When we get triggered & spiral or have a sh*t day, we gotta remember much of healing is just course correction. Self-compassion & course correction. We’ll feel like we’ve been shot back to the starting line, forgetting all we know & skills we’ve built. But this ain't true. Course correct. #cptsd

When we get triggered & spiral or have a sh*t day, we gotta remember much of healing is just course correction. Self-compassion & course correction. We’ll feel like we’ve been shot back to the starting line, forgetting all we know & skills we’ve built. But this ain't true. Course correct. #cptsd

Every survivor grapples with losing hope. For many, hope feels unsafe b/c it meant expecting care that never came. IMO, recovery starts with curiosity: What do I feel? How does this point to my past? Curiosity doesn’t demand belief in a better future—only attention to the present. #cptsd #recovery

Every survivor grapples with losing hope. For many, hope feels unsafe b/c it meant expecting care that never came. IMO, recovery starts with curiosity: What do I feel? How does this point to my past? Curiosity doesn’t demand belief in a better future—only attention to the present. #cptsd #recovery

Chronic abuse & neglect as kids means shame & other trauma responses in adulthood don't always feel like imminent crisis - they often feel like our inherent character. Recovery begins with deep curiosity - especially how the past quietly shapes our everyday choices today. #cptsd #recovery

Chronic abuse & neglect as kids means shame & other trauma responses in adulthood don't always feel like imminent crisis - they often feel like our inherent character. Recovery begins with deep curiosity - especially how the past quietly shapes our everyday choices today. #cptsd #recovery

Today's recovery affirmation: I meet every moment of shame with self-compassion and every moment of doubt with curiosity & encouragement. I cannot heal everything today, but I can influence small choices & every choice of self-compassion is an expression of trauma recovery. ❤️‍🩹 #cptsd #recovery

Today's recovery affirmation: I meet every moment of shame with self-compassion and every moment of doubt with curiosity & encouragement. I cannot heal everything today, but I can influence small choices & every choice of self-compassion is an expression of trauma recovery. ❤️‍🩹 #cptsd #recovery

Many abuse & neglect survivors are extraordinarily patient b/c endurance was the only strategy that reduced harm. If we stay quiet, don’t need too much, don’t disrupt—eventually we’ll be allowed to fully exist. Taking action isn’t "pushing it," it’s waking up from suspended life. #cptsd #recovery

If you have the courage to, healing is the most painful, difficult, dark, and unpredictable thing you’ll likely ever do. But healing is also likely the most liberating, redemptive, rewarding, and best thing you’ll ever do as well.

Many abuse & neglect survivors are extraordinarily patient b/c endurance was the only strategy that reduced harm. If we stay quiet, don’t need too much, don’t disrupt—eventually we’ll be allowed to fully exist. Taking action isn’t "pushing it," it’s waking up from suspended life. #cptsd #recovery

🌟"You don’t change important beliefs through exposure."🌟 Years of fear exposure to "heal" my boatload of anxieties did little to help me. It took me a while to figure out I was addressing the symptoms, not the root - my negative self-concept & shame. #cptsd useyourdamnskills.com/2026/01/09/h...

Survivors can't let the violence of bullies & abusers fool us into thinking our anger is inherently bad or immoral. Self-compassion opens us to see our past as unjust; anger is a natural response. Anger is a call to protect ourselves, a call to action–we can use it to drive our recovery. ❤️‍🩹 #cptsd

Survivors can't let the violence of bullies & abusers fool us into thinking our anger is inherently bad or immoral. Self-compassion opens us to see our past as unjust; anger is a natural response. Anger is a call to protect ourselves, a call to action–we can use it to drive our recovery. ❤️‍🩹 #cptsd

Men who boast they don't cry don’t express the strength they hope to portray. It reveals they're terrified of their own emotions. It reveals they learned shame instead of emotional regulation. It reveals they're disconnected from what makes us human. Its performance, not self-mastery. #recovery

Men who boast they don't cry don’t express the strength they hope to portray. It reveals they're terrified of their own emotions. It reveals they learned shame instead of emotional regulation. It reveals they're disconnected from what makes us human. Its performance, not self-mastery. #recovery

