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In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term is STAIR narrative therapy. I recently stumbled across STAIR narrative therapy for PTSD, so I thought I'd do a post about it. STAIR stands for Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation. STAIR narrative therapy, which was developed… Continue reading What Is… STAIR Narrative Therapy for PTSD
https://youtu.be/T_xWinz_rIQ?t=644 This may seem like an odd video to share. I stumbled across it on Youtube, having no idea that at 10:44 (where I've cued it to play), it would turn into a mental health video. Former British Army sniper Craig Harrison talks about developing PTSD, and how his dog saved him from killing himself.… Continue reading There’s Nothing Weak About PTSD
It's interesting what you can uncover if you lean into reactions, including triggers that weren't initially obvious. In this post, I'm using trigger in a general sense to refer to one thing bringing up (triggering) something else that's not directly related, rather than talking about trauma triggers that cause re-experiencing. What got me thinking about… Continue reading Leaning into Reactions to Recognize Triggers
Anyone can have nightmares, but up to 80% of people with PTSD experience nightmares as a symptom of their PTSD. The idea for this came from an article that SkinnyHobbit shared about the treatment of nightmares, which is based on recommendations from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in 2018. What can worsen nightmares Some… Continue reading Medications That Can Help with Nightmares in PTSD
Public domain Nick of Fiction & Ideas recently did a post about imagery in writing, which immediately brought to mind Wilfred Owen. I first encountered his poetry when I was in first-year English in university. Overall, it was a pretty uninspiring class, but Owen stood out. His poems were about World War I, in which… Continue reading PTSD Poetry: Wilfred Owen
I saw the topic of trigger warnings circulating in the blogosphere recently, and I thought I'd chime in with my own thoughts. In a very general sense, a trigger is one thing causing another to occur. What's particular to people with a past trauma history is that what's being triggered is re-experiencing. That means re-experiencing… Continue reading Are Trigger Warnings Useful?
A few years ago I was thinking about applying for a nursing job with a sexual assault support team, so I decided to learn more about the body's biological fight/flight/freeze response to trauma. What I found out was really interesting, so I thought I'd share. The amygdala's response The amygdala is a primitive part of the… Continue reading The Neurobiology of Traumatic Fight/Flight/Freeze
https://youtu.be/foeMt0Oeoi4 I recently heard about the documentary SKIDS from Hanna of The Bullsh*t Positivity Project. It focuses on kids attending Vanguard Secondary in Langley, B.C., Canada, which is not far from where I live. Vanguard Secondary is an alternative school that takes a trauma-informed approach, recognizing that trauma is at the root of the significant… Continue reading SKIDS: Traumatized Kids and the School System
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk is perhaps one of the best-known books about trauma, and in particular early life trauma. It's been on my to-be-read list for quite a while, and I've finally managed to get around to it. This is a hefty book. The digital version that I was… Continue reading Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score
This post is by Shanon of Surviving Childhood Trauma. A Childhood of Abuse, an Adulthood of PTSD I always struggle with how to begin my story, what parts to share and how exactly to word it. My abuses were so severe, my trauma so impactful that my memories are broken and there is no sense… Continue reading Emerging Blogger: Shanon (Surviving Childhood Trauma)