“…during every stage of my medical training, whether I was studying surgery, cardiology, or pediatrics, it was obvious to me that the key to healing was understanding how the human organism works.” ~ Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk began studying post-traumatic stress and trauma in the 1970s. It was an [...]
You may find it odd that it’s possible to have a relationship with yourself internally. But the reality is that we all have relationships with our thoughts or emotions. It is completely unavoidable because they’re with us all the time. Whether we like it or not, we have to relate to them in some way. [...]
So many trauma victims feel trapped because of their thoughts. They may suffer from flashbacks or get triggered when certain painful memories arise. In a way, their trauma locks them inside a mental prison that is impossible to escape. Healing from trauma is not quick, and it is a process that takes time. Even so, [...]
For many victims of trauma, the experiences that traumatized them happened when they were children. The brain resorts to disassociation as a way to protect itself from getting hurt again, and it is very common for people to carry that into adulthood. While disassociation does work as a survival strategy for a period of time, [...]
Many people experience trauma when they’re children, and the effects of that trauma are often carried with them into adulthood. When children are abused or neglected by people who are supposed to love them, they have to distance themselves from it emotionally. This fragmentation is a survival mechanism. It helps them to preserve their self-esteem, [...]
No matter how we try to avoid it, we must have some type of relationship with our thoughts and emotions. They are a part of who we are, and they are always with us, day in and day out. We have no choice but to relate to them in one way or another. Sometimes that [...]
Trauma can be debilitating, and for so many people who suffer from it, it is the reason they struggle to love themselves. Traumatized individuals often have terrible self-esteem. They may take certain actions or behave in numerous ways that go against everything they want to do or be. But the question is, why do they [...]
Fundamentally, sex addiction, its causes, and its consequences are the same for both men and women. Sadly, however, women are often overlooked or ignored when it comes to the topic and this mainly comes down to the myths that society holds about the different genders. Often seen as a male problem, sexual addiction is actually [...]
While sex addiction is a topic that’s finally being discussed and accepted as a genuine condition, until recently, it’s something that even the experts have struggled to fully understand. One of the main reasons why sex addiction is such a confusing subject is because of how widely accepted sex is in today’s society. It’s seen [...]
We all know the importance of a good night’s sleep. Scientists say that it is in fact, just as important as healthy eating and exercise. While sleep is crucial to everyone’s physical and mental well-being, it’s even more important for those who are going through addiction recovery. The problem is however, getting decent slumber can [...]