From Surviving to Thriving
I know I sound harsh. I know my words sting.
And I see the way you flinch when I arrive.
But please believe me – I never set out to wound you.
I only ever wanted to keep you safe and do it the only way I know how.
[Read more…] about If Your Critical Part Could Be Honest, it Might Say…When something painful or overwhelming happens, your nervous system reacts before your brain can even make sense of it. Long before you’ve found the right words or explanations, your body has already decided: *is this safe, or is this dangerous?*
If the body doesn’t feel safe, it activates survival responses—fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Over time, these protective reflexes hardwire into patterns.
Many people mistake these patterns for personality traits, symptoms, or mental health struggles. But what’s really happening is a body stuck in survival mode.
[Read more…] about When You Feel Like You’re Losing Your Mind, Connect With Your BodyHealing from trauma can feel like a big, overwhelming journey. Many people worry that therapy will mean diving straight into painful memories before they’re ready. That fear makes sense — and it’s exactly why Dr. Janina Fisher developed “Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST)”.
[Read more…] about Finding Safety First With Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST)If you’ve ever felt “stuck” in anxiety, shutdown, or a constant state of alert—even when nothing dangerous is happening – you’re not alone. Trauma can leave us feeling trapped in survival mode long after the actual experience is over.
The good news? Your body isn’t broken. It’s doing exactly what it was designed to do: protect you. And that’s where polyvagal theory comes in—a powerful way of understanding the nervous system that can open new doors to healing.
[Read more…] about How Polyvagal Theory Can Help Heal TraumaWhen I first picked up Bessel van der Kolk’s *The Body Keeps the Score*, I expected a clinical explanation of trauma. What I found instead was something far more powerful: a book that not only explains the science of trauma, but also speaks to the lived experience of what it means to carry it in both mind and body.
I found words that named things I had carried in silence for years — the way trauma doesn’t just live in memory, but in the body itself.
[Read more…] about Trauma and the Body: Reflections on “The Body Keeps the Score”When people hear the word trauma, they often picture big, dramatic events – like accidents, wars, or natural disasters. And yes, those things can absolutely cause trauma. But trauma doesn’t always look the way we expect. Sometimes, it’s quieter, hidden in moments that no one else even noticed.
For me, understanding trauma began with realizing this simple truth: trauma isn’t just about what happened to you.
It’s about how your mind and body reacted when something felt too big, too overwhelming, or too unsafe to handle.
[Read more…] about What is Trauma?
