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Invisible Inheritance: Finding Empowerment Through Awareness

Invisible Inheritance: Finding Empowerment Through Awareness

If I asked you, “what have you inherited from your family?” A few different ideas might come to mind: maybe your curly hair, your complexion, your knack for reading people, that stubborn streak, or your sense of humor, and on and on. We also know there’s other stuff you can’t see: maybe diabetes runs in your family, or high blood pressure, or other medical issues. However, there’s something else that can be inherited too: trauma. 

Accepting Yourself

Accepting Yourself

Acceptance is one of those words that can have positive and negative connotations based on its context. When I think about acceptance, I come up against questions that I’ve wrestled with myself and witnessed my clients wrangle in therapy sessions. Is acceptance the same thing as forgiveness?

Self - Kindness was my Key to Self - Compassion

Self - Kindness was my Key to Self - Compassion

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” – Christopher Germer

Be kind. It is a simple concept and one that many people try to live by. We often try to extend kindness to others and to treat other people with respect, but why is it so hard to be kind to ourselves? I have often been described as a kind person.

Self-Compassion: Builiding the House You Live in

Self-Compassion: Builiding the House You Live in

“A word after a word after a word is power.” Margaret Atwood tells us. “You cannot build joy on a feeling of self-loathing.” teaches Ram Dass. “The words you speak become the house you live in.” writes the poet Hafiz. All three offer the wisdom that how we speak to and about ourselves influences the ways we show up in the world and engage with others. Language helps us to make meaning of our experiences.

Breaking the Cycle. Ending the Pain. Healing Generational Trauma

Breaking the Cycle. Ending the Pain. Healing Generational Trauma

“Remaining silent about family pain is rarely an effective strategy for healing it. The suffering will surface again at a later time, often expressing in the fears or symptoms of a later generation.” - Mark Wolynn 

This quote hurts and cuts deep. Reading it makes me want to spill every single word about my own experiences with generational trauma I hold inside of me, healed and unhealed, on this page. I’m not here to do that. I’m here to share resources that show it is possible to break the cycle of generational trauma. I’m here to show, with personal experience, that it is possible to break the cycle of generational trauma. Briefly, generational trauma is trauma that has been transferred from one generation to another. These traumatic events can shape and impact the way that generations to come understand, cope, and heal. 

Are You Trading Authenticity for Attachment?

Are You Trading Authenticity for Attachment?

I felt this uncomfortable sensation in my body. I found myself striving yet resisting at the same time. The resistance I felt internally was my body actively trying to pull back from that striving. That resistance was my authenticity. At that moment, I was around people who were not a part of my tribe, and it was very hard for me to relate to them. I felt my primitive brain trying to strive to fit in for survival. Exclusion can feel like a survival level threat, and the pain from that experience can feel physical — so of course my body was fighting to avoid that pain. I then checked in with my body, and I felt myself needing a good talk with someone who I felt who got what I was experiencing. I needed some advice. I needed someone to help remove the discomfort. The more I sat with the emotion, I recognized I needed to connect with myself. No one would know how to interpret my feelings in that moment better than me. What was that anxious feeling trying to express to me? I then reached into my Resilience Toolkit and pulled out the Insight Timer app from my phone. Upon scrolling, I noticed the track, “The Power of Inclusion and Authenticity” by Lynn Fraser Stillpoint. Within 5 mins, I felt my body take a deep breath. My body felt understood.