Pets are very important to trauma survivors for a variety of reasons: A place to express love, affection, and tenderness Many abuse survivors have difficulties with attachment issues due their extensive histories of trauma, abuse, and neglect. Because people were the perpetrators, trauma survivors frequently find it difficult and complicated to express caring and affection to other people. And yet, … [Read more...]
20 Signs of Unresolved Trauma
Many people enter the therapy process with minimal awareness of their trauma history. When the trauma survivors are dissociative, they have the ability to block out an awareness of their trauma. They may know that their family had problems, or that their family was dysfunctional, etc, but they may believe they were never abused. However, blocking out conscious awareness of trauma does not mean … [Read more...]
Scoring the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES)
I hope you have already recorded your score for the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) before reading this follow-up blog. If you haven't yet taken the DES, please do so before reading any further. Information about the DES can be found here: How Dissociative Are You? Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) To explain the scoring of the DES, I’m going to quote some material from Dr. Colin Ross’s … [Read more...]
How Dissociative Are You?
Dissociative Identity Disorder How dissociative are you? Do you know what it is? Does dissociation feel familiar to you? Have you ever floated above yourself? Have you ever felt like more than one person? Have you ever separated from your body? Do you wonder if you have a dissociative disorder? Do you wonder if you are more dissociative than average? Learning about dissociation, being … [Read more...]
What do you think about Suicide?
Suicide is a difficult topic. All too many trauma survivors feel drawn to it. Mental health professionals fight against it. Insurance companies dismiss it. Religions disagree about it. The world out there doesn’t know how to interpret it. The world does not know how to talk about it. It’s controversial and complex. There are no simple answers. Who’s to blame for it? The … [Read more...]