Dancing and Connection

For people who say they don't like to dance... I don't comprehend. "Dancing" can incite fear in folks and I don't understand why. Maybe it's preconceived notions about what dancing actually is. Movement, of any kind, can be considered dancing. Pretty much everyone moves... swaying to a song or even to the wind I consider [...]

Happy New Year

I'm starting this year out soft instead of strong. Yes, I have things that I want to work on this year, like more mindful eating and putting myself and my energy first. I am going to try hard not to lose sight of that, but I want to keep everything realistic and not overwhelming. I [...]

Yay for Meltdowns

So. I thought maybe I was still just exhausted from this semester and then I realized … my melt down today was about scheduling. As it usually is, though sometimes in disguise. I had an opportunity to meet up for lunch with some people. A time wasn’t given. So I showered. Felt rushed. Then the [...]

Present

The last week has been filled with me grading finals papers/projects with next to no energy. The second to last final I graded really moved me. It was for my Human Sexuality course and the student presented on intimacy during hospice care, as she is a hospice worker. She emphasized how hospice isn't just for [...]

Grieving and CPTSD Healing

Even though I've intuitively known this... going through it my self has made it that much more real, and interesting. To heal from relational trauma, you have to grieve. May seem like, well, d'uh. But you might not realize all you have to grieve. It's not just a recent relationship. It's what you didn't get [...]

Trauma Fawn Response

Maybe staying home and recharging for four days will give me the reset I need. We'll see. I just have no energy for anything and don't feel like leaving the house. I'm just grading final projects for my students. I've been trying to read and write and do things at home. I've been reading more [...]

CPTSD reframe

When emotionally activated I feel shame because my parents rained disgust on me for being me. I say no to these toxic parental curses, and I am proud and right to see how they tried to murder my soul. I give them their shame back as disgust - the disgust any healthy adult feels when [...]

CPTSD and catastrophizing

I’m working through some readings on CPTSD for myself and for the next iteration of the trauma counseling class I teach. And it has often occurred to me that the gold standard for therapy is often CBT. But CBT alone often isn’t sufficient for addressing trauma because thought distortions manifest for good reason. Maybe the [...]

Autistic People Ask Questions

I recently read an article about this, I believe, from LinkedIn. And it got me thinking about how folks found me annoying growing up when I would ask the same thing over and over again, typically about schedules. But it helped me to feel safe, knowing what was coming or what to prepare myself for. [...]

Tango tango

Despite having cancelled plans with a few friends lately I did end up making it to a couple ballroom events I had tickets for this weekend. I got some feedback that my tango is getting better and I’m holding my frame more… what an interesting thing to realize—How you dance reflects a lot about you [...]