Healing From Sexual Violence
Here are some Dad Jokes for you about Chuck Norris: Chuck Norris doesn’t read. He stares at the book until it gives up its knowledge. Chuck Norris built the hospital he was born in. Superman wears Chuck Norris underwear. Chuck Norris meditates for 10 minutes twice a day. That last …
If we choose to work on forgiving the people who harm us, many survivors find themselves trying to understand why the perpetrator did what they did. So we go through mental gymnastics trying to understand, explain, rationalize the irrational actions of another person. First we blame ourselves: We …
Survivors often have a love/hate relationship with their bodies, and may turn their focus toward a random body part (like feet or a mole) or may focus on the body parts that were involved in the abuse (like internal organs or lips). This hatred of the body is triggered by …
It is almost universal that survivors of sexual violence feel damaged. Well-meaning people (and plenty of social media posts) flatly disagree and tell us, “You are worthy just because you are human” or “The Japanese custom of kintsugi uses gold to repair broken pottery, so what happened to you is …
I read an interesting short article from Beth Tyson that got me thinking about how trauma survivors lose their tempers more often than they think they should. For the past several years, I only lose my temper every few months. This frequency is down from many times a day when …
Scientists are always trying to understand the human body, and recently researchers studying stress hormones have linked one to chronic trauma. Long after the traumatic event, they measured it at significantly elevated levels in the study group. This hormone is known to regulate appetite and excess weight. Acyl-ghrelin hormone, abbreviated …
Why are some people angry and destructive right now, and some people stubbornly happy and actually thriving? We are all going through the same social unrest, political chaos, and global pandemic, even if our individual circumstances are different from each other. I believe our responses to this traumatic time are …
Here’s what happens when you practice intentional grounding. You become as mighty as an oak tree. Oaks start out as tiny acorns, the fruit of the tree. In early spring (May here in Minnesota), the breeze helps pollinate the oaks’ flowers and the acorns grow through gentle rains and wild …
Have you ever sat down on your break at work and felt like you were vibrating because everything today is going too fast? Have you ever lost your temper because you couldn’t handle one more demand from one more person? Have you ever wanted to escape from your life? If …
I had the distinct honor of participating in a Nibi Walk around Pokegama Lake, my home lake here in northern Minnesota, this past weekend. What is a Nibi Walk? It’s an indigenous-led and woman-led ceremony to honor all water everywhere on earth, from the water inside our bodies to the …
