I earned my “Ph.D. in CPTSD” (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also called Developmental Trauma) through my lifelong experience and recent years of recovery and study.
My life is a story of exceptional developmental and subsequent trauma with few resources. It has been unbelievable in its peculiarities, horrors, and striking series of events. Like in ancient tragedies this life trajectory was set for me before I was even born. One might even imagine the stars predicted it.
However, the arc of my life was actually set by intergenerational violence, developmental trauma, and ginormous dark family secrets. It’s a sad family, which owns much trauma handed from one generation to the next and the next and the next.
For over four years I have spent massive amounts of time reading, listening to podcasts, attending trauma summits online, interacting in PTSD communities, and checking out a wide variety of possible solutions. Modalities I tried include Alexander Technique, Family Constellations, Dance/Movement therapy, and Somatic Experiencing therapy. I tried some Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), too, but it is a bad fit for many trauma survivors and was not for me.
I have applied what I’ve learned, sought people who are good for my nervous system and let go of people who aren’t, focused on creating positive experiences.
In addition, I was forced to advocate for myself as I faced a series of medical practitioners whose care was trauma-Un-informed and therefore unhelpful in important ways or even deeply harmful.
Now I draw on my prior experience as an activist to create a #TraumaAwareAmerica, so all trauma survivors can find the help they need and so greatly deserve.