#trauma informed

[defleftist]

May you live an existence that doesn’t require constant resilience.

[thepeacefulgarden]

[moonlit-positivity]

There is no "right" or "wrong" way to react to trauma. There is only survival. You do what you can until you can get out and get safe, and that is the only thing that should ever matter. You deserve to be respected for how you cope with your pain. But you also deserve to be respected enough to know you're worth the effort to heal and seek recovery if you so choose.

[oliverinaestheticplaces]

Stinky Bear Motivation ✨❤️

Fear needs to be met with comfort and safety. Anxiety is all about fear. Define the fear, put a name to your worries, and then meet yourself with comfort and make a safety plan for what could possibly go wrong.

You deserve to be comforted through the fears! Feel the fear and snuggle it anyway!

[baldurs-gate-brainrot]

Astarion talking about how he prayed to the gods and they never helped him hits so close to home as someone who was a victim of abuse and SA. The anger of someone trying to help too late. The anger you experience when someone thanks their god for mundane things, when you couldn’t get basic human decency.

[samwisethewitch]

Aromatherapy for Processing Trauma

Aromatherapy uses scent, usually in the form of essential oils, for physical and emotional well-being. Our sense of smell is very closely connected to memory, and certain smells can have an effect on our emotions and mood.

Essential Oil Safety and Ethics

Because this is the Internet and because certain multi-level marketing corporations have intentionally spread misinformation about essential oil safety, let's talk about a couple of things real quick.

You should never, ever eat or drink essential oils. These are very concentrated extracts of the active compounds from plants, and just like you would never sit down and eat 200 pounds of lavender, you shouldn't eat lavender oil. Ingesting essential oils can have very serious side effects, up to and including organ failure and death. Just don't.

If you want to work with a liquid plant extract that you can take internally, I recommend trying a tincture or a tea.

Use caution when applying essential oils topically. Again, essential oils are very concentrated, so they can cause skin reactions even if you are not normally allergic to the plant they come from. Always do a patch test to check for an allergic reaction before applying an essential oil to your skin or putting it in a bath. Some, like cinnamon oil, should never be used topically.

Always dilute your oils. Whenever you put essential oils on your skin, mix them with a carrier oil (like olive oil or coconut oil). Typically for adults you want to only use two drops of essential oil for every teaspoon of carrier oil, but you might use a stronger or weaker concentration depending on your body and your needs. If you're adding essential oils to your bath, make sure you mix them into a bath salt (either Epsom salt or plain table salt) before adding them to the water.

When you diffuse essential oils, make sure you don't use too much. For a typical aromatherapy diffuser, you really only need 1-5 drops of oil.

Be careful using essential oils around children and pets. Contrary to what some MLMs say, essential oils may not be safe for your baby or your dog. If you have kids, make sure your oils are stored out of their reach. Don't diffuse essential oils around babies under 6 months old, and don't apply oils to the skin on children under 3 years old. If you use essential oils on your older child's skin, they should be TWICE as diluted as for an adult (so you would use HALF as much essential oil for the same amount of carrier oil). If you diffuse oils around your kids, don't run the diffuser for more than 60 minutes. Follow other essential oil safety rules.

If you have a pet in the house, only diffuse essential oils in open, well-ventilated rooms, never let the diffuser run for more than 60 minutes, and make sure your pet is able to leave the room if they want to. Never apply essential oils to a pet's skin. Research your oils to make sure they aren't toxic to your pets.

Moving from safety concerns to ethics concerns, don't use essential oils in public spaces. Many people don't tolerate these scents well because of health conditions, allergies, or chemical sensitivities. For this reason, you should only practice aromatherapy in your own private space.

Try to be an eco-conscious consumer. It takes a whole lot of plant material to make essential oils -- one pound of lavender oil requires 250 pounds of lavender buds! That's a lot of natural resources. Even "wildcrafted" or "wild harvested" products may still be contributing to overharvesting. Try to limit your environmental impact by using oils sparingly, avoiding oils made from endangered plants, buying from companies that use sustainable harvesting practices, and reusing or recycling the bottles.

