Trauma & PTSD
Adjustment Disorder vs PTSD: How They Differ
Adjustment disorder vs PTSD is the question of how to name two very different ways a person can struggle after something hard, and both of…
What Causes Dissociation? Causes and Support
Dissociation is the mind stepping back from full contact with the present moment, a turning down of the dial on your surroundings, your body, or…
Zoning Out vs Dissociation: How to Tell
Zoning out vs dissociation is really a question about where you land on one long spectrum of the mind stepping back from the present, from…
Emotional Flashbacks: When the Past Floods In
An emotional flashback is a sudden, intense return of the feeling state of an old trauma, often with no picture or memory attached, so it…
Trauma Dumping: What It Is and Why We Do It
Trauma dumping is sharing heavy emotional pain onto another person without their consent, without any sense of timing, and usually without a two way exchange.…
Emotional Invalidation
Emotional invalidation is what happens when your feelings are dismissed, minimized, or treated as wrong, the message, spoken or not, that what you feel does…
Grounding Techniques for Dissociation
Grounding techniques for dissociation are the practical tools that bring you back to the present when your mind has pulled you out of it. They…
Family Trauma in Adults: How Childhood Wounds Show Up Later
If you grew up in a family where something was off — even something you couldn’t name at the time — and you’re now an…
Functional Freeze: When You’re Functioning But Shut Down Inside
Functional freeze is the experience of moving through your life — going to work, answering messages, feeding yourself, showing up where you’re supposed to be…
Dorsal Vagal Shutdown: What It Is, What It Feels Like & How to Heal
If you’ve ever felt yourself go completely numb in the middle of a stressful situation — not anxious or activated, but flat, empty, disconnected, like…