Category: Impacts of Trauma
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The Girl Who Thought a New City Would Save Her
I look at this picture now and I see a woman who was smiling. What I don’t see is the exhaustion she was carrying. What I don’t see is the fear, the confusion, the grief, and the years of survival mode hidden behind that smile. This picture was taken around the time I moved to…
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The Bruises Healed. The Voices Stayed.
As someone with an ACE score of 9, I have experienced nearly every form of abuse a person can endure. Physical abuse. Sexual abuse. Domestic violence. Psychological abuse. Verbal abuse. Emotional abuse. In 2006, I survived a near-fatal strangulation during a domestic violence assault. That night changed the course of my life in ways I…
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When Peace Starts Feeling Safer Than Chaos
A week ago, I started a new part-time job. Nothing glamorous. No lights and sirens. No trauma. No death. No emergencies. No rushing from one crisis to the next. And after my first week there, I can honestly say something I never expected to say: I love it. But as much as I love it,…
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Before & After: The Conversation That Changed My Life
Almost twenty years ago, I sat in an emergency room after being verbally abused, physically beaten, and forever changed by a near-fatal strangulation. The “nice guy” everyone knew was a dangerous drunk behind closed doors. My discharge papers said: “Discontinue this relationship.”“Return if symptoms persist.” Sometimes I wonder what those discharge instructions would say if…
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Another Invisible Injury
How Trauma, Blood Sugar, and Stress Intersect Over the last few years, my wellness journey has been about more than just “feeling better.” I’ve been digging into root causes—not just putting Band-Aids on symptoms.One of the most eye-opening parts of this process has been learning how much trauma impacts your feel-good chemicals (dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin,…