Trauma

Mental Health @ Home book reviews: cover of Overcoming Trauma and PTSD

Book Review: Overcoming Trauma and PTSD

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 …

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What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Concept Creep

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is concept creep. The term concept creep was first described by psychologist Nick Haslam in a 2016 paper. He wrote that there’s been semantic expansion (i.e. expanded definitions) of words representing various phenomena, so those words now encompass …

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MH@H book review: What Happened to Make You Anxious?

Book Review: What Happened to Make You Anxious?

What Happened to Make You Anxious? by Jaime Castillo aims to help readers uncover and process the unresolved past little-t traumas that are fuelling their anxiety. It incorporates concepts from several therapeutic approaches, including internal family systems therapy (IFS) and the adaptive information processing model, which is the theoretical basis for eye movement desensitization and …

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MH@H book review: The Black Woman's Guide to Overcoming Domestic Violence

Review: The Black Woman’s Guide to Overcoming Domestic Violence 

The Black Woman’s Guide to Overcoming Domestic Violence by Shayonne J. Moore-Lobran and Robyn L. Gobin offers support for women who are or have been in abusive relationships while taking into account cultural factors within the Black community. Being neither a Black woman nor someone who’s experienced domestic violence, I’m not the target audience for …

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Mental Health @ Home book review: How to Find Your Voice in the Middle of the Noise by Sajida Haddad

Book Review: How To Find Your Voice in the Middle of the Noise

How to Find Your Voice in the Middle of the Noise: Healing from Childhood Trauma is the first self-help book from Sajida Haddad of My Rollercoaster Journey; she has also published a number of other books. The book includes tips based on the author’s own experience and things she’s researched, along with recommendations for further …

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The mental illness cutlery drawer: spoon theory, fork theory, knives, and more

Big-T Trauma, Little-t trauma, and Mental Health Cutlery

I’ve heard quite a few people talk about not having been traumatized enough for their trauma to really count. I love me a good metaphor, and I think spoon theory and fork theory can be useful in explaining how little-t trauma (i.e repeated smaller stressors) can cause serious damage just like big-T trauma can. Spoons …

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What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… STAIR Narrative Therapy for PTSD

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 …

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Mental Health @ Home book review: From Hardened to Healed

Book Review: From Hardened to Healed

From Hardened to Healed by Debi Silber encourages readers to move beyond where they’re stuck right now to a place of greater healing. I learned of this book from Joshua Shea, who you may know from his blog paddictrecovery.com; in the book, he shares his story of recovery from addiction and betrayal trauma. The author …

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What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Reactive Attachment Disorder

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is reactive attachment disorder. The DSM-5 classifies reactive attachment disorder (RAD) as a trauma-related disorder that develops in early childhood as a result of severe neglect and maltreament. It’s been observed in children whose parents have an illness …

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Medications that can help with nightmares: cartoon of scared person in bed

Medications That Can Help with Nightmares in PTSD

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 …

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