Trauma responses & triggers hijack our focus on what we're all about, dumping us into old survival patterns. No shame. Realistic recovery doesn't demand perfection - only Trauma Brain does that. We're in the long game, refocus & re-anchor ourselves in our values and our recovery identity. ❤️‍🩹 #cptsd

Trauma responses & triggers hijack our focus on what we're all about, dumping us into old survival patterns. No shame. Realistic recovery doesn't demand perfection - only Trauma Brain does that. We're in the long game, refocus & re-anchor ourselves in our values and our recovery identity. ❤️‍🩹 #cptsd

There's a difference between "I am ill" & "I was harmed." Trauma survivors are not "mentally ill," we've been mentally injured. This matters. The "illness model" of trauma erases the real cause of our symptoms – we were injured by our environments. #InjuredNotIll #cptsd #recovery 👇👇👇

There's a difference between "I am ill" & "I was harmed." Trauma survivors are not "mentally ill," we've been mentally injured. This matters. The "illness model" of trauma erases the real cause of our symptoms – we were injured by our environments. #InjuredNotIll #cptsd #recovery 👇👇👇

At its core, cPTSD is a delusion about who we are & about our worth. This isn't a “mental illness,” it's the natural outcome of surviving a childhood environment that systematically denied us care & protection. Healing is a slow rewiring based in a new conviction that we deserve our own love. ❤️‍🩹

At its core, cPTSD is a delusion about who we are & about our worth. This isn't a “mental illness,” it's the natural outcome of surviving a childhood environment that systematically denied us care & protection. Healing is a slow rewiring based in a new conviction that we deserve our own love. ❤️‍🩹

No one in the history of humankind has ever healed trauma after being told someone else has it worse. This comparison isn’t healing, its lazy; it only comforts the speaker, not the survivor. Pain doesn’t dissolve in comparison, it dissolves in validation & shared understanding. #cptsd #dobetter❤️‍🩹

No one in the history of humankind has ever healed trauma after being told someone else has it worse. This comparison isn’t healing, its lazy; it only comforts the speaker, not the survivor. Pain doesn’t dissolve in comparison, it dissolves in validation & shared understanding. #cptsd #dobetter❤️‍🩹

Shit, the first half of the holiday season went well, but the last half fell apart. Feeling so disheartened. Trying to take actions consistent with my values & be kind to myself. Just surviving the holiday season can be so damn tough. ❤️‍🩹

Shit, the first half of the holiday season went well, but the last half fell apart. Feeling so disheartened. Trying to take actions consistent with my values & be kind to myself. Just surviving the holiday season can be so damn tough. ❤️‍🩹

I used to think “glimmers” were just more toxic positivity in disguise. But they are not about finding “silver linings” nor intended to "change our mindset." Recognizing glimmers is about increasing our capacity to recognize calmness when we are already calm, to make sensing calmness feel normal.

I used to think “glimmers” were just more toxic positivity in disguise. But they are not about finding “silver linings” nor intended to "change our mindset." Recognizing glimmers is about increasing our capacity to recognize calmness when we are already calm, to make sensing calmness feel normal.

"Due to our past conditioning, many of us do not trust our capacity to love." This includes loving & accepting ourselves. For abuse & neglect survivors, self-compassion is the antidote to trauma-driven shame & self-cruelty. ❤️‍🩹 🙏 @tricyclemag.bsky.social 🙏 #cptsd

"Due to our past conditioning, many of us do not trust our capacity to love." This includes loving & accepting ourselves. For abuse & neglect survivors, self-compassion is the antidote to trauma-driven shame & self-cruelty. ❤️‍🩹 🙏 @tricyclemag.bsky.social 🙏 #cptsd

Negative self-talk isn’t only the cruel stuff we tell ourselves; it’s also the limits we quietly accept as realistic, responsible, or “just the way I am.” Negative self talk doesn’t always feel abusive, it feels reasonable. This is just an artifact of our trauma conditioning, don't bite. #cptsd

Negative self-talk isn’t only the cruel stuff we tell ourselves; it’s also the limits we quietly accept as realistic, responsible, or “just the way I am.” Negative self talk doesn’t always feel abusive, it feels reasonable. This is just an artifact of our trauma conditioning, don't bite. #cptsd

Shout out to every trauma survivor working today to shift a belief or behavior that no longer serves you. It's awkward, it's annoying, it's tiring, it can be scary. And, it's how we change how we feel & function over time-- by doing it even though it sucks. You're doing it.

