Happy Weekend!
Hello Friday! To get your weekend off to a good start, we present this weeks links. Whether it is the fabulous stylings of Fred Astaire or the amazing salsa dancing dog, we hope that there is a dance party in your weekend plans. Dance parties are great stress relievers and these moments of untamed movement can be very healing.
Living With Intention
One of the hardest things about trauma is that you feel like you are living your life underwater. What you thought was your life, actually isn’t. It’s completely different. There is a major adjustment period as you navigate through betrayal, acceptance, and healing. So how do you get out of the water and live the life that you want?
Podcast Episode: On Bonding with Dr. Kevin Skinner and Dr. Sue Johnson
Many of us know the crazy feelings of navigating the fallout of betrayal. Most of the time it might feel hopeless, but the truth is there is incredible hope of healing. This interview will validate you and you’ll find peace and understanding. Listen to Dr. Sue Johnson, author of Hold Me Tight and Dr. Kevin Skinner, therapist, researcher, and co-founder of Bloom nerd-out on the science of bonding.
Epic Fails and Trying to be Perfect
How often do we get praised for failure? It seems like never, and yet only through making mistakes, failing, can we actually get better. In terms of emotional work, fear of failing can keep us in situations that are dangerous and toxic. It can keep us from getting help. It can keep us from getting to know others and forming a support group. So much of healing comes through accepting the role of mistakes and failure and learning from them.
Podcast Episode: Rub Some Dirt On It with Paul Parkin
Do we “see” the people that walk in and out of our lives? How can we “see” and be “seen?” Listen to Dr. Paul Parkin, empathy researcher, share his own life-changing empathy experiences and his thoughts on empathy, boundaries, and betrayal.
Friday Fun Links
One of the best things you can do during hard times, is fill your feed, your home, and your life with positivity. This doesn’t mean that you are naive to what is happening in the world. In fact, some of the most positive people we know are also very informed and aware of darkness. But they work to end that darkness by shining brightly for themselves and for others. So this next week, we encourage you to recommit to self-care, find ways to be creative, and nourish the light within you.
Why We Need Boundaries
Boundaries. When you have experienced trauma, boundaries are a necessity for your own personal growth and safety. A boundary is setting an expectation with clear definitions of what you can and cannot handle. A good boundary identifies what is your responsibility and what is not. Boundaries can be especially hard to set with our family and friends, especially when disfunction already exists.
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your World
It isn’t surprising that one of the most consistent self-care techniques for women navigating trauma is to use self affirmations. The toll of emotional and/or physical abuse from someone in a position of trust is devastating. The subconscious mind begins to believe the negative words it hears every day. In order to change the negative thought patterns and heal from the constant triggers, you have to reprogram your brain.
Do The Things
When you have been through trauma, social unrest and social energy can deeply affect you. You have probably become hypersensitive to cues and moods. If you spend too much time online or watching the news, you can get pulled into a deep sadness. It is very easy to give in to desperation and fear. It’s like how a small baby or the family pet always knows when something is wrong and then acts out to express the inexpressible. You are not crazy. You are not a mess. You are responding to your environment. The way to change things, to get some relief, is to change the environment.
The Black and the White: Jessica Spieth
Meet Jessica Spieth, wife, mother, hippy and founder of the HÓZHÓ project. The HÓZHÓ project is an organization that focuses on stories and photos about real people. Using gorgeous black and white photos of people to highlight their strength and beauty in the midst of heartache, Jessica tries to take the shame out of pain. Hers is a project that is dependent on the willingness of others to share – share their pain, share their suffering, share their thoughts, and share their beauty.