Do you struggle with feeling grateful despite trying to practice appreciation in your life?  Do you sometimes envy others who seem to embody a spirit of thankfulness that you feel you lack?  Have you given up on thankfulness altogether because it seems like it’s just a waste of time?  Read on if you answered yes to any of the above questions, as this offering may help you have a breakthrough as it did for me.  

Do you find yourself thinking about the same old negative crap day in and day out? Do you feel overtaken by feelings of dread, fear, or remorse? Do you wonder if you can ever break free from this vicious cycle you seem trapped in? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may be trapped by trauma.

Do you suffer from trauma and think of yourself as a non-artistic person? Do you keep getting caught in the same negative thought loops and struggle to break free from them? Do you suffer from intrusive thoughts and/or feelings and struggle to escape them? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then I urge you to read about some things you can do to help your overall situation.

Do you suffer from trauma and wonder why you do some of the things that you do? Do you feel like you are either inhibited from risk-taking, or completely given over to it? Do you feel like your decision-making is entirely out of habit or routine instead of the particular circumstances of the situation? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you are definitely having your choices affected by the trauma twist, so read on.

Do you sometimes find yourself feeling cut off from others and the world? Do you sometimes just find that you “space out“ for no apparent reason? Do you ever feel sometimes like you’re not completely in your body for one reason or another? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you experience some degree of dissociation and would do well to read further.

Do you have trauma and feel like often that no one understands what you are going through? Do you often wish you had a support network that could help you recover from trauma in your past? If you answer yes to either of these two questions then I have some things to share with you in my review of the movie Thunderbolts and what it says about trauma recovery.

Do you sometimes find yourself engaged in doom scrolling for no apparent reason? Do you feel glued to your cell phone, computer, or other viewing screen much or most of the time? Do you feel unable to break away from watching things mindlessly on your cell phone or other electronic device? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you may need to consider a digital detox, so I encourage you to read on!

Are you someone who tends to keep thinking about the same difficult memories or experiences over and over again and can’t seem to stop it? Do these thoughts tend to almost come out of nowhere when you get stricken with them? Do you feel trapped by your negative thoughts and feelings about past experiences and can’t seem to shake them? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then I encourage you to read on to find out how journaling can possibly help you with your own trauma.

Do you find yourself sometimes saying “yes“ when you actually mean no? Do you feel like you somehow owe it to others to give in to their demands? Do you have trouble just standing up for yourself when others seem to be angry or disappointed in you? If you answered yes to one more of these questions, then you probably have a problem with people pleasing, so please read on.

Do you ever wonder why you tend to feel numb much or most of the time? Do you ever think that you somehow “should“ be feeling things more than you do? Do you find yourself unable to experience the joy or happiness that others seem to feel so readily? If you answered, yes to one or more of these questions, then this blog post may very well be for you!

Do you sometimes find yourself having a reaction to a situation that seems out of proportion with the actual event? Do you sometimes find yourself overwhelmed with shame or self-loathing at times as well? Do you sometimes get a sense of dread that seems to come out of nowhere before having a certain experience? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you may be struggling with trauma responses and I encourage you to continue reading!

Are you someone who has experienced more than your fair share of shame in your life? Do you want to come out from underneath the cloud of this unpleasant emotion as soon as possible? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then this week’s offering is for you!

Have you heard the term ‘trauma-informed care,’ and wondered just what this involves? Do you have trauma and wonder if those who provide health or educational care about whether they are attentive to what’s going on with you? If so, then this blog post is a good one to read.

Do you ever notice getting strange or unusual reactions from your friends or family when you tell them about difficult experiences you’ve had? Do you find that you get triggered when listening to friends or family talk about their difficult experiences and not know how to handle it? If you answered yes to either of these two questions, then you may be engaging in trauma dumping or may be a victim of it without knowing it - - and please read on.

Do you ever wonder why you might be feeling some degree of mental distress, anxiety, and or depression because of your relationship to a partner or friend? Do you also experience some degree of social awkwardness, generalized stress, or social isolation as a result of your interactions with this or other persons in your social sphere? If so, you may be suffering from something known as vicarious trauma.

Do you sometimes wonder why you feel anxious despite not having anything to feel anxious about? Do you wonder how you could be struggling so much in your adult life despite having had a “normal“ childhood? If you answered yes to either of these questions you may suffer from what is known as intergenerational trauma, so please read on.

Do you wonder what part of your brain gets triggered during trauma or PTSD? Do you feel like there’s some switch that gets flipped that causes you to react the way you do when you are traumatized? All evidence points to the amygdala, and being aware of the part it plays in trauma is of utmost importance.

Do you find yourself blaming yourself if you’ve been a victim of sexual assault in the past? Did you ever experience blame from others for somehow experiencing a sexual assault? Do you walk around with a sense of shame and guilt for having gone through a sexual assault? If so, then you may suffer from victim-blaming and this week’s offering is for you. 

Do you find yourself sometimes feeling anxious and worried for no apparent reason? Do you have a history of childhood trauma, abuse, and/or neglect? Maybe you just didn’t feel like you could go to your parents for emotional support much or all of your childhood. If you identified positively with any of the above then there is definitely a connection between anxiety and trauma for you.

Do you ever find yourself being “zoned out“ and then realize you weren’t paying attention to what was happening or what someone was saying at any given time? Do you ever find that you seem to be taken over by some part of you that you never consciously wanted to come out? if you answered yes to either of these questions, then you do experience some degree of dissociation, and this week’s blog post is for you.