Healing From Sexual Violence
Stop Line 3: Part 7 Radical bodies lie down in the road. Radical bodies run toward danger. Radical bodies walk fast and carry water. Radical bodies walk slow and carry messages. Radical bodies bear pepper spray and rubber bullets. Weak bodies stand flat-footed and unrooted. Weak bodies bristle …
Stop Line 3: Part 5 They took the Tree Sitter down today. They marched fast down the easement, 23 law enforcement bunched together like a school of fish. As they passed through the protest line they ended up single file crunching and slipping through the new snow off the side …
Bad things happened to you. Perhaps bad things still happen to you. But was it “trauma” like we keep hearing all over the internet and from mental health professionals? After all, bad things happen to most people. The National Council for Behavioral Health says 70 percent of adults living in …
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 …
My husband Jake writes, My wife asked me the other day about the concept of Self-Sabotage because I used to be a 5th degree black belt on the subject. Throughout my whole life, I had goals. I even took the correct steps to reach those goals. I knew that I …
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 …
I have a saying about myself: “I’m just an ordinary girl who does extraordinary things.” I don’t take compliments well. Some might say I’m really bad at taking compliments lol. I learned in my family of origin that I should NOT stand out; if I was good at something I …
I believe that self-kindness leads to self-compassion, which leads to self-acceptance. For people who’ve experienced the deeply personal trauma of sexual violence, it can be very, very hard to be kind to yourself, let alone being compassionate or accepting. Survivors often fall into traps of self-blame, self-pity and self-harming. We …
When I was a little little kid, just around the time I started to read, I believed in magic. I didn’t need explanations for things; I just believed. I sang little songs I made up, all day long. Finger painting was awesome. My toys had a rich life in the …
Do you sometimes feel like EVERYTHING is your responsibility? When things go wrong, is it always your fault? Is criticism devastating? Is self-criticism paralyzing? I was like that. I learned a way to take correct responsibility, and I’m much better and happier now. Here’s what I did. When I was …