarchy, social services, support, systems, welfare
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Creating My Own Justice: Art, Words, and the Nervous System
I keep talking about what happened to me because the lack of justice makes it impossible to “let it go,” as if that is even a thing. The psychiatric abuse and forced FGM surgery didn’t just happen; they continue to … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability
Tagged abuse, art, expression, failure of justice, integration, interpersonal neurobiology, IPNB, justice, justice making, medical abuse, medical harm, painting, process, recovery, watercolors, witnessing
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I Can’t Trust a Doctor Who Doesn’t Trust Me
I Can’t Trust a Doctor Who Doesn’t Trust Me The biggest barrier to my health has been the practitioner’s refusal to trust me. They don’t believe what I say about my body, experience, or reality. They can’t take in what … Continue reading