Third of a Lifetime

We have amazing writers amongst us who give insight and hope to anyone struggling with dissociation, or to their loved ones. It’s a brain trust, and I treasure it. When I find new blogs, I update the Dissociation Blog Showcase (DBS) on Sunday evenings. Tonight I’ve added two new blogs:

Learning to Fly

Our life with MPD/DID

Please use the DBS link above to access these blogs, and check out the entire directory of (currently) 131 dissociation blogs!

As always, be careful and safe. Many of these blogs do not provide trigger warnings, nor are they obligated to do so.

I need your help! If you or someone you know experiences dissociation and blog about it, write to me with the URL at

sarah.e.olsonATgmailDOTcom

I review each blog before adding it, but the harder part is finding them in the first place. Thanks so much for the feedback and well-wishes for this project!

Best Tweets for Trauma Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

Please add your candidates for Best Tweets For Trauma Survivors in the comments.

Standalone Tweets

@TormentedOne “One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.” ~ James Earl Jones

@LillyAnn “Our soul appears .. when we make room for it..” ~ Thomas Moore

@rcinstitute “Soulful Sunday: the soul needs meaningful connections with others; isolation and alienation destroy the soul.”

@TormentedOne “Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.” ~ Anonymous (via @HALO_7)

@Tamavista “Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” ~ Buddha

@chapin55 “Worry less about whether your thoughts are Positive or Negative. Shoot more for Accurate, Moderate, and Balanced.”

@MindfullyChange “The senses are like a reversible coat. They can go outside to the world, or inside to the soul.” ~ Buddhist proverb

@rcinstitute “Truthful Tuesday: honesty is completely compatible with healthy boundaries.”

@SarahEOlson2009 “It’s one thing to take back your power; it’s being your own person to know when and if to use it. Brava!”

@Tamavista “Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.” ~ D. Waitley

@karenkmmonroy “Having a great imagination isn’t enriching the world if you find reasons to not write, paint, or express your gift.”

@Maura_Aura “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” ~ Carl Gustav Jung

Linked Tweets

@whenmedicine Mental Health America says health reform bill will “greatly expand access to mental health care”

@NIMHgov See all our publications on mental disorders and research.
[SEO: Excellent database of free printable resources.]

@yogini4 Playing Tetris May Reduce PTSD Flashbacks: Video Game May Protect Against Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (via @suite101)

@drcmblake What Good Psychodynamic Therapy Is About
[SEO: Gets to the heart of what a good therapy experience feels like, and what it should be able to do.]

@PsychTimes Commentary: Boundaries and Benefits of Psychotherapy

@psychcentral News TeleTherapy for PTSD Found Effective

@BeyondMeds Meditation may protect your brain
[SEO: I like how hard science keeps proving stuff previously scoffed at by the "pros".]

@kris_burns 9 Tips For Better Sleep (via Lifehacker.org)

@PTSDdotOrg Body-Mind Therapist, Mindy Fox, Utilizes Neurofeedback to Naturally Retrain the Brain

@DarleneOuimet When Bad Thoughts Wreck Good Feelings ~ Emerging From Broken (via @ssanquist)

@Mindful_Living Finding Hope in the Midst of Depression

@thereseborchard 12 Strategies to Help You Recover From a Relapse

@LisaKiftTherapy How to Make Mindfulness a Habit With Only a Tiny Commitment
[SEO: Raptitude.com is now on my list to explore in greater detail. Thanks Lisa!]

@DrKathleenYoung Mindfulness of Ourselves, Mindfulness of Others

Throughout the week I scoop up all manner of goodness from my Tweetstream. Things that amaze, soothe, and make me think. Things that are beautiful. Always inspiring! Enjoy!

@zakaraya “When you know better you do better.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

@WebDesignerDepot Out of this World Coral Photography (via @AmazingPics)

@zakaraya “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.” ~ John Lennon

@Tamavista “Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.” ~ Vonnegut

@deuhlig ‘Man with golden arm’ saves 2 million babies in half a century of donating rare type of blood
[SEO: Imagine living your entire life knowing you are singlehandedly saving millions of babies' lives because you were blessed with a rare blood factor and doctors figured out how to use it. Incredible story!]

@zakaraya “Life is extraordinarily fair. It’s just not centered on you.” ~ Lynn Marie Sager

@Ellen_Brown “Humor is… despair refusing to take itself seriously.” ~ Arland Ussher

@LisaKiftTherapy Margaret Moth: Wow, this was one fascinating woman (CNN.com)
[SEO: Story of photojournalist Margaret Moth, who lived life entirely on her own terms, and let nothing hold her back.]

