Can one mitigate the effects of the other?
Childhood should be a carefree time full of learning and joy. However, many children aren’t that lucky and grow up in homes that are dysfunctional and abusive. These encounters are known as adverse childhood experiences and change the future of the child forever.
One question that burns in the minds of many survivors and researchers alike is how do positive childhood experiences (PCEs) come into play? Can positive childhood experiences help an abused child cope in some way?
This article will reintroduce ACEs and introduce the concept of PCEs.
What are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)?
Adverse childhood experiences are traumatic events that happen in childhood between…
This April we have been focused on childhood sexual abuse (CSA), a crime that can cause long-term harm even as the child grows into adulthood. 1in 4 women and 1 in 6 men alive in the United States today were molested sexually before the age of 18. This means there are more than 42 million adult survivors in the U.S.
Today we will explore together the long-term effects that childhood sexual abuse has on, not only children, but to the adults they become.
A Short Recap
It would be remiss of me if I did not first give everyone a brief recap of…
The most taboo subject
As my readers know by now, I am not afraid to tackle tough subjects that have for too long been considered taboo. Childhood sexual abuse is one of the most taboo subjects out there but it needs to be brought out into the open, examined, and methods found to prevent and treat it.
This article will concentrate on what childhood sexual abuse is and how it relates to complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD).
Childhood Sexual Abuse, the Hidden Epidemic
It is simply human nature that no one wants to admit that children can and are sexually abused. …
We can’t defeat what we don’t see
***TRIGGER WARNING***
This article will tackle active and passive suicide and may not be suitable for sensitive audiences.
While suicide is a taboo subject among many in our community, one cannot conquer an enemy that they do not see. Only by bringing suicide to the forefront and opening a dialogue about it can we offer hope to those who are feeling suicidal and to those who have tried to die by suicide.
In the first article about self-harm, we tackled the subject with as much kindness as the topic would allow. Self-harm is a sensitive subject that had to be…
What is it?
- **Trigger Warning This article contains information that may upset sensitive readers. The following article about self-harming and should not be read by those who find this subject upsetting.***
Harming oneself is an all-too-common symptom of a larger mental health problem that can lead to dying prematurely by suicide if left untreated. Hurting one’s own body may seem extreme, but to those who do it, self-harm seems to be the only recourse they have.
In this article, we shall begin a series on self-harm and examine the signs that you or someone you care about are self-harming and what to do…
Thank you for this sobering and honest article. We need to all learn from the human shadow of death.
Learning Resiliency
Dealing with loss and change cannot be avoided; they are inevitable parts of life. Everyone experiences setbacks, with some being minor and others being highly traumatic and life-altering.
Resilience is what helps people through challenges through psychological strength, the ability to cope, and the capability to bounce back afterward. This piece will discuss what is necessary to build resilience into your life.
What are the Characteristics of a Resilient Person?
People utilize many different coping skills to deal with stress and trauma. They range from dissociating away from the event to literally forgetting the trauma and leaving it behind them like a cat they do not want.
However…
Resiliency can be learned
“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” ~ Robert Jordan
Resiliency, to summarize, is the ability to bounce back from difficult circumstances. People living with mental health challenges often have high resilience to the opposition because they have grown resilient through trial by fire.
This piece will focus on what is going on in the brain with resiliency and perhaps a few suggestions on how we can help our brains form it.
The Different Aspects of Building Resiliency
First, let us discuss what scientists believe are the building blocks of resilience. In one paper written in 2013…
The Importance of Resiliency
Much research has been done on the topic of this series of posts in February 2021. Scientists want to understand how people who go through sometimes horrific events often overcome adversity and seem to thrive afterward.
In this first part of the series, we’ll discuss what resiliency is and answer some common questions about this interesting topic.
What is Resiliency?
Everyone experiences traumatic events, yet some people seem to encounter more than their fair share of events that change their lives forever. …
Overcoming Emotional Flashbacks with Self-Compassion
Emotional flashbacks are a common symptom for people living with the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder. Because of this fact, I thought it vital to delve into how to overcome them.
Emotional flashbacks take a horrendous toll on those who experience them. To feel like you are in danger with all the emotions that accompany it, fear, anxiety, startle, and a myriad of other feelings without understanding where they are coming from is both frightening and debilitating.
This piece will examine emotional flashbacks and methods to defeat them.
CPTSD and Emotional Flashbacks
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) afflicts many people who were traumatized in…
Shirley J. Davis
I am an author/speaker living among the corn and bean fields of Illinois in the U.S.