Making Aromatherapy Trauma-Sensitive

Because scent is so strongly connected to memory, scents that remind us of a traumatic event can trigger anxiety or panic, or even make us physically ill. Before using aromatherapy, think carefully about the scents you feel drawn to and whether they may be triggering for you.

For example, if your abuser wore a floral perfume with rose and geranium notes, the scents of rose and geranium might activate your fight or flight response, even though those are usually considered calming scents. If your abuser wore a cologne or deodorant with a lot of woodsy notes, you might want to avoid woodsy essential oils like cedarwood.

If at any point you start to feel triggered or activated when using aromatherapy, stop using that scent until you can speak to a therapist or counselor about your experience.

Helpful Essential Oils for Trauma Survivors

Note: Much of the information in this section comes from Elizabeth Guthrie's book, The Trauma-Informed Herbalist.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): The ultimate relaxing scent. Guthrie says that lavender "allows a person to completely relax. It is a wonderful tonic for a person who has been overthinking situations." Lavender is really helpful for anxiety and paranoia, especially if your anxiety takes the form of doom spiraling or thinking about worst case-scenarios.

Cedarwood (Cedrus virginiana): An excellent grounding scent. Guthrie says that cedarwood "is loved for its ability to help people reconnect to themselves." Be aware that Atlas Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica) is endangered due to overharvesting -- try to use more sustainable varieties.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis): Great for mental clarity. Rosemary strengthens memory, and it can be useful for people who struggle with short-term memory or who are dealing with brain fog or gaps in memory as a product of trauma. Rosemary promotes alertness.

Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea): Promotes a sense of well-being and helps decrease feelings of stress.

Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana): Brings balance to the body and mind. Marjoram has a relaxing effect and can help release tension.

Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens): Another relaxing scent. Guthrie says that geranium "can also help a person who is feeling jumpy, as if they're living in a horror movie and a jump scare is just around the corner."

Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis): Reduces anxiety and relieves feelings of depression. Chamomile also famously helps with sleep issues such as insomnia.

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin): Very strong grounding. Guthrie recommends patchouli to help reset the sleep-wake cycle for people struggling with insomnia and/or fatigue.

Bergamot (Citrus bergamia): Balances emotional energy and uplifts the mood. Guthrie recommends it for brain fog from exhaustion and for aid in letting go of anger.

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus): A superstar for healing, whether physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual. Guthrie recommends eucalyptus "to jumpstart the emotional healing process" and "to release the feeling that their trauma is part of their identity."

Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis): An uplifting and energizing scent. Great for bringing up the mood, promoting happiness, and helping with burnout.

Aromatherapy on a Budget

Listen, y'all. Essential oils are expensive. Ethically sourced essential oils are even more expensive. I save some money by 1.) using essential oils sparingly, and 2.) buying pre-mixed blends. I'll typically look for a blend that contains several oils that I want to work with instead of buying each oil individually. Right now I'm working with the "Harmony" synergy blend from Eden's Garden, which contains lavender, cedarwood, rosemary, clary sage, sweet marjoram, geranium, and chamomile.

If you can't find a blend that has all the qualities you want, you can still save money by buying a blend with most of the qualities you're looking for, then adding one or two low-cost oils. For example, I wanted a slightly more grounding effect than the blend I'm using has, so I add a little bit of patchouli oil to bring in that earthy, grounding quality.

Sources:

The Trauma-Informed Herbalist by Elizabeth Guthrie

"5 Benefits of Clary Sage Oil" by Corey Whelan

"Marjoram Essential Oil" on AromaWeb

"The 8 Proven Benefits of Chamomile Oil and How to Use It" by Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D.

