Lucid Living Counseling, LLC

Artist: unknown (please let me know if you know whose art this is)

This information is so important for survivors of childhood trauma and to anyone who loves a survivor (i.e., most people).

While it may be surprising to learn, even emotional neglect on its own is sufficient for the development of complex PTSD [C-PTSD]; many people feel they could not have been traumatized, because they were never hit, sworn at, or the recipient of other forms of grievous abuse.

Of course, many people with C-PTSD experienced some combination of traumas in early life (e.g., verbal abuse, physical abuse and/or inappropriate corporal punishment, emotional neglect *and* abuse, etc.), and so it follows that the severity of the C-PTSD symptoms is often positively correlated with the number, frequency, and severity of the traumatic experiences that occur throughout one's life.

I would argue that this might be one of the most crucial things to understand and recognize in your own experience. It is absolutely a game changer when we can learn to recognize an emotional flashback when it's happening, mindfully call it out, and self-compassionately tend to ourselves. This whole video is worth a watch!

How to Tell You're Having an EMOTIONAL FLASHBACK (and what to DO about it) Next 8-Week Coaching Intensive Starts October 21. APPLY NOW!: http://bit.ly/3IALonwHave CPTSD? TAKE THE QUIZ: http://bit.ly/3GhE65zFREE COURSE: The Daily Pra...

Trying to differentiate between intuition--or gut instinct--after trauma can prove especially difficult. While this may vary from person to person, I would like to share how I have personally learned to distinguish between the two.
https://youtu.be/L_9o6f_E0kU?si=oSNBelFA6dy4qz_3

Intuition or Anxiety? How can I tell the difference? Trying to differentiate between intuition--or gut instinct--after trauma can prove especially difficult. While this may vary from person to person, I would l...

This is why so many trauma survivors feel like they have no idea who they really are. And when you work to heal from trauma in adulthood, you might find that you are going to discover yourself for the first time. I also see this as a time to create yourself anew. It's a time of exploration, trying things on to see if they fit or not, and letting go what doesn't fit. It can feel very intimidating, yet simultaneously liberating and exciting.

Liz and Mollie

Self-love.💗

This is so very true.

As a fellow trauma survivor, what I have learned from my own experience is that healing is not linear, and it sure as hell isn't easy.

The journey may be long and difficult, heartbreaking and heart opening, forward and backward, up and down, but progress is possible, and it has become a reality for many.

I am fortunate enough to watch this transpire with my own eyes over and over again with the brave souls who come through my door every week or two, and I have also lived it myself.

Lots of us have walked through the fire and refused to give up so that we can turn around and tell you that it's possible to heal. We extend our hands back to you as an invitation to take this heartening journey and to let us walk with you, because we're not afraid of it, and we want more than anything to help others get to this place.

It is possible to actually love life again, even when it gets difficult.

All of the immense effort you put into your healing--the invisible, emotional work that so many don't even know you're struggling with daily and managing the absolute terror that is naturally provoked by breaking out of your survival behaviors--DOES matter! All of it. Even the tinies of victories. Celebrate them!

The fruit the work bears is the freedom you find within yourself and your life. But it ripens very slowly for most of us, especially if you have a lifetime of trauma.

So, if it's taking a long time, don't beat yourself up. Lasting growth can take time. I know it can be hard to keep going when you've been fighting for so long and the pain is so intense... so with that, I'd like to share my own personal mantra, which is:

Just don't quit.

That's it. Whatever you do, don't quit, no matter how badly you want to. It's okay to rest, but do not quit. Do not give up on yourself.

Keep going. It is SO worth it. YOU are so worth it. ❤️

Yes! 💙💜

S: schott

♡

source:

Inaction is also a choice.

ℹ🌿NEUTRALITY IS INVALIDATION

Invalidation is a form of relational trauma which, over time, harms the brain and nervous system, and also results in the disintegration of any healthy bonds of connection, and dissolution of trust in others. Healing requires the slow, ongoing work of diligent growth in character, self-awareness, and love.

https://www.gottman.com/blog/neutrality-is-invalidation/

💜

ℹ🌿THE COMPLEX TRAUMA SURVIVOR FACES A LIFETIME’S WORTH OF BULLYING |

"Many abused children cling to the hope that growing up will bring escape and freedom. But the personality formed in the environment of coercive control is not well adapted to adult life. The survivor is left with fundamental problems in basic trust, autonomy, and initiative. She approaches the task of early adulthood – establishing independence and intimacy – burdened by major impairments in self-care, in cognition and in memory, in identity, and in the capacity to form stable relationships. She is still a prisoner of her childhood; attempting to create a new life, she reencounters the trauma.”

– Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – from Domestic Violence to Political Terror

https://www.themeadows.com/blog/the-complex-trauma-survivor-faces-a-lifetime-worth-of-bullying/

End the stigma. Let's talk about it. Don't keep silent about suicidal thoughts.

And when we push it down for years and years, it causes more problems, overtly and covertly, in our jobs and relationships, in our bodies and in our minds. Compare and despair… your trauma is valid, too. We just acknowledge in order to process, release, and move on.

Acceptance paired with nonudgment and kindness towards ourselves is a powerful combination!

The way we were loved as a child becomes the way we love as adults...

Until we break the cycle.

The Holistic Psychologist