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.

Clinical Harm: An IPNB Perspective on the Therapist’s Agenda

When a therapist repeatedly interrupts, dismisses a client’s distressing experiences, or imposes their own agenda, it can have significant negative effects on the client’s nervous system, often triggering a state of dysregulation. Here’s what happens from an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) … Continue reading

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A Collective Roar: The Public Demand For the Epstein Files

The demand to expose the Epstein files has turned into a collective roar. People across political lines, class lines, and belief systems want the truth. That shows how deep this runs. Sexualized violence against children hits something primal in us. … Continue reading

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Latching Onto Safety: Why Dogma is Such a Big Bone 

Stressed people, feeling unsafe, threatened, or disconnected, will gravitate toward anything that offers even a small sense of relief or belonging, even if it’s harmful or misleading; it’s better than nothing. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) view, this is an … Continue reading

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When Fear Calls Itself Freedom: How HSLDA Hurts Homeschoolers

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has spent decades promoting itself as the protector of homeschooling families, but its version of “protection” comes at a cost. Their style of leadership is rooted in fear, hierarchy, and control, and it … Continue reading

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The Brilliance of Being Free: What the DuPonts Can Teach Us About Inequality

I recently took a tour of the Nemours Estate, and from the very first room, the docents kept repeating the same line: “The DuPonts were brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.” The first time they said it, they were talking about AI DuPont … Continue reading

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The DSM is Bunk: IPNB Offers a Humane and Scientific Understanding of Mental Health

Some trauma experts have said that if the psychiatric Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) acknowledged trauma, it would be a very thin volume because virtually everything else would fall beneath it. But from an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) … Continue reading

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Top 10 Reasons Everyday People Should Learn About Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)

Most people hear the word “neurobiology” and think it’s something only scientists or therapists need to understand. But Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)–also called Relational Neuroscience–includes much more than knowing brain parts and how they work; it enhances our human experience and … Continue reading

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My Survival Is the Punchline: Cartooning the Awful Truth

I make cartoon watercolors because my system won’t let me keep it all inside. When something is too much, too absurd, too violating, or too flat-out dismissive, I feel compelled to get it out on paper. It’s not an intellectual … Continue reading

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Finding Practitioners Who Actually Listen: A Practical Guide

Healing doesn’t come from checking boxes, following a protocol, or hoping a practitioner will be “good enough.” It comes from being met by someone who can genuinely witness your experience, attune to what you’re saying, and recognize your strengths. That … Continue reading

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Stripped of Dignity: My Short Time on Food Stamps

I was on food stamps for a short while in my 25th year. A broken right hand made it impossible to do my job. I lost my income, and nobody would hire someone with a broken right hand. I couldn’t … Continue reading

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