Author Archives: Shay Seaborne, CPTSD
Doubly Cursed: The Cultural Victimization of Victims
I’ve experienced being dismissed, blamed, and pathologized for being harmed. Caregivers minimized my distress, family members judged me for expressing it, and acquaintances labeled me oversensitive when I tried to speak about what happened. The world treated me not as … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse
Tagged connection, support, victim mentality, victimhood, victimizing, victims
Leave a comment
Why I Won’t Call Pain “Banana”
There is a chronic pain community that discourages people from using the word “pain.” Instead, they encourage members to use the word “banana.” The idea is that replacing a threatening word with something neutral or even silly can help the … Continue reading
The Real Zone of Growth is Not Outside the Comfort Zone But Inside the Window of Tolerance
A whiteboard at a local gym promotes the idea that “growth only happens outside the comfort zone,” which is popular in our “push through” culture. Stagnation can happen when there’s no challenge and no novelty. But if pushed too far, … Continue reading
Posted in Neurobiology, Uncategorized
Tagged comfort zone, growth, gym, IPNB, learning, mindset, neurobiology, progress, pushing through, Regulation, sweet discomfort, zone of growth
Leave a comment
Survivors in the Lurch: How Doctors Disregard Their Role in Resolving Medical Trauma
Recently, I heard the same line I’ve been hearing for years. A prominent pain specialist told me that doctors don’t have the time to help me recover from medical PTSD. The conversation always drops straight into the same rut: “Are … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Healthcare
Tagged attunement, Doctor, doctor-patient relationship, doctors, Empathy, IPNB, Medical PTSD, MPTSD, pain, pain specialist, relationship, therapy
Leave a comment
From Trauma to Truth: How I Became Anti-Psychiatry
I became anti-psychiatry because of what psychiatry did to me and what I saw it do to others. I walked in with severe Complex PTSD. They put me on Lexapro. The suicidal ideations started about 3 weeks after. When I … Continue reading
Posted in Psychiatry
Tagged abuse, anti-psychiatry, Behavioral Health, chemical imbalance, control, hierarchy, IPNB, Mental Health, psychiatry, Trauma
Leave a comment
When “I’ll Pray for You” is a Symptom of Disconnection
I reached out to my brothers when I was in a protracted and deep struggle. I asked for safe connection, acknowledgment, and support. I needed them to see me and recognize how repeated abuse from the disease management industry had … Continue reading
The Cost of “Positive Vibes Only”: How Denying Reality Shuts Down the Human System
The Cultural Demand to Stay Positive Harms Us Every day we’re told to “think happy thoughts,” to “focus on the good,” to keep our “vibration high.” It’s the cultural chant of a society terrified of pain and truth, and addicted … Continue reading
Posted in Neurobiology
Tagged adaptation, awe, congruence, culture, Empathy, numbness, positive vibes only, survival adaptations
Leave a comment
Control Sold as Awakening: An Interpersonal Neurobiology Look at Byron Katie’s “The Work”
Byron Katie’s teachings are built around four questions that invite people to challenge their thoughts, with “Is it true?” being the most famous. On the surface, these questions can sound compassionate and insightful. And sometimes, they can be helpful. A … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability
Tagged "The Work", Byron Katie, connection, disembodiment, dissociation, functional freeze, IPNB, safety, shame
Leave a comment
Truth-Telling is Refusing to Let the Story End the Way They Wrote It
Trauma recovery doesn’t come from “getting over it.” It emerges from changing your relationship with what happened. There are many ways to do this: through story, compassionate witnessing, individual work, and collective work. But a key way to reclaim your … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability
Tagged abuse, ChristianaCare, painting, recovery, Rockford Center for Behavioral Health, speaking, survival, systemic abuse, truth, writing
Leave a comment
Dependency is Okay When it’s a Prescription
The mental illness industry is obsessed with telling people not to become dependent on anything: don’t rely on substances, don’t lean on coping tools too much, don’t build habits that might create “addiction.” But then, the very same industry hands … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged anti-depressants, anxiety, Behavioral Health, Cymbalta, dependency, discontinuation syndrome, interpersonal neurobiology, IPNB, Lexapro, medical marijuana, Mental Health, MMJ, polypharmacy, psych meds, psychiatry, Psychology, psychotropic medications, withdrawal
4 Comments