Author Archives: Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

About Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Former tall ship sailor turned trauma awareness activist-artist Shay Seaborne, CPTSD has studied the neurobiology of fear / trauma /PTSD since 2015. She writes, speaks, teaches, and makes art to convey her experiences as well as her understanding of the neurobiology of fear, trauma theory, and principles of trauma recovery. A native of Northern Virginia, Shay settled in Delaware to sail KALMAR NYCKEL, the state’s tall ship. She wishes everyone could recognize PTSD is not a mental health problem, but a neurophysiological condition rooted in dysregulation, our mainstream culture is neuro-negative, and we need to understand we can heal ourselves and each other through awareness, understanding, and safe connection.

“Postpartum Psychosis May Run in Families,” But It’s Not In the Genes

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

“Postpartum Psychosis May Run in Families,” blares a headline at Neuroscience News. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) perspective, what is often described as a condition that “runs in families” may not be primarily genetic, but rather deeply shaped by relational … Continue reading →

Posted in Mental Health, Parenting | Tagged genetic, interpersonal neurobiology, IPNB, Mental Health, patterns, pregnancy, psychosis | Leave a comment

ChristianaCare Didn’t Care: How a Hospital Harmed Me Over and Over and the State of Delaware Condoned It

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

When I entered a ChristianaCare facility seven years ago today, I asked for help with severe Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the particularly persistent kind of PTSD that results from chronic abuse and neglect, particularly during development. I had no idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged ChristianaCare, delaware, Deputy Attorney General, FGM, Goldstein. Schwartz, hospital, medical abuse, medical neglect, Medicalized FGM, Non-Consensual Surgery, psychiatry, surgery, tumor, urogynecologist | Leave a comment

US Homeland Security: When Trauma Is Codified into National Policy

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

A Facebook friend recently asked, “Is Kristi Noem even human?” This question, seemingly born from disbelief, prompted a deeper look into the behaviors of the current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. What if her actions, often described as impulsive, harsh, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

No Labels, No Symptom Checklists: The Shame Busting Science of IPNB

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Many people share a deep and growing concern about psychiatry’s limitations. Meanwhile, Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) offers a framework grounded in science and is also deeply humane. Rather than defining mental health through labels and symptom checklists, IPNB recognizes health and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

How the Democratic Party Fostered MAGA

Posted on May 20, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Trumpism didn’t rise from nowhere, and it’s not simply the result of one man’s manipulation or one party’s extremism. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) lens, what we’re seeing is the inevitable outcome of long-standing disconnection between people and institutions, between … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged betrayal, d&c, Democratic party, hierarchy, Presidency, Trump, Trump Administration | Leave a comment

Bill Gates Is “Giving It All Away” While Keeping the Power

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Bill Gates announced he plans to give away “virtually all” of his wealth–around $200 billion–over the next 20 years in “the “largest philanthropic commitment in modern history.” He says the Gates Foundation will shut its doors on December 31, 2045. … Continue reading →

Posted in The Billionaire Class | Tagged Bill Gates, Billionaire, billionaires, exploitation, philanthropists, philanthropy, power, ultra-rich, wealth | Leave a comment

Cruelty by Policy: Medicaid Cuts Are a Direct Assault on Vulnerable Americans

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

The U.S. House Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid are not just a political move. From the perspective of Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB), they represent an act of systemic cruelty. Not symbolic cruelty or ideological cruelty, but actual, lived cruelty felt in … Continue reading →

Posted in IPNB of Hierarchy | Tagged cruelty, cuts, Medicaid, Republicans, Trump Administration, US government | Leave a comment

Randy Shrugged: Generational Trauma Emotionally Eviscerated My Husband

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

When I was married to Randy*, I was in a constant state of confusion and loneliness. I’d ask what he felt, what he needed, what was going on between us. He’d shrug, tilt his head and say, “I don’t know.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Uncategorized | Tagged disconnection, divorce, intergenerational trauma, IPNB, Marriage, shrug, spouse | Leave a comment

Music Power in the Shower

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Most people enjoy taking a shower, but for trauma survivors like me, bathing is often loaded. After being abused and neglected by the medical industry, my nervous system became severely dysregulated. Even something as simple as taking a shower becomes … Continue reading →

Posted in PTSD | Tagged bathing, dissociation, flashbacks, IPNB, Medical PTSD, PTSD, Regulation, shower | Leave a comment

Trauma is Political. Healing is, Too.

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Most trauma is caused by power imbalances in which the powerful neglect, abuse, and exploit those who have less. Such out-of-balance relational dynamics–especially when protected by institutions–are the driver of mental health conditions, chronic illnesses, recurrent pain, and virtually all … Continue reading →

Posted in IPNB of Hierarchy | Tagged abuse, fascism, hierarchy, Interpersonal Neurobilology, IPNB, Nervous System, politics, power, Regulation, Trauma | Leave a comment