Unprocessed trauma stays frozen inside us in fragments of image, sensation, emotion, and movement. The fragments might pop up as if they are happening now, and we might also experience the freeze itself as immobile depression or as an unending emergency. One task of healing is to weave the fragments into a narrative. “First this… Read More
Articles
Restore Your Kind Attention
When new information is unpalatable, either because we recognize and dislike it, or because we have no idea how to respond to it, our first reaction tends to be denial. “Nope, didn’t see that, hear that, experience that.” Denial buys time to gather resources and absorb information more gradually. It is not meant to be… Read More
Care for Hidden Ruptures
Have you changed your name with joy as part of a marriage or gender transition? Have you changed it with determination to separate from an abusive family? Has it been changed by force as part of adoption or immigration to a new country? Have you had the stability of the same name your whole life?… Read More
Associate Yourself with Nature
One of the main effects of trauma is dissociation: disconnection from the body and the present moment. Trauma healing involves slow, patient reconnection with our bodies, our environment, and other people. Those are all part of nature. Survival skill Dissociation allows us to survive when our experiences and emotions are too overwhelming to tolerate. It… Read More
Talk About Abusers
Some Portland intersections have painted green “bike boxes” on the pavement to allow bicyclists to wait for the light in front of cars and get through the intersection ahead of right-turning drivers. They help prevent “I just didn’t see them!” right-hook collisions between cars and bikes. When I am out on my bike, I often… Read More
Accessible for This Starfish
A person walking on a beach notices many stranded starfish. She sees someone bending to toss starfish back in the ocean one at a time and says, “Throwing back a few won’t make any difference.” As the person throws another starfish into the water, they say, “It makes a difference to this one!” – brief… Read More
Within Reach of Your Comfort Zone
When young Halina arrives at a familiar playground, she immediately runs toward her favorite slide. When another family shows up with a large dog, the child runs back to her watching parent for reassurance. Her body moves smoothly between exploration and retreat, activation and settling. Secure home base Someone who has access to a secure… Read More
Find Your Way to Rest
How often do you come to a full stop and rest? Do you move full-tilt through your days and sleep restlessly through too-short nights? Is your nervous system on high alert even when you have time to pause? A sacred, political act Robyn Posin has encouraged rest for many years. “To rest is a sacred… Read More
Nestle Into Uncertainty
In June 2021, the United States government added a new national holiday: Juneteenth. The holiday commemorates federal troops landing in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 to enforce Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation issued two and a half years before. The Civil War had ended two and a half months before. We are usually told that the… Read More
Inhabit Your Surface
When we feel threatened, we reflexively pull our essential self away from the surface, hiding it deep inside. If we grew up in an abusive home, our essence might remain locked away indefinitely, lacking a safe place to practice being visible. Pulled in for safety We hide for safety, and at the same time we… Read More