"Essential Oils & Pets" on Saje

"Are Essential Oils Safe for Kids?" by Teresa Carr

[cat-eye-nebula]

Tips & Tools for Releasing Stored Trauma in Your Body

🌻Somatic Experiencing: Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing can release trauma locked in the body. This method is the result of a combination of stress physiology, psychology, neuroscience, medical biophysics and indigenous healing practices. (Videos on youtube)

🌻Mindfulness and Movements: going for a walk, bike ride, Boxing, Martial arts, yoga (or trauma-informed yoga), or dancing. People who get into martial arts or boxing are often those who were traumatized in the past. They’re carrying a lot of anger and fighting is a great release for them. Exercise helps your body burn off adrenaline, release endorphins, calm your nervous system, and relieve stress.

Release Trapped Emotions: 🍀How to release anger from the body - somatic healing tool 🍀Somatic Exercises for ANGER: Release Anger in Under 5 Minutes 🍀Youtube Playlist: Trauma Healing, Somatic Therapy, Self Havening, Nervous system regulation

🌻 Havening Technique is a somatosensory self-comforting therapy to change the brain to de-traumatize the memory and remove its negative effects from our psyche and body. It has a calming effect on the Amygdala and the Limbic system. 🌼Exercise: Havening Technique for Rapid Stress & Anxiety Relief 🌼Exercise: Self-Havening with nature ambience to let go of painful feelings 🌼Video: Using Havening Techniques to rapidly erase a traumatic memory (Certified Practitioner guides them through a healing session)

🌻Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy technique often used to treat anxiety and PTSD. It incorporates rhythmic eye movements while recalling traumatic experiences. This combo changes how the memory is stored in the brain and allow you to process the trauma fully.

🌻Sound & Vibrational Healing: Sound healing has become all the rage in the health and wellness world. It involves using the power of vibration – from tuning forks, singing bowls, or gongs – to relax the mind and body.

🌻Breathwork is an intentional method of breathing that helps your body relax by bypassing your conscious mind. Trauma can overstimulate the body’s sympathetic nervous system (aka your body’s ‘fight-or-flight’ response). Breathwork settles it down.

Informative videos & Experts on Attachment style healing: 🌼Dr Kim Sage, licensed psychologist  🌼Dr. Nicole LePera (theholisticpsychologist) 🌼Briana MacWilliam 🌼Candace van Dell 🌼Heidi Priebe 

Other informative Videos on Trauma: 🌻Small traumas in a "normal" family and attachment: Gabor Maté - The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture 🌻Uncovering Triggers and Pattern for Healing: Dr Gabor Maté  🌻Understanding trapped emotions in the body and footage of how wild animals release trauma

Article: How Trauma Is Stored in the Body (+ How to Release It)

Article: 20 self-care practices for complex trauma survivors

[fosterwhat]

Felix was supposed to have a really experienced teacher this year. She’d been teaching second grade at the school for 10 years and has an excellent reputation as a trauma informed teacher. Felix met her at the end of last year. The entire class spent a day in her classroom, as part of move up. He has been mentioning her by name all summer. And I found out today (buried in an email!) that they moved her to a different grade AND put a brand-new teacher in the class. And by brand-new I mean she has never taught before, ever. I am appalled that the school didn’t reach out to parents of this class, and didn’t offer a meet and greet. This is a population of kids that relies heavily on scaffolding and previewing. And I find out right before school starts that what the school “promised” him last year is false; get ready for a horrible first week. Felix goes to a special school that has a high level of kids with serious needs; last year his class was considered the most challenging at the school due to all the behaviors. But they are making it worse, not better. This teacher may be great, but nothing replaces experience, especially not for kids like Felix. A twenty year old teacher is not equipped for a class of emotionally and behavioral challenging students, even if she does have a degree.

[kores-pomegranate]

w r e c k e d

[dissentdisdain]

i'm in training to be a peer recovery supporter. saw this in the training module, think more people need to see it!!!

[neuroticboyfriend]

is it really that hard to be like 'as a victim of child abuse, you couldn't help but internalize your abuser's thoughts and feelings. but that doesn't mean that's all there is. we can work on processing your trauma and empower you; you can still find your voice and happiness.'

instead of ooh no dont "surrender to your trauma" and "let your situation control you" (literally from the bio of a therapist on psychology today) - so 'here are some reframing ideas to make you feel like you're being gaslit all over again!'

so many therapists that think they're trauma informed... are not. it's infuriating.

