I’m excited to wish you a Happy New Year!
2024 was a mixed bag of challenges and blessings. Connecting with emotions. Making meaning. Using the tools in my toolbox.
One of my friends said, “The best that I can say about 2024 is that it was The Year of the Pivot.”
This resonated HARD.
As I often say – especially as a childhood abuse survivor – things would be so much