Category Archives: Uncategorized
Not Feeling: A Survival Adaptation
Not feeling emotions can be a survival adaptation that develops when your nervous system has been overwhelmed by chronic stress or trauma. It’s a way of protecting yourself from feelings that once felt too intense or unbearable. Reconnecting with your … Continue reading
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Tagged emotional blunting, emotions, feelings, numbness, recovery
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Why One Safe Connection Affects Everything
In the past few months, I have enjoyed a noticeably improved quality of life. I don’t have to spend so much focus desperately trying to build connections. I have more energy for other things, like working in the garden and … Continue reading
Posted in PTSD, Uncategorized
Tagged connection, integrated relationships, integration, mutuality, recovery, relationships, support
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IPNB: Bucking the Culture That Keeps Us in Survival Mode
Standard treatments do not address ongoing conditions. They try to change thoughts while the body is still organized around threat. From a Relational Neuroscience perspective, that is a mismatch. The system is responding accurately to the conditions under which it … Continue reading
Cues of Safety: Why Connection is Non-Negotiable in Healthcare
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
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Tagged chronic disease, chronic illness, connection, Doctor, Empathy, healthcare, Medicine, practitioner, PTSD, safety
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Symbols as Mirrors: Building Coherence Through Tarot
I pulled three cards from a tarot deck without looking: the Knight of Swords, the Six of Swords, and the Five of Wands. At first glance, they are just symbols: energetic, chaotic, transitional. But when I looked at them together, … Continue reading
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Tagged archetypes, cohesive narrative, Nervous System, story, survival, symbolic, tarot
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The 20 Worst Things to Say to Anyone in Distress
Here’s a list of common sayings that can be weaponized against Complex PTSD survivors and others in distress, often invalidating their experiences or reinforcing harmful narratives: 1. “Everything happens for a reason.” Implies suffering has a predetermined purpose, disregarding systemic … Continue reading
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The 20 Best Things You Can Say to a Person in Distress
Supportive language prioritizes validation, respect, and presence rather than minimizing, fixing, or forcing someone into a specific healing path. 1. “I believe you.” Validates their experience and counters disbelief. 2. “What happened to you was not your fault.” Removes blame … Continue reading
Top 10 Bad Things Therapists Say to Trauma Survivors
Having fired 13 mental illness industry workers in 6.5 years, I experienced a lot of indifference and harm. These are not isolated events; they are endemic in an industry that denies the reality of trauma. Dismissing or Minimizing the … Continue reading
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Tagged bad therapist, bad therapy, therapist, trauma recovery
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Artist Talk, “Afternoon With the Artist,” February 8, 2026
As part of my first solo art exhibition, I was asked to present a talk of about 10 minutes. I used my lived experience to illustrate how hierarchical systems and structures are key drivers of human distress. Here are the … Continue reading
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