Feeling the Anger, You Were Denied in Childhood
Anger is a healthy emotion that all humans experience. Anger is a way for us to tell if we are in danger and allows us to respond quickly. Much has been written about anger and how it is sometimes repressed because it is not safe to express it,...
Attachment to the Perpetrator
The article below is a re-release of something I wrote in 2018. I found it too important to bury it in the archives. Shirley In my research that I have been doing for my book on attachment disorders, I was reminded of a subject I believe I...
Becoming Stuck in the Trauma of the Past
There are many roadblocks to healing from dissociative identity disorder (DID). There is finding an experienced therapist, finding the funds to pay them, and dealing with the chaos that comes with beginning treatment. However, one roadblock stands out more than all the rest and it can occur at any...
Trauma and the Developing Brain
Childhood trauma does horrendous things to a child’s mind, body, and psyche. Why? What does it change in the developing brain, and how? This article shall explore neurotransmitters and how they affect the different brain regions of a child and how these effects can be felt into adulthood. We...
Your Brain and Dissociative Identity Disorder
You struggle with the devastating symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (DID), dealing with the emotional, relational, and economic consequences every day. However, have you ever wondered what is going on in your brain when you live with dissociative identity disorder? This article will explore how the brain is...
Polyvagal Theory and Healing from Childhood Trauma
Those who live with the after-effects of severe childhood trauma understand well how it feels to be continually on the lookout for danger. Some experience this as hypervigilance feeling unsafe no matter who they are with or where they are in life. Polyvagal theory does a wonderful job of...
The Physiology of Fear
Recently, I wrote a piece about maladaptive fear and someone asked me to explain the physiology of it. Although I am certainly not an expert, and no one fully understands the physiology of fear, I shall endeavor to do my best to explain it in detail. Please, forgive me...
Maladaptive Fear the Most Primitive Emotion
Fear is a necessary emotion that protects humans from harm by alerting us to danger and enabling us to respond through the fight/flight/freeze/fawn response. However, when fear becomes chronic it can disable people and cripple their lives. In this article, we shall examine fear, its source, and what can...
Facing Thanksgiving and Christmas After Childhood Trauma
Every year people in the United States gather with their families to eat turkey or ham and enjoy each other’s company. However, for those who experienced childhood trauma growing up in a dysfunctional home, Thanksgiving and Christmas are torture as they relive the holidays of the past. This article...
Living as a Man with CPTSD: My Brother’s Struggles
Although I am a woman and have only an outsider’s view of how men suffer when it comes to toxic masculinity, I am going to write a rather personal piece. It’s the story of how my brother Mike is bombarded by society to be someone he is not and...
Living as a Man with CPTSD: My Brother’s Struggles
Although I am a woman and have only an outsider’s view of how men suffer when it comes to toxic masculinity, I am going to write a rather personal piece. It’s the story of how my brother Mike is bombarded by society to be someone he is not and...
The Many Physical Effects Leftover from Severe Childhood Abuse
I’ve discussed lately some of the emotional effects child abuse and neglect cause adult survivors, but what about our bodies? Now I’m going to answer the question how does childhood trauma impact us physically as adults? First, we’ll explore the long-term physical problems brought on by the harm perpetrated...