A Buddhist take on healing the Inner Child (non-paywall link in the OP comments) #cptsd #recovery

Journalling for a New Year Online writing workshop A new year, new writing! Journalling to find your own personal wisdom and explore paths to feeling good through creative writing activities. Sunday 18 Jan, 2-4pm (UK time). Only £25. Booking details: www.writingforwellbeing.co.uk/therapy-and-...

A Buddhist take on healing the Inner Child (non-paywall link in the OP comments) #cptsd #recovery

Healing from childhood abuse & neglect feels like peeling back delusions, build upon distortions, built on top of lies. It’s a rug pull on our identity. But we get to build a life on our values. It's our best shot at joy & meaning. I choose recovery, however imperfect. Everyday. ❤️‍🩹 #cptsd #recovery

Healing from childhood abuse & neglect feels like peeling back delusions, build upon distortions, built on top of lies. It’s a rug pull on our identity. But we get to build a life on our values. It's our best shot at joy & meaning. I choose recovery, however imperfect. Everyday. ❤️‍🩹 #cptsd #recovery

I recently spoke with my 85 yo uncle about him losing his parents by age 36. He started crying; I hugged him, told him I loved him. He was the first person I've met in person who also became an adult orphan by his 30s; I was 32. I found some data showing how relatively rare this is...

The myth that healing comes from forgiving our abusers needs to end. Healing comes from acknowledging the depth of their harm and forgiving *ourselves* for not being old enough, strong enough, or wise enough to stop them. We heal by giving ourselves the care & protection we never received. #cptsd

The myth that healing comes from forgiving our abusers needs to end. Healing comes from acknowledging the depth of their harm and forgiving *ourselves* for not being old enough, strong enough, or wise enough to stop them. We heal by giving ourselves the care & protection we never received. #cptsd

For trauma survivors, justified self-cruelty will never be seen as cruel, we'll frame it as entirely reasonable. The first step of healing from shame is not simply self-compassion, it's seeing our self-harming actions for what they are - echoes of our abusive environments we never deserved. #cptsd

For trauma survivors, justified self-cruelty will never be seen as cruel, we'll frame it as entirely reasonable. The first step of healing from shame is not simply self-compassion, it's seeing our self-harming actions for what they are - echoes of our abusive environments we never deserved. #cptsd

A recent September 2025 review & meta analysis on CPTSD with 167 studies & 138,681 participants. Findings: Estimated 6.2% of world population w/ CPTSD (1%-8% was previous est.) Folks had to meet ICD-11 criteria or ITQ. Curiously, the limitations section... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A recent September 2025 review & meta analysis on CPTSD with 167 studies & 138,681 participants. Findings: Estimated 6.2% of world population w/ CPTSD (1%-8% was previous est.) Folks had to meet ICD-11 criteria or ITQ. Curiously, the limitations section... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

"A progressive mental-health movement must restore emotion to its rightful place in human life..." "Most suffering reflects adversity, not broken brains." "Intense emotions are not dangerous – they are human." www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/how-...

"A progressive mental-health movement must restore emotion to its rightful place in human life..." "Most suffering reflects adversity, not broken brains." "Intense emotions are not dangerous – they are human." www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/how-...

💯 So much “common wisdom” is toxic for trauma survivors - forgive & forget, just work harder (ie. more shame!), its all in God’s “great” plan - we gotta learn to listen to our real needs, what was denied to us, regardless of who it pisses off.

Every word of this blog post is a home run. "Trauma Brain is going to try to tell you you can’t do anything right— but that has nothing to do with whether you can or can’t do anything right... Trauma Brain is an unreliable narrator. Remember that." #cptsd useyourdamnskills.com/2025/12/08/d...

Every word of this blog post is a home run. "Trauma Brain is going to try to tell you you can’t do anything right— but that has nothing to do with whether you can or can’t do anything right... Trauma Brain is an unreliable narrator. Remember that." #cptsd useyourdamnskills.com/2025/12/08/d...