Lori Williams | A Liminal Space

Tag: emotional regulation

  • The Roundabout: Why Religious Trauma Keeps Us Circling

    Isn’t it strange that the same religion teaching about the unconditional love of Jesus attaches a long list of expectations to those who follow him? Toxic religion is like having a parent who says they love you unconditionally but expects you to perform in a certain way to get what you need.

  • When Helping Ourselves Becomes Hurting Ourselves: My Journey with Rumination

    For years, I thought retelling my abuse story was helping me heal. I had no idea I was retraumatizing myself every single time. Today I discovered the hidden pattern that’s been keeping me stuck—and why even well-intentioned therapy can miss it.

  • One Box at a Time

    Can you remember the last 5 self-help tips you saw on Instagram? I couldn’t. Every scroll triggers emotions without purpose. Every post we forget still drains our energy. Information that isn’t thoughtfully applied just becomes noise. Time to sort through one box at a time.

  • Are You Running on Fear?

    Our nervous systems are wired to keep us alive, not to keep us happy. They’re incredibly good at detecting danger, but terrible at telling the difference between real threats and false alarms. That rustling in the bushes could be a bear or it could be a squirrel. Your nervous system doesn’t care—it just screams ‘RUN!'”

  • Understanding Fawning: Breaking Cycles of Survival-Based Relationships

    Unlike fight, flight, or freeze responses that happen in the moment, fawning is different—it’s a survival pattern learned over time. Dr. Mary Catherine MacDonald explains how this trauma response develops through repeated experiences, creating adults who struggle to simply exist in relationships without constantly scanning for others’ needs. But understanding fawning is the first step…

  • Rethinking Emotions: How Your Brain Constructs Your Emotional Experience

    Rethinking Emotions: How Your Brain Constructs Your Emotional Experience

    “You are an architect of your experience.” – Lisa Feldman Barrett Last week I watched a YouTube video by Lisa Feldman Barrett on how emotions are created. After watching the Inside Out movies, I initially thought emotions were just a normal part of being human—automatic reactions that tell us important things about ourselves. But Barrett’s research…