by Rebekah Brown | Apr 5, 2021 | Uncategorized
No-Talk Rule – This foundational dysfunctional family rule demands children never tell the truth to outsiders and never speak up to their abusers. Blurry shapes floated in and out as I lay on the operating table trying to wake up. The smell of antiseptic burned...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 31, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Threat of Peace Hypervigilance: The state of being highly alert to potential danger or threat I sat on the floor practicing my Forward Facing trauma techniques as I rubbed my hands across the thick bedroom carpet. Grounding myself in the present, I took a deep...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 24, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Friend of Love – Resiliency My best friend is moving away. She’d been dropping hints for months, but I decided to retreat behind a wall of denial and hope for the best. The best was not to be. Ellen is moving, and there isn’t anything I can do about it. We...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 16, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Stories We Tell Ourselves – Emotional Regulation My first grade year was the first time in my life I felt understood. I loved everything about school. The snacks, the smell of mimeographed worksheets, learning how to read and write, the playground, and most...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 9, 2021 | Uncategorized
Fight or flight and emotional regulation The desert of the Southwestern United States has a strange, stark beauty all its own. Gorgeous sunsets, rock formations and deep canyons accented with spiky cactus resemble another world. If you grew up back east like I did,...