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.

Seeing the Pattern Changes Your Options: Contempt, Power, and the Environment

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Contempt is not just a tone or a facial expression. It is a way of organizing a relationship around power. It places one person above and the other below, and it does it in a way that shuts down curiosity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mental Health | Leave a comment

Complex PTSD as Sensitization to Cues of Danger

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

People sometimes wonder why I react so easily. Why a tone shift, pause, or subtle power move can instantly affect my body. They want to know why I notice things others miss and why my system seems to live so … Continue reading →

Posted in Mental Health | Leave a comment

Why I Quit Therapy

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Over 6.5 years, I was traumatized by 13 therapists. Even the intake, first session, and attempt to explain my history put my nervous system back into the same defensive state. In session, I frequently encountered misattunement that prompted their disbelief, … Continue reading →

When the Boss Plays Mind Games: A Case Study in Blame, Power, and Gaslighting

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

About 15 years ago, I left one of only two jobs I ever had that offered a living wage and benefits. I didn’t choose to leave. My boss had a political agenda, and I became a target. I was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Abuse | Tagged district supervisor, employment, Fairfax County VA, gaslighting, mind games, political favor, Supervisor, truth, verbal abuse, Virginia, work | Leave a comment

Can Trauma Survivors Recover Even Without Access to Professional Help?

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

According to a 2021 study, “most states have fewer than 40% of the mental health professionals needed” and “more than half (51%) of counties in the United States have no practicing psychiatrists.” Even where mental illness industry practitioners exist, many … Continue reading →

Posted in PTSD, Trauma | Tagged Complex PTSD, CPTSD, Medicine, Mental Health, Nervous System, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Psychology, PTSD, Regulation, Trauma | Leave a comment

Secrecy and Stability: The Super Enablers at My Father’s Memorial

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

At my father’s memorial in 2019, the family dynamics were easy to see. Most people did not want to talk to me. They showed it through distance, short answers, or simply not engaging. My sister’s behavior was openly hostile. Her … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, IPNB of Hierarchy | Tagged enablers, family, family hierarchy, family secrets, funeral, IPNB, narrative control, Relational Neuroscience, super enablers | Leave a comment

Cues of Safety: Why Connection is Non-Negotiable in Healthcare

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Cues of safety are signals we give each other that tell our nervous systems we are safe with one another. When we feel pro-social and safe enough to be authentic and truly connect, we naturally give off these cues, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged chronic disease, chronic illness, connection, Doctor, Empathy, healthcare, Medicine, practitioner, PTSD, safety | Leave a comment

Outsourcing to Angels: Faith as Deferral Instead of Action

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Recently, I met someone who told me that the political turmoil of today is okay according to the angels. They say it’s just cleaning out the bad stuff. She also said that angels don’t work on our timeline, so we … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems | Tagged Angels, fate, interpersonal neurobiology, IPNB, Relational Neuroscience, spirituality | Leave a comment

Medical Metrics: Numbers that Mask Suffering and Protect Power

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

When the Social Security Disability judge made the final decision about my case, she noted that “there is nothing in the record that shows all that trauma affects your ability to work.” She insisted that I could work full-time in … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged cholesterol, health, hierarchy, measurements, medical records, Medicine, metrics, pathocracy, records, Trauma, trauma denial, weight | Leave a comment

Creating Safety in a Culture That Profits from Harm

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

For the eight years since my connections were severed by psychiatric and medical abuse, I have been building conditions that allow my nervous system to recover. What it has needed is attunement, compassionate witnessing, empathy, validation of my lived experience, … Continue reading →

Posted in PTSD | Tagged biological needs, environments, neurobiology, PTSD | Leave a comment