Overcoming Trauma and PTSD by Sheela Raja is a workbook that incorporates elements of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). The book begins with an explanation of the effects of trauma, including how trauma memories, which are emotionally charged and situationally accessible, are different from verbally accessible …
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 …
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 …
Medications That Can Help with Nightmares in PTSD Read More »
The Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook by Erika Shershun draws on somatic psychotherapy to help survivors of sexual assault/abuse work through their trauma and find healing. The author herself is a sexual assault survivor. The book isn’t specifically oriented towards either isolated traumatic incidents or complex trauma, but seems like it could speak to both. It’s …
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 …
I heard recently that Daisy Coleman, who was in the 2016 documentary Audrie & Daisy, had died by suicide. I had first watched the film a couple of years ago, but I thought I’d watch it again and write a post about it in honour of Daisy. Rape culture was a problem then, and it’s …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is the window of tolerance. The window of tolerance was first described by psychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel in 1999. It’s used to describe levels of arousal, both psychological and physiological (and no, not sexual). The window represents the …
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 …
The Neurobiology of Traumatic Fight/Flight/Freeze Read More »
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk is perhaps one of the best-known books about trauma, particularly 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 reading weighed …
In this emerging blogger post, Meagon of Prose for the Masses writes about living with PTSD, and the many different ways it can look. I am not a veteran. I have not survived a major genocide nor am I a survivor of horrific abuse. I do not outwardly bear the signs of someone struggling, but …
