When watching animals in a park, you can observe the fight-or-flight instinct in action. When approaching geese on a walking path, the geese may respond to you in an aggressive manner by hissing as you get near. This behavior is most often seen when the geese have newborn chicks nearby. Other times, the geese willRead More
The definition of a people-pleaser is simple — someone who wants to please people. For a variety of reasons, traumatic experiences like abuse can cause you to become a people-pleaser in the future. You may be afraid of what kind of harm they will impose on you if you say no. You may feel thatRead More
Holistic approaches, also called whole-self approaches, refer to involving the whole body in therapeutic treatment and not just parts. The mind and the body are connected, and in holistic therapy, a client will learn how this connection can help them heal from traumatic experiences. Sometimes, to heal the mind, we also have to heal theRead More
Adventure therapy can take on many different forms and venues. Sometimes, adventure therapy is known as wilderness therapy or outdoor exploration. Therapies such as these use outdoor challenges to help individuals like you build self-confidence, a sense of community, and experience the healing of nature. You will often be put into situations where you haveRead More
One easy way to overcome self-defeating behaviors is to replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk. The voice we have inside our head can be our worst enemy and our best friend. When we are going through tough times, this voice in our head can become increasingly negative and self-defeating. When we are recovering from pastRead More
No one saw the COVID-19 pandemic coming, and it has raised a lot of questions about how we handle trauma as a society. Some people cope by ignoring the problem, while others become hyper-vigilant about protecting themselves from it. Most people are just trying to stay healthy and avoid trauma by wearing masks and doingRead More
Trauma affects the central nervous system and puts the body into a high sense of alert. Trauma experiences trigger our instinctive fight-or-flight response, which alerts us to either run from danger or to battle the potential threat. During experiences that lead to trauma, we are either unable to do either of these things effectively orRead More
Traumatic grief is an experience that no one is ever prepared for or should take lightly. Well-wishers may encourage us to move on long before our minds and hearts are ready to do so. Grief affects us all in different ways, but common symptoms of grief include denial, feeling empty, feeling angry, or even thinkingRead More
The protests and riots happening in response to George Floyd’s murder, racial tension, and many other disturbing events are sending people into chaos. If you have unchecked post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as a result, it can impact everything from your family life to your workplace productivity. It’s important to address your PTSD symptoms nowRead More
When someone recommends that you don’t sweat the small stuff, you might reply with, “That’s easier said than done!” We all wish we could stop sweating the small stuff, but many of us struggle with this. Some people shake things off easier than others. Some people have to work really hard at it. Whatever categoryRead More