Insights & Tools for Healing

Trauma isn’t just something that happened. It’s what happened inside you as a result. And often, it’s what keeps happening when your body and nervous system don’t feel safe — even long after the event is over.

Your nervous system is designed to move through waves — activation and deactivation, expansion and contraction. But when stress builds up, or when we’ve been taught to ignore what we feel, we can lose our rhythm.

Nervous System 101 is a guide to getting to know the incredible inner system that helps you stay safe, connect with others, and navigate life’s stressors. It’s a science that helps us better understand how we are wired so that we can better serve ourselves and help us heal.

In experiential therapies we seek approaches that don’t just treat symptoms, but actually speak to the heart of our experience—especially when that experience involves trauma. For me, Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) has been one of those approaches. It helped me make sense of the reactions and behaviors I once didn’t understand, and provided tools that supported deep, meaningful healing.

It’s easy to feel like the mind and body are working against each other. That restless feeling when thoughts are swirling

Dissociation can feel like slipping away from yourself — losing track of time, feeling disconnected from your body, or watching life happen

When we dissociate, we feel like a passenger to our own life, like we’re floating away from the present moment.

The experience of dissociation anxiety is deeply disorienting—like floating just outside of yourself, disconnected from life.

Dissociation can be difficult to describe—and even harder to experience. It’s that sense of being disconnected, as if you’re watching life

Recovering from PTSD can be disorienting and exhausting. If you’ve felt stuck or frustrated with the pace of your healing, you’re not alone.

PTSD recovery can feel messy and confusing—like trying to find your way through a fog.

Trauma can feel like a shadow, lingering long after the event has passed. It affects how we see ourselves and the world

Death is one of the most human experiences we face—and one of the hardest to talk about. When we hear the word “death,” we often think of losing someone we love: a parent, a child, a spouse, a friend. And yes, that grief can feel all-consuming.

Trauma isn’t just about what happened—it’s about how it felt inside of you. It’s those moments that left you confused, overwhelmed, or...

There isn’t one perfect path to healing. Not for everyone. Not all the time. And when it comes to chronic pain or chronic illness, that truth feels especially important.

We come into the world knowing how to connect. That drive for connection is hardwired into us from the very beginning.

Spirituality is often a quiet, sacred place where deep parts of our story and pain live—where trauma and loss meet hope and transformation. In my work with clients, I frequently sit with the complexity of their unique spiritual journeys, listening to how their stories and wounds shape their relationship with the sacred.

It’s no surprise that many of us struggle to feel truly safe, at ease, or at home in our own bodies. We might feel shame or confusion around our desires—or wonder if we’re even allowed to have any. We might shut down emotionally or physically. We might feel both hungry for intimacy and terrified of it. These are all deeply human responses.

Both PTSD and cPTSD can impact how you think, how you connect with others, how you trust, and how you feel in your body. Healing is possible, but it takes intentional work.

Somatic exercises offer a unique invitation to listen deeply to our bodies and attune ourselves to the subtle narratives they weave....