trauma recovery

February 23, 2026

What If I’d Driven Away? Learning Self-Compassion When You Can’t Forgive Your Own Choices

What if one different choice could have changed everything? Through the lens of a moment sitting outside a church in a minivan, this post explores what it really means to stop punishing yourself, listen to the parts of you that are exhausted, and discover that self-compassion — not self-criticism — is the only way forward.… Continue reading

Parts Work, self-compassion, Trauma Recovery work

belonging, childhood trauma, healing from shame, healing through writing, hope, hurt people hurt people, inner critic, Internal Family Systems, mental health, peer support, recovery, religious trauma, second chances, self-compassion, self-forgiveness, spiritual abuse, survivor stories, trauma Informed, trauma recovery, you are not alone
February 22, 2026

The Robin on the Fence

What if nothing is missing at all? What if everything we’re searching for is already here, and we simply can’t see it because we keep looking somewhere else? Inspired by Francis Weller’s In the Absence of the Ordinary, this post is an invitation to slow down, notice what’s right in front of you, and consider… Continue reading

slower living, soul care

authentic living, belonging, coaching, community, consumption, emotional health, francis weller, grounded living, healing-journey, In the Absence of the Ordinary, indigenous wisdom, inner work, Liminal space, meaning making, mindfulness, nature, noticing beauty, ordinary life, peer support, present moment, religious trauma, rites of passage, robin, slow living, slowing down, soul care, spiritual bypassing, spiritual deconstruction, trauma recovery, what is missing
February 11, 2026

Part 2: How Environment Shapes Us—From Worm Theology to Finding Ourselves

How can I know what parts of me are shaped by my environment? And what parts of me are who I really am? As an adopted child who later joined an evangelical church, I’ve learned that worm theology doesn’t just teach you about God—it teaches you who you’re supposed to be. And unlearning that is… Continue reading

personal journey, religious trauma recovery, sacred healing

adoption, appeasement, authentic self, belonging, Christian trauma, conformity vs authenticity, control burning, deconstructing faith, Dr K, environment and identity, evangelical church, exvangelical, faith transition, finding yourself, fundamentalism, Healthy Gamer GG, identity formation, Jesus and pushback, nature vs nurture, Newfoundland, peer support, religious conditioning, religious deconstruction, religious trauma, Religious trauma syndrome, self discovery, sinner saved by grace, spiritual abuse, toxic religion, trauma coaching, trauma recovery, worm theology
February 6, 2026

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. Continue reading

religious trauma, sacred healing, trauma recovery

carl jung, Christian trauma, complex grief, conditional love, deconstructing faith, emotional regulation, exvangelical, faith transition, francis weller, fundamentalism, grief work, healing from religion, IFS, inner child work, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness, nervous system regulation, peer support, post-religious, presence, recovery journey, religious deconstruction, religious trauma, Religious trauma syndrome, self-awareness, somatic awareness, spiritual abuse, spiritual healing, staying present, toxic religion, trauma coaching, trauma recovery, trauma survivor, unconditional love, worm theology
January 29, 2026

A Prayer of Complaint, Petition, and Resolution

A prayer born from threshold moments—naming consumption as the shadow we refuse to see. For survivors learning the difference between being fed and being fed upon. Continue reading

religious trauma recovery, sacred healing, sexual abuse, shadow work, spiritual abuse recovery, trauma recovery

collective shadow, consumption, embodied trauma, enough, Hansel and Gretel, IFS therapy, inner child work, intergenerational trauma, prayer, prophetic witness, redemption, religious trauma, shadow work, survivor witness, trauma recovery
January 26, 2026

A Table for My Enemies

“I have spent so much of my life closing and barring the door to the parts of myself I find unacceptable. I’m realizing as I get older how much energy it requires to continue to push on this door to prevent it from breaking open. Sitting on my desk is a little golden table—a sacred… Continue reading

authentic living, belonging, complex trauma, Deconstronstruction, faith and religion, healing and recovery, healing process, Internal Family Systems, mental health, Mental Wellness, regret, religious abuse, Religious PTSD recovery, religious trauma recovery, self discovery, self trust, spiritual abuse recovery

complex trauma, deconstruction, Finding Home, francis weller, healing-journey, Internal Family Systems, Parts Work, regret, religious trauma, self-acceptance, self-compassion, shame, spiritual abuse, survivor stories, trauma recovery
January 10, 2026

When Pain Has No Place to Land

Maybe you grew up knowing instinctively that your pain wasn’t safe to share. That if you brought your scraped knees and bruised hearts to your caregivers, somehow you’d end up taking care of them instead. It wasn’t your job to absorb someone else’s volcanic grief. It never was. You can care without carrying it. Continue reading

peer support, personal stories, sacred healing, trauma recovery

childhood trauma, emotional healing, grief rituals, healthy boundaries, intergenerational trauma, parentification, peer support, trauma recovery
December 2, 2025

When the Tool Becomes a Crutch: AI, Agency, and Doing Your Own Thinking

I’ve discovered something troubling: there’s a line between AI helping me organize my thoughts and AI doing my thinking for me. And that line matters. Continue reading

ai, mental health, sacred healing, technology and society, trauma recovery

agency, ai, AI ethics, AI limitations, Anthropic, artificial intelligence, autonomy, Boundaries, chatgpt, Claude, cognitive health, creative process, critical thinking, decision making, discernment, echo chamber, healing, Human Connection, IFS, Internal Family Systems, mental health, peer support, personal growth, professional help, psychological wellbeing, religious trauma, responsible AI use, self-awareness, self-led living, spiritual manipulation, technology, therapy, trauma recovery, trauma-informed, writing, writing process
November 23, 2025

LOVE VS. CONSUMPTION: I DIDN’T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

I used to think being valued meant being loved. I didn’t know someone could see my worth and still devour me whole. Here’s what I learned about the difference between love and consumption. Continue reading

abuse of power, authentic living, belonging, Boundaries, personal journey, religious abuse, religious trauma recovery, sacred healing, Self-Reflection, trauma recovery

Boundaries, codependency, conditional love, emotional abuse, emotional manipulation, gaslighting, healing-journey, healthy relationships, love vs consumption, narcissistic abuse, Nashville trauma support, peer support, religious trauma, self-worth, spiritual abuse, spiritual manipulation, survivor, toxic family, toxic relationships, trauma recovery
November 21, 2025

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. Continue reading

peer support, rumination, sacred healing, trauma Informed, trauma recovery

church abuse, coping skills, counseling, depression, emotional regulation, emotional sobriety, healing from abuse, hypervigilance, IFS, Internal Family Systems, mental health, mental health awareness, mindfulness, nervous system regulation, peer support, perfectionism, personal growth, ptsd, religious trauma, retraumatization, rumination, self-compassion, self-help, survivor, therapy, trauma healing, trauma recovery, trauma response, trauma-informed coaching, victim mentality