[thepeacefulgarden]

[moonlit-positivity]

You don't need a reason to distance yourself from people. If they give you bad vibes then you deserve to honor that gut feeling and protect yourself. Even if they're not doing anything wrong or bad or even if they haven't done anything to you. You can just straight up not like someone, no context necessary. That's valid af and there's not enough emphasis on intuition and gut feelings. Yes, absolutely. Listen to your instincts.

[unwelcome-ozian]

[grainsofexcellence]

Alright my first long-form full book is COMPLETE!

Please enjoy the full tale of Unfortunately Famous :)

Publishing of this story is in progress!! Please follow this story/account and my socials below for Updates! Also, I might be working on a sequel. shh.

:D And I hope to catch you reading one of my other stories below.

Socials:

Twitter: pinkpillow19

Facebook: Pinkpillow19 (writer)

Tumblr: grainsofexcellence

Tiktok: realkelpy

SQ Writers Dischord: pinkpillow19/realkelpy

Other Pinkpillow19 Stories:

Middle of the Night

8

The Sisterhood

Regina's Baby Momma 

In The Garden: You Make Me Do Too Much Labour

Everything I Wanted

Nothing Good Happens After 2 AM

Regina Mills Is A Lesbian 

Love From Tehran

Tears From Gaza/Stripped From Gaza

Upcoming stories:

Safe Place (Gamer Related)

AI

Revised versions of 8 and Regina's Baby Momma

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23115847/chapters/138204352

[ahundredhundredheartbeats]

Children in crisis do not exist to be a resource for you to build a family if you can’t or don’t want to have biological children but you still want to be a parent.

Children in crisis do not exist to heal your infertility trauma.

Children in crisis do not exist to heal you in any way.

Children in crisis do not exist to be a solution to your infertility.

Children in crisis do not exist to be your backup plan if you can’t have biological children.

Wanting a child does not entitle you to having one.

WANTING A CHILD DOES NOT ENTITLE YOU TO HAVING ONE.

If you are not adopting solely to help a child in crisis, if you are doing it because you want a child, you are not helping a child, you are just helping yourself.

And IF you want to help a child in crisis, it is better for them if you do not sever their legal relationship to their biological family by adopting them. You can hold guardianship and provide a loving, safe, secure home for them without adopting, and this is by far better for the wellbeing of the child.

Choosing adoption over guardianship because you don’t want to “deal with” the biological family is selfish and wrong, and it causes objective permanent harm to the child you claim to want to “help.”

The “blank slate” theory is a myth.

Adoption is trauma. Yes, even for newborns.

Separation from the birthing parent and the biological family is trauma. Yes, even for newborns.

Severing all ties to biological family is trauma. Yes, even for newborns.

Removing a child from their culture and heritage causes harm, and in the case of white people taking children of color from their communities, it's perpetuating the progress of colonialism and genocide.

Taking responsibility for a child in crisis means prioritizing their trauma care and their wellbeing above all else.

It is demonstrably true that guardianship and kinship care are less traumatic to a child than severing all ties to biological family through legal adoption.

If you've never heard of guardianship or kinship care, you are not knowledgeable enough to even consider being able to care for a child in crisis.

The adoption industry is a for-profit, multi-billion-dollar industry with a horrific history of human trafficking, eugenicist ideology, and straight-up baby stealing. These issues have not been sufficiently addressed in legislation and regulations, and the industry continues to exploit, violate, and traumatize untold numbers of children every day.

The adoption industry prioritizes the wants of the adopting parents over the wellbeing of the child.

Adoption is not the beautiful, romanticized method of family-building that the dominant culture makes it out to be.

Children are not property to be passed around for the pleasure of adults. Children are human beings with human rights. Children have a right to know who they are and where they biologically come from. Children have a right to maintain connections with their biological family, their culture, and their heritage. Adoption always interrupts the natural relationships inherent to these rights.