Codependent relationships are either obvious or subtle. Either way, the dynamics of codependency can be harmful, to a codependent individual and to others. Often, the signs of codependency are misconstrued signs of love. Sacrifice, Not Compromise: You are quick to concede to your partner’s wishes without thinking about your own Codependency is born out ofRead More
Abuse does something peculiar to our spirits. Breaking us down overtime, abuse, in all of its forms, causes us to start believing we deserve the treatment we are receiving. At the least, we may start to believe that we don’t deserve better. The effects of trauma following abuse are real and swift. Verbal abuse isRead More
Due to a lack of mainstream knowledge, trauma is widely regarded as experiencing war or extreme forms of violence, gore, and abuse. Trauma can be everything from bullying to alcoholism to verbal abuse. Nearly all people who live a life will live a life that will include at least one traumatic moment. Few people willRead More
A year can feel like an eternity, depending on your perspective. Changing your perspective changes the way you relate to time. The saying “One day at a time” is popular in recovery communities for this reason. Rather than trying to digest the entirety of a lifetime without drugs, alcohol, addictive behaviors, or relationships, people areRead More
Maybe it was a phone call or a note that finally said it all. It might have been someone who called out addiction for what it was and that tipped the scales to seeking help for long-term chronic health issues that led to addiction. There are many ways it can happen, but diagnosis of aRead More
Valentine’s Day will sadly never be the same for the students, parents, friends, teachers, and surrounding community of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In the afternoon hours of Wednesday, February 14, 2018, just before school was due to let out, gunshots rang through the high school campus as Nikolas Cruz opened fire onRead More
Warning: This article contains language that might be triggering or disturbing for those who have experienced similar trauma. In early January 2018, tragic and terrible news surfaced of a group of 13 siblings who were being held captive in their homes. After an older sibling escaped and ran to the police, the world learned ofRead More
Many treatment programs have rules or policies against making significant physical alterations during the course of treatment. Things like getting piercings, tattoos, and hair dying might be temporarily banned during certain stages of treatment. Some treatment centers might even have a strict dress code and ban certain kinds of makeup in order to inhibit tooRead More
Relationships can be traumatizing for different reasons. Trauma is often thought of as the result of something physical. People are physical beings. Being in a romantic relationship with someone is being in a physical relationship with someone. The trauma of a relationship, however, can be emotional, mental, verbal, sexual, neglectful, abandoning, rejecting, and much more.Read More
Yes, Valentine’s Day is just a day. Yes, Valentine’s Day can be viewed as a hyper-Hallmark holiday taking the everyday tokens of love and appreciation to extremes. For some, however, Valentine’s Day is a painful reminder of trauma in romantic relationships or partnerships which never came to fruition. Moreover, the day of emphasizing the celebrationRead More