@PromiseToMe “The best things in life aren’t things.” ~ Art Buchwald

@Tamavista “What you have become is the price you paid to get what you used to want.” ~ Mignon

@mashable Thousands Watch as Molly the Owl’s Babies Hatch on Ustream [VIDEO] #therapy for the mind.
[SEO: As of this morning, Molly and McGee (her mate) have hatched three owlets, Max, Pattison, and Austin, with two eggs to go -- one due to hatch today, and another on Sunday. Fascinating to watch this completely in the wild owl family develop. Carlos, the man who built the owl box and runs the video, announces a schedule of times he will speak to school children in their classrooms live. Toggle the screen to full size to avoid reading the unfortunate constant spam in the Twitter stream.]

@rcinstitute “Wisdom Wednesday: wisdom is knowing that a good sense of humor is worth its weight in psychotherapists.”

Best Tweets for Trauma Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

Please add your candidates for Best Tweets For Trauma Survivors in the comments.

Standalone Tweets

@MasterMindCoachn “The world will ask you who you are, and if you don’t know, the world will tell you.” ~ Carl Jung

@zakaraya “Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to require the most from you. ” ~ Caroline Myss

@NoSocialAnxiety “Is what you’re afraid of doing something very odd and strange, or is it actually something normal?”

@suebatt55 “Your problem is you’re too busy holding onto your unworthiness.” ~ Ram Dass

@MindfullyChange “Stress is two forces moving in opposite directions. Sit still.” ~ Buddhist proverb

@AfterSilence “If you’re never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances.” ~ Julia Sorel

@Tamavista “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” ~ Lao Tzu

@jcsimonds “I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.” ~ Erica Jong [SEO: Erica and I have/had some things in common.]

@zakaraya “The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.” ~ Lady Stella Reading

@Maura_Aura “Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

@MindfullyChange “If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” ~ Thomas Edison

@mocha59 “I am neither as bad as I think I am, nor as good as I want to be, but I am better than I was, and better than you think you see.”

@Tamavista “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” ~ Buddha

Linked Tweets

@StopItNow How to respond and what to do when a child tells about sexual abuse FAQs and resources from our Online Help Center.

@ValeskaCosci Trauma resources for youth and families

@Mind_Brain Ten Tips for Handling Stress: Often stress gets stored in our bodies, and we end up feeling tense.

@psychcentral A Path to Keep Trauma from Destroying Your Life (via @LisaKiftTherapy @ValeskaCosci)

@drcmblake The Ten Coolest Therapy Interventions

@DrKathleenYoung EMDR: What Exactly Happens During the 8 Phases?

@soundsblue Add Gratitude to Your Toolbox (article by @Ellen_Brown)

@bipolarsigns ‘Comfort Dogs’ Rescue People in Emotional Distress

@GuilfordPsych Is blogging good for your mental health? Mentalhelp.net weighs in.
[SEO: Oh, let me count the ways!]

Each week, my Tweetstream delivers my favorites in quotations, photography, art, and just fascinatingly quirky goodness. Always inspiring! Enjoy!

@PromiseToMe “May your troubles be less and your blessings be more and nothing but happiness come through your door.” ~ Irish blessing

@mlomb “Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don’t have film.” ~ Anonymous

@9swords The 50 Most Stunning Wall Murals From Around The World (via @LillyAnn)

“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” ~ Robin Williams (via @livetorque @flipbooks @MarjieKnudsen)(via @LisaKiftTherapy)

@Flipbooks 40 Breathtaking Examples of Serene #Sunrise Photography

… which can only be followed by …

@Flipbooks 70+ Examples of Beautiful Night Photography (via @forrestkoba) cc @ChloeJewell

@alexalett “The kind of humor I like is the thing that makes me laugh for 5 seconds and think for 10 minutes.” ~ William Davis (via @1person)

@jennyjoneses “Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition.”

@BeautyofWisdom “The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.” ~ Anaïs Nin

@jcsimonds “When you create, you get a little endorphin rush. Why do you think Einstein’s hair looked like that?” ~ Robin Williams

@drcmblake 25 Stunning Pictures Of Bora Bora – Most Beautiful Island

@LillyAnn “For peace of mind, we need to resign as general manager of the universe.” ~ L. Eisenberg

Sam, in the recent Best Tweets comments, mentioned his wife is the DID survivor. I pointed him to Jeff Vineburg’s outstanding work, The Significant Other’s Guide to Dissociative Identity Disorder, but realized I’ve been remiss in not publicizing it sooner and much more widely.

