Trauma responses don't always make sense from the outside. Sometimes the danger is long gone, but the nervous system is still sounding the alarm. A look at PTSD, hypervigilance, safety, and learning that not every alarm means there's a storm.
Tag: emotional abuse
The Captain Need Not Apologize for the Storm
Trauma has a strange way of convincing us that we're responsible for every storm around us. From constant apologies to broken sleep, night terrors, and the need for noise in an empty room, I'm beginning to recognize the difference between navigating the storm and believing I caused it.
Self-Medication in the Wasteland
Long-term stress changes more than your emotions. It changes your body, your brain, and eventually your survival instincts. A reflection on narcissistic relationships, chronic cortisol exposure, PTSD, grief, and the dangerous comfort of self-medication.