There comes a moment in healing when you realize you’re no longer tending to the wounds of your inner child — you’re standing as the woman she grew into. For a long time, speaking the truth felt like survival. Silence felt dangerous. Not because I was hiding anything — but because I was taught thatContinue reading “Note from the author”
Tag Archives: cptsd-healing
What People Pleasing Really Is: A Trauma Response Born in a Childhood That Never Felt Safe
Intro: People often misunderstand people-pleasing. They think it means you’re “too nice” or “too giving.” But people-pleasing is not a personality trait—it’s a survival strategy learned in childhood when your emotional needs were ignored, mocked, dismissed, or punished. A child who grows up unseen and unheard does not learn resilience; they learn adaptation. They learnContinue reading “What People Pleasing Really Is: A Trauma Response Born in a Childhood That Never Felt Safe”
Part 2: How to Know What Layer You’re In (Before You Apply the Lesson)
Why misidentifying your layer keeps you stuck—even when you’re doing everything “right” If Part 1 resonated, this part answers the next question most people ask—sometimes without realizing it: “Okay… but how do I know where I actually am?” This matters more than most people understand. Because when you misidentify your layer, you don’t just feelContinue reading “Part 2: How to Know What Layer You’re In (Before You Apply the Lesson)”
Part 1: When Truth Is Placed in the Wrong Layer
Not all truth heals at the same time.
This piece explores why advice that is technically “right” can still cause harm when it’s applied too early—or to the wrong layer of healing.
Silence & Solitude — Part II
The Clarity It Brings After healing, silence and solitude stop being something you enter — and start becoming something you live from. The noise doesn’t disappear overnight. What changes is how your body responds to it. I started noticing clarity first in my reactions. Things that once sent me into panic, over-explaining, or shutdown no longer had theContinue reading “Silence & Solitude — Part II”
Silence & Solitude
After Healing Silence and solitude after healing are very different than the silence that comes before it. This kind of solitude didn’t arrive because I collapsed or gave up. It came after healing — when I slowly stepped back into the world with new awareness, healthy boundaries, and a nervous system that was no longerContinue reading “Silence & Solitude”
🌿 HEALING LAYERS – PART 1
Where My Healing Truly Began: January 2024 Healing isn’t linear, and this reflection comes from a real moment in my journey. I share it as lived experience—honest, unfiltered, and still unfolding. January 2024 was the moment everything inside me began to overflow. What I thought was a mental spiral was actually my nervous system reachingContinue reading “🌿 HEALING LAYERS – PART 1 “
The Honest Healing Journey with Kristi 