Anger is a form of self-love. The kind of anger that arises from wanting to protect oneself from harm is part of the fight response. The body desires to remove any perceived harm, danger, or threat. Anger is the guard dog, protector wolf, fierce tiger, or courageous lion that loves you enough to protect you.   This is the painting I’m working on in Sacred Space Painting class (taught by Kaylina Michaela). I’ve been working on this painting in two classes so far. I started this painting because I was feeling very angry and just needed to do a scribble painting with red paint to exp ..read more

Hi Everyone, I want to share my story with you about losing my entire Facebook presence/ecosystem. Facebook removed my Facebook Page, Blog Comments, and Personal Profile because I was hacked. On June 4, 2022, I decided to create a Facebook ad campaign for my first coloring book that consisted of two simple videos. Except for when it launched in 2017, I never marketed my coloring book and I thought now would be a good time to start. Right before I was going to launch the ad campaign, on June 10, a hacker got into my Facebook ads account. The hacker’s activity set off the artificial intelligenc ..read more

Hi you amazing trauma healing people around the world,  I just published a new coloring book! It’s called – A Fertile Land of Dreams – Mandalas with Uplifting Poetry Coloring Book.  This is a creative arts book that combines unique, artistic mandalas with inspirational poetry.  Here is the cover I designed: A Fertile Land of Dreams Book Cover Why Self-regulation is so Important Right Now Right now it’s more important than ever for us to calm our nervous systems. The collective traumas we’re going through really do take a toll on our bodies. Current events – war, pandemic, eco ..read more

Summary: In this article, I go over a number of cognitive difficulties I experienced after getting PTSD. In the Snapshot (story) part, I describe an experience of riding in the car after my third Somatic Experiencing Session. Then I talk about how my nervous system felt right after getting SE treatment. In the Discussion, I elaborate more about my experiences at the time with 5 cognitive difficulties: (1.) Terrible Short Term Memory (2.) Trouble Comprehending Many Things at Once (3.) Lost Vocabulary (4.) Not Understanding Social Issues, Cues and Concerns Anymore (5.) Impaired Social Skills Due ..read more

So, I’m embarking on a writing practice. I’m planning to write at least 10 minutes a day, stream of consciousness, censorship and judgment-free, incorporating body awareness at times to improve groundedness. I went over Seven Benefits of a Writing Practice in my last article, but in the process of learning about writing practice, I’ve actually come up with a more comprehensive list. This list includes the 7 benefits from the last article and 23 additional benefits. I’m sure many of the following sentiments about writing practice have been expressed before, for example in books like The Artist ..read more

This is a book review of Writing Ourselves Whole: Using the Power of Your Own Creativity to Recover and Heal from Sexual Trauma by Jen Cross in which I discuss Seven Benefits of a Writing Practice, go over my personal experience reading the book and list some of my favorite quotes. I recommend the book Writing Ourselves Whole by Jen Cross. Writing practice can catalyze the recovery process; engaging in a writing practice allows for de-repression, self-connection, self-listening and self-expression in a safe loving container we provide for ourselves. Writing in free-form way, with self-accepta ..read more

Summary: I tell a short story about becoming more and more suicidal when I had acute and untreated PTSD. Then I list 13 reasons I was suicidal when I had PTSD. I list 13 reasons I’m now suicidal, which all relate to CPTSD. This is a personal account but points to some key differences in how PTSD and CPTSD create suicidality. I wrote this Snapshot when I had severe PTSD and still had not found a therapist that I could work with. It was only 2 years after the accidents (accidents were 2007 and 2008 and I wrote this in 2010). In the Discussion, I discuss 13 Reasons I was Suicidal due to PTSD in ..read more

Summary: I tell the story of the day I first learned how to do the “felt sense” that Peter Levine teaches and writes about in his books. In the Discussion section after the story, I cover the following topics: (1.) Believing Yourself to be Dead. Feeling dead and developing the belief that you are actually dead after serious accidents, (2.) The Period of Limbo Between Death and Life. The period of time in PTSD that has to do with coming alive again, (3.) Felt Sense Exercise as Link to Life. How the felt sense helps connect to life, (4.) Somatic Experiencing Brings Vitality Back. How Somatic Ex ..read more

This short story about a train trip shows how the many symptoms of PTSD combine to have a devastating impact to one’s Sense of Self. Losing a large percent of memory of one’s past is the equivalent of losing a large percent of one’s Sense of Self, identity, personality, etc. Losing Boundaries in relationships and perceptions of reality, merging with reality, and being isolated and disconnected constitute other kinds of losses of the Sense of Self. Always being on alert for danger puts attention always outwards, leading to not feeling inside ones body, which can also impact Sense of Self. Summ ..read more

Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing, A Sensorimotor Art Therapy Approach to Bilateral Body Mapping, by Cornelia Elbrecht, is an in-depth instructional textbook for the somatic therapeutic approach Guided Drawing. Based on leading edge understandings about trauma healing and the body (sensorimotor psychotherapy, somatic experiencing, etc.), this book is a treasure trove of trauma healing knowledge, insights and clarifications. Guided Drawing effectively weaves together a number of different therapeutic processes creating a multifaceted and holistic trauma therapy.  ..read more