Are You Living Life Fully Awake? | Breaking Free From Old Survival Patterns
When we live on autopilot, reacting from old survival patterns, we move through life as if we were sleep-walking. This robs us of choice, authenticity, and connection. Learn what it means to become truly aware—both in your mind and body—so you can respond to life with clarity, compassion, and love.
Identify Your Trauma Response: A Quiz for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
Find out how growing up in a home with emotionally immature parents shaped your unique trauma response.
"Trigger" vs. "Access Point:" Changing Our Language So We Can Heal
The word trigger can often be pathologizing, while an "access point" invites us into a space of curiosity and openness, encouraging us to look deeper into what our reactions might be trying to show us. This shift in language empowers us to relate to our trauma responses in a healthier way, and heal.
Why You Feel Stupid During a Trauma Response
When we’re triggered, the brain shifts from its usual rational, calm state to a survival-driven state. Let’s dive into what happens in the brain when we’re feeling activated and why it can make clear thinking so challenging.
4 Ways Trauma Changed Your Brain | Why You Feel Stuck
When someone experiences trauma, their brain becomes wired for survival, stuck in a heightened state. Even long after the traumatic event has passed, the brain continues responding to stress as if it's under immediate threat. Trauma changes the brain, but there are things we can do to heal it.
Neuroception, Trauma, and Building Resilience | Polyvagal Theory Explained
If you've ever wondered why you shut down, people-please, or struggle with feeling safe in relationships, this episode will provide insight into how your nervous system plays a role and what you can do to build resilience and self-compassion.
Brainspotting for Healing Complex Trauma
The video features Atara Parkinson, a licensed marriage and family therapist, discussing the therapeutic technique of Brainspotting for healing complex trauma.
How to Move Trauma Out of Your Body
When we aren't able to move stress out of our bodies in the moment of a traumatic event, stress locks itself into our muscles, nervous system, and even our posture. Healing involves letting this stress move out of our bodies by reconnecting with ourselves and trusting our body's instincts.
How to Stop Correcting & Start Connecting
What if the key to turning a conflict into a moment of connection lies in connecting with the deeper emotions beneath the behavior instead? In this blog, we’ll explore how to focus on connecting with your partner’s deeper emotions rather than fighting over the surface-level details.
Connection First, Behavior Second: A Better Method
By focusing on connection first, we address the underlying emotions and needs that drive behavior. In other words, we heal the issue at the root rather than playing a never ending game of whack-a-mole as old behaviors pop up in new ways.
What Your Posture Says About Your Trauma Story
Childhood trauma impacts the shape of our posture, and this posture points us to the wounds we experienced in our various developmental stages. Our posture reflects the muscle memory of the survival skills we learned as children.
9 Behaviors That Prime You for a Trauma Bond
Those of us who grew up in dysfunctional homes tend to share common learned behaviors that make it easy for us to fall into toxic relationships. It’s like we have a big sticker on our forehead that says, “Toxic People, Choose Me!”
5 Signs it’s a Trauma Bond NOT Love
There are so many ways a trauma bond looks (and feels) similar to a healthy relationship–especially in the beginning. The “spark” we feel might be the start of a rollercoaster relationship rather than a deep, loving connection with our partner.
Overcoming Emotional Immaturity Inherited from Your Parents
I often find that healing from emotionally immature parenting cannot occur until we also see the emotional immaturity that we ourselves inherited.
Transforming Triggers into Connection: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Couples
Do you hold your breath, hoping that your trigger won’t become a massive conflict? For many of us, we might have had such extreme blow ups as a result of our triggers that we have become terrified of conflict. The good news is that when managed well, these conflicts can draw you closer together.
Why do we have an Emotional Rollercoaster?
Does your relationship feel like an emotional rollercoaster? You have a fight, and one moment you are having a huge breakthrough and the next moment, you blow up as if the breakthrough never happened?
Nurturing Stability: How to Have a Healthy Relationship After Childhood Trauma
Recovering from childhood trauma and fostering stability in our adult relationships requires deliberate effort and a willingness to explore new approaches to communication and connection. Here are some practical tips to help you cultivate stability in your relationships.
How a Chaotic Childhood Impacts Our Relationships
Growing up in a chaotic, dysfunctional family, where crisis was the norm, leaves a lasting imprint on our adult lives. For many of us, the chaos of our upbringing becomes familiar territory—a space where we feel competent and in control. We become adept at navigating crises, whether it's as a first responder, a parent, or a reliable friend. But when it comes to romantic relationships, this same skill set can often sabotage our chances at lasting love.
