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Warning: This post is about flashbacks, and may trigger, although I will not give details of the childhood event involved. Keep yourself safe.

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This last week I was pretty much floored by flashbacks and their aftermath. I lived five relatively crisis-free years without that sucker punch in the gut, or feeling like everything I know about myself is a lie. The crazy making part is that you know the lie is a lie, but you go with it anyway. And it just doesn’t seem possible that this is happening again.

It’s been so long I don’t even recall what the last flashback was about. This one, though, neatly completed a memory fragment, and explained some life-long hysteria with insects. (It sounds almost benign when put so matter-of-factly.) With dissociative issues, there are aspects where you reach a queasy knowing-it’s-not-resolved peace in order to move on, because you may never know or understand them completely. But that particular memory fragment was discussed in agonizing detail in therapy 15 freaking years ago! It was a done issue, as far as I was concerned. C’mon!

I wish I could say that this stuff is “over” when you’ve honestly and completely to the best of your abilities done the work. The most I can say is, this time I reached out to people much sooner, and refused to lose myself in it. That’s evidence of real, lasting progress. As I get my bearings back, I’m realizing I am okay.

Maybe the work’s effort wasn’t to be “done” so much as it was to be better prepared, and more resilient, in the future. I still want it all, though. I want to be “done”, and free of the things that can grip me in fear and make me question my sanity again.

I still think it’s possible.

Continue reading]]> 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

Continue reading]]> 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.]

Continue reading]]> 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

Continue reading]]> I have been remiss in not mentioning my inspiration for these “Best Tweets” posts. That distinction belongs to Jane Friedman of There Are No Rules at Writer’s Digest, who compiles a weekly “Best Tweets for Writers” post. She was both helpful and generous in pointing me toward ways to automate some of this process. (Still working on that part.) If you’re a writer, she is a must-follow resource and inspiration. You can also follow Jane on Twitter. Many thanks, Jane!

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

@DrAverySlyker There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you~Maya Angelou

@LisaKiftTherapy #EmotionalHealth Challenge: Look inward & examine your various parts. Know, understand, validate & empathize with them.

@divinetweets What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”~Ralph Waldo Emerson

@LifeCoachMary “Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.” — Chang-Tzu

@LillyAnn Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. ~Carl Jung

@NorvalRhodes “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.”

@Airis153 What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. ~Plutarch

@NoSocialAnxiety There are more important things in life than what people think, like trying your best, caring for others, and being true to yourself.

@MonicaTweeter ‘One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious.’ JUNG

@dragonheartsong Sunday morning brings // gentle wakening and time // to breathe and just “be.” #senryu #haiku #chillout

@LillyAnn The courage to be who you are is where your spiritual path begins.
@LillyAnn Stare at reality face-to-face, without blinking, and become yourself with open eyes.

@ShipsofSong Patience is the process when change gives you the courtesy to come into alignment with what you are asking for.

Linked Tweets

@MonicaTweeter Abuse in childhood linked to migraine and other pain disorders

@realwarriors #Yoga is helping some #veterans decrease the physical and mental tension associated with PTSD

@AffirmYourLife “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” – Buddha. Self-esteem Affirmations

@Lawyer4Warriors Inspiring story – Dog helps Iraq vet with PTSD ‘My little Marine’

@therapynews Therapy Beats Drugs for Mild Depression, Study Shows

@life_with_DID On average a person with DID will spend 7 years within the psychiatric system before diagnosis – we spent 6

@LisaKiftTherapy New article in The Toolbox about how to help someone with an eating disorder #eatingdisorders

@arttherapy The healing power of music #music #musictherapy #heal #arttherapy

@invisibleillwk Allsup Outlines What You Need to Know Before Filing Your SSDI Claim (U.S.)

@StressDoc Tips On Coping With Anxiety from WebMD

@NewPsychologist The Art of Second Chances: On Forgiving, Forgetting and Letting Go

@Splinteredones RT @DaveMSW How Do You Inspire a Client to Believe in Therapy? BINGO, thanks.

@zen_habits On zenhabits: 8 Unconventional Ways to De-stress and Release Tension

@Hopefortrauma Psychotherapy and insurance: the double bind

Continue reading]]> And she looks radiant doing so.

Elizabeth Smart began testifying today against her former captor, Brian David Mitchell, during a hearing to determine if he is competent to stand trial.

It’s hard to believe that seven years have passed since she was rescued. In the few times I’ve seen her speak (on Oprah), she consistently presented herself as a poised, compassionate, and engaging person. She has a striking aura of self-assuredness and self-esteem, and complete authenticity. All the more remarkable for what she endured.

It may be an unfair burden, but she is the embodiment of hope for so many people, for so many reasons. Hope for parents that their child may yet be found, alive and still the person they knew before. Hope for survivors, that there is a way through it. We all need that hope.

She inspires me.