You Are Allowed

You Are Allowed

In case you hadn’t noticed, everyone has an opinion about what we should be doing during this quarantine.  When we learn to please others at a young age, this barrage of opinions can be especially confusing.  We need to know the right answer and we struggle to trust...
A Message from the Freedom Fighters

A Message from the Freedom Fighters

Since very early in my life, I have had to live in survival mode.  That means, my controller was fully in charge.  They made all the decisions in my life and they were all made from a fear-based view of the world.  All my decisions were safe decisions.  I needed to...
The Toll of Toxic Shame

The Toll of Toxic Shame

Toxic shame is one of the most detrimental epidemics in a world filled with childhood trauma.  But it isn’t easy to see.  It is often heavily defended by our dissociation, anger and futility.  It is hidden under our defenses like anxiety, depression and addiction. ...
Reigniting Joy

Reigniting Joy

My trauma led me to understand emotions in a one-dimensional way: “bad”.  They do come in two forms of “bad” though.  There are emotions that are a bit uncomfortable, but tolerable.  I can power through them and still function even if I am exhausted at the end of the...