We are not ourselves when we're triggered. Managing triggers is all about remembering who we are, what our goals & priorities & values are, & what skills we have.

That's why we keep lists & quotes handy: reminders that can penetrate the shock wave of a trauma response.

'Resilience' (ugh, that word) is just a starting point.

We work our trauma recovery because we want what we survived & how we survived it to become the LEAST relevant part of our story & personality.

Remembering at 5:03 PM that I fell asleep with a giggle last night as I thought of tweet after tweet after tweet of Dr. Glenn Patrick Doyle, many of them favorites. It helped me fall asleep peacefully- the reminders of strength, safety in scary night hours, and why we work our recovery! 🩵

Among the absolute hardest trauma recovery tasks we face can be reining in some of the tools that unquestionably helped us survive-- because building a life beyond survival often requires different tools, skills, & philosophies than the ones that served us (well!) back then.

Blog: 'Complex trauma survivors’ flashbacks are often emotional and somatic.

We get yanked back into the past emotionally. We reexperience what we endured in our body. It happens often. It’s disruptive and painful.' useyourdamnskills.com/2024/05/07/i-d…

After what you've experienced, maybe grief &/or rage is the normal, healthy response. Maybe your thinking isn't 'distorted.'

Maybe 'distorted' thinking, after what you endured, would be 'I need to forgive & forget, be the bigger person, anger doesn't accomplish anything...'

“Triggers are like little psychic explosions that crash through avoidance and bring the dissociated, avoided trauma suddenly, unexpectedly, back into consciousness.”

― Carolyn Spring (Carolyn Spring)

“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is shaped by the actions and beliefs of the perpetrator.”

― Judith Lewis Herman

...hence why true trauma informed care is SURVIVOR centered.

“PTSD is a whole-body tragedy, an integral human event of enormous proportions with massive repercussions.”

― Susan Pease Banitt

Every time I have a conversation w/ mark vicente, it feels like we dive deep & I'm talking w/ a long lost brother. In this episode of his podcast 'WTF is On My Mind,' we get into trauma, self-help, cults (including #NXIVM ), SEEK Safely, & more.
open.spotify.com/episode/2EltGt…

Such a good tidbit from when Dr. Glenn Patrick Doyle chatted with @MarkVicente on his podcast, WTF is on my Mind. 'Altering our state of consciousness' can be a useful tool, but it makes us very vulnerable, too. Listen to the pod here: buff.ly/46X6Yg4

Listen to this wonderful #SexAbuseChat with me Rachel Thompson, Author | Survivor | Biz Owner and Dr. Glenn Patrick Doyle on Spaces

Boundaries: Why Saying 'No' Is a Complete Sentence
buff.ly/3QU8t8U

It's about boundaries & trauma survivors, with wonderful tips to help you start #healing !

#MondayBlogs

The incredible Dr. Glenn Patrick Doyle joins me today!
Watch our interview here: bit.ly/48jeCRC
#trauma #therapist #podcast
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A giant thank you to our sponsor, Center for Healing Trauma and Attachment!
For more info, please visit: chtainc.org

You having a reaction to a stressor, absorbing its impact, & course correcting for trauma responses is NOT you 'backsliding' in your recovery. The entire point of recovery is to be able to skillfully respond to triggers & stressors-- & NOT lose who we are & what we're all about.

There is not an epidemic of people 'playacting trauma,' on the internet or otherwise. There IS an epidemic of trauma survivors who refuse to acknowledge what they've been through or are struggling w/, because they don't want to be labeled 'dramatic' or 'attention seeking.'

Your pain is valid.

Your experiences are valid.

Your needs are valid.

You are valid.

Anyone who doesn't understand why it's important to survivors that this be explicitly stated, why it's not 'self evident,' doesn't understand what trauma does to the human nervous system.

hi guys

You get to acknowledge when a relationship isn't meeting your needs or you don't like how it feels. Full stop.

That applies to romantic relationships, relationships w/ jobs or churches-- & therapy relationships.

Red flags in therapists: they treat 'psychotherapy' like a religion-- complete w/ dogma that must not be questioned or modified; they devote significant energy to listing the sins of heretics & apostates; & they frequently bemoan that the 'true faith' has been lost over time.