This guide has been available, completely free, on the Internet for at least 10 years, and is extremely helpful to the people in a DIDer’s external support system who probably don’t have therapy degrees. (It’s helpful to a lot of clinicians even with the degrees.)

Jeff covers the external headaches involved in finding a good therapist and types of therapy available, dealing with insurance companies and disability claims, dealing with people who “don’t believe in” DID/MPD, and false memory proponents. He spends the bulk of the Guide with the internal issues, such as “Where is my SO?”, how to deal with sexual relations with a DIDer, how to cope with suicidal tendencies and hospitalizations, types of alters, switching, contact with abusers, meds, and much more. He includes statements by multiples other than his SO to discuss some of these tricky areas.

From an SO viewpoint, Jeff says, “A common reaction of most partners is that all of the problems in the relationship stem from their SO’s disorder. They don’t. The problem isn’t about what SHE does – it’s about your REACTION to what she does. It’s really that simple.” (He includes feedback from a reader who disagrees a bit with this statement.) He gives pointers in how to process these issues in ways which are ultimately healthy for both partners. He discusses and warns on the issues of co-dependency.

The last section of the Guide is directed toward the person with DID’s relationship with his/her SO. “What can I tell my S.O. about trying to help me?” “What bugs you about your spouse?” He includes a sort of “you had to have been there” section on DID humor , and provides an extended book list and some other resources. He closes with feedback he’s received over the years from many SOs, which I found very insightful as well.

A terrific resource!

I usually add any updates to the Dissociation Blog Showcase (DBS) on Sunday evenings, but I was a bit under the weather last night, so here is the latest blog added today:

A Survivor’s Thoughts on Life

Please use the DBS link above to access this blog, and take a look at others already on the list. We are now up to 129 blogs!

As always, be careful and safe. Many of these blogs do not provide trigger warnings, nor are they obligated to do so.

I need your help! If you or someone you know experiences dissociation and blog about it, either leave a link in the comments here, or write to me at

sarah.e.olsonATgmailDOTcom

I review each blog before adding it, but the harder part is finding them in the first place.

Thanks so much for the feedback and well-wishes for this project!

Best Tweets for Trauma Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

Please add your candidates for Best Tweets For Trauma Survivors in the comments.

Standalone Tweets

@Tamavista “You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.” ~ Navajo

@FeministQuotes “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” ~ Alice Walker (via @VoiceinRecovery @Splinteredones)

@NoSocialAnxiety “Don’t let anyone bully or abuse you, including yourself.”

@rcinstitute “Soulful Sunday: healing the soul requires facing its wounds, grieving them, and letting them go.”

@Quotes4Writers “Courage is the resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” ~ Mark Twain

@karenkmmonroy “You only think things are supposed to be hard because of the evidence of your past-but it doesn’t make it true.”

@Tamavista “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude nor weakness weakness.” ~ Thoreau

@Ellen_Brown “When you allow yourself to FEEL your feelings, they move through you like a river instead of getting stuck inside.”

@suebatt55 “A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.” ~ Tecumseh (via @Splinteredones)

@DarleneOuimet “No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality… Freedom and wholeness call from the other side of broken.”

@LillyAnn “Our soul appears .. when we make room for it.” ~ Thomas Moore

@LoriMoreno “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” ~ Robert Collier

@PsychDigest “People change and forget to tell each other.” ~ Lillian Hellman

@Tamavista “Create your future from your future, not your past.” ~ Erhard

Linked Tweets

@GoodthingZ 50 Peaceful Things
[SEO: Every little bit helps!]

@ArmyWellBeing Women, Trauma, and PTSD
[SEO: A good overview whether in the military or not.]

@Kathy_B_from_AC “Wanna learn about DID / MPD? A linked list of 120+ articles on the Discussing Dissociation blog has been updated.”
[SEO: Many topics pertain broadly to any trauma survivor.]

@DrKathleenYoung What is complex PTSD?

Fearless Nation ~ for people with PTSD, loved ones, clinicians, and mental health advocates. See also @fearlessnation (via @SarahEOlson2009)

@ElyssaD The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment

@DrKathleenYoung “Nice series on keeping your therapy private vs. sharing about it with others.” (via @drkkolmes)

@WomensLaw “If you are a victim of abuse, think twice about putting your info on the Internet.” Safety With Social Media

@ElyssaD How to save a friend from the brink #cnn #mentalhealthmonday #suicide prevention

@PTSDdotOrg Reduce health care costs by preventing childhood sexual abuse
[SEO: Excellent article regarding longterm costs of child sexual abuse, not just in terms of longterm therapy or meds costs, but physical ailments linked to chronic stress, lost productivity, etc.]

