The holidays can be extremely difficult when you are dealing with addiction, abuse, and trauma. It’s the time of year when I need to double down on my self-care efforts. With that in mind here are the very best Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, etc. Deals that I can find! I’ll keep this…
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7 Tips for Living a Mindful Life
I believe that recovery for the traumatized and the addict is completely impossible without mindfulness. We can’t heal things that we do not understand. Last night we were watching an episode of Once Upon a Time that is set in Neverland. Emma, the story’s main heroine, is presented with a map by Peter Pan. She…
Allowing Gratitude to Change Your Physical and Mental Health
When I was 19 years old I was in the passenger seat driving through Oklahoma. After dinner it was a little misty, but we decided to keep driving rather than stop for the night. Suddenly we had to slam on our breaks as our visibility was reduced to no more than 6 feet in front…
Embracing Your Shero’s Journey
I’m a HUGE fan of all the Marvel/Avengers movies that have come out in the last few years. I’m a total sucker for a good superhero story. I especially love how each of the characters have pretty big flaws that make them human. As a kid I used to love playing superheroes with my friends….
Determined to Rise Retreat for Betrayal Trauma Sheroes
On August 13th, 2018 I did the scariest thing I have ever done. I hit publish on the most vulnerable blog post I have ever written, Sex Addiction and Betrayal Trauma- My Story I sat on that post for almost a year before I hit publish. I know God wanted me to publish it. I…
Head Above Water- How the Codependent Model Perpetuates Abuse
Your symptoms are not signs of a codependent mental disorder. You are suffering from betrayal trauma induced PTSD. Society needs to see and treat the victims as victims, not co-addicts. The codependency model is abuse. The Relationship Begins One day a young woman was standing on the shore of a big lake with her sweetheart….
Profile of an Abuser- the Terrorist
In the book “Why Does He Do That?” Lundy Bancroft outlines ten types of abusers. You can see the brief description of each type in my previous post on identifying types of abusive men. Today we are going to dive more into the mindset of the Terrorist The Attitudes That Drive the Terrorist Abuser The Terrorist…
Serenity Prayer Zentangle Doodle Drawing
What is Zentangle? I have recently discovered and fallen in love with doodle drawings also commonly called Zentangle or doodle drawing. This type of art has been around since the beginning of man, but has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity due to Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas giving it the name Zentangle and dictating…
Profile of an Abuser- The Drill Sergeant
In the book “Why Does He Do That?” Lundy Bancroft outlines ten types of abusers. You can see the brief description of each type in my previous post on identifying types of abusive men. Today we are going to dive more into the mindset of the Drill Sergeant. The Attitudes That Drive the Drill Sergeant Abuser…
It Doesn’t Have to Leave a Bruise to be Abuse- Identifying the Different Types of Abusive Men
It’s not always easy to tell if you are in an abusive relationship. We, as a society tend to see the abusive man as a towering hulk who leaves bruises on his wife and kids. The truth is far more sinister. Emotional abuse is real and dangerous with lasting effects. Did you know that 1 in…