Oh, there’s something for everyone in this week’s edition of Favorite TweetStuff! I ladle all this goodness from my TweetStream each Friday, and find art, architecture, humor, photography, music, whatever is quirky or fun, or beautiful, and always inspirational!

@2morrowknight The World’s 10 Most Magnificent Monasteries (via @MatadorNetwork @Eloren @29travels @low78) [SEO: Many of these are built on cliffs and require tremendous faith and determination by a pilgrim to get to them.]

@Tamavista “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” Martin Buber

@GabrielaKortsch “Being spiritual has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with your state of consciousness.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

@taximike “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” ~ Scott Adams (via @reinstitute)

@mllyssa: 15 Visually Stunning Architectural Delights [SEO: Some of the most bizarre-looking buildings in the world. Quite a contrast to the monasteries series in the first link above.]

@CarePathways “I see no more than you, but I have trained myself to notice what I see.” ~ Sherlock Holmes

@LillyAnn “There’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” ~ S. Adams

@AmazingPics Beautiful – Behind a frozen waterfall (via @petapixel)

@Tamavista “A behaviorist is someone who pulls habits out of rats.” ~ Anon [SEO: hehehe!]

@karenkmmonroy “The difference between genius and crazy is not that much.” (via @Splinteredones)

@LillyAnn “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” ~ T. S. Eliot

@Gimundo Sarah Phillips, 16, Records Amazing Tribute to Raise Money for Cervical Cancer Cure [SEO: The night before her mother died from cervical cancer, Sarah Phillips recorded this song a capella into her cell phone. She played it for her father the next day, who asked friends to set it to music. It became a music video tribute at her mother's funeral, and now is being used as a fundraiser. This moved me like nothing else this week, and leads us to the following quote.]

@Tamavista “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ~ Lao Tzu

Best Tweets for Trauma Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

Please add your candidates for Best Tweets For Trauma Survivors in the comments.

Standalone Tweets

@LillyAnn On any journey, we must find out where we are before we can plan the first step. ~ Kathy Boevink

@LisaKiftTherapy “The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now” ~ Oprah Winfrey

@CarePathways Focus on doing your best rather than if others think you are good enough.

@Splinteredones How do you know that you’re in the right therapy? Bad therapy is easy and good therapy is gut-wrenching. The End. [SEO: Truer words never spoken!]

@Maura_Aura True Strength comes from knowing when you are Fragile. ~ M.C.

@LillyAnn The farther behind I leave the past, the closer I am to forging my own character. ~ Isabelle Eberhardt

@rcinstitute Wisdom Wednesday: wisdom is distinguishing between your inner sage and your inner critic.

@SarahEOlson2009 I have to really work on the self-compassion thing myself, and then I always wonder (like it’s a new thought) why I stopped.

@WilliamHarryman “The man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.” ~ Michel de Montaigne

@jennyjoneses I believe the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare. ~ Maya Angelou (via @Splinteredones)

@PromiseToMe “Don’t allow your wounds to transform you into someone you are not.” ~ Paulo Coelho

@TWLOHA “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” ~ Maya Angelou

@IngridElfver #MindsetSHIFT: Breathe out fear, listlessness, hopelessness, and weariness. Breathe in bliss.

@Splinteredones I feel so concerned for, so safe, so understood, so valued, so validated, so thankful, so heard, so met where I am, so much that it’s okay.

@PsychDigest “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ~ Carl G. Jung

Linked Tweets

@ssanquist “10 Ways to Find a Good Therapist – Beyond Blue”

@LillyAnn A silent hug means a thousands words to the unhappy heart

@MarjieKnudsen The Healing Properties of Tears: 7 Good Reasons to Cry ~ (via @todaysmama)

monicajane9 People fear embracing their ugly, painful feelings…but transcendence/healing lies in doing exactly that

@DrKathleenYoung What’s Love Got To Do With It? Self-Love and Healing

@GoodthingZ 3 Shades of Happiness

@kris_burns The Book of Wisdom – 101 Posts for the All-Around Balanced Life [SEO: This is an exquisite collection of 101 posts from around the Web, organized in categories, discussing various aspects of living one's life in balance. Disclosure: I have not read every single post linked yet, but I intend to.]

@GoodthingZ 7 Ways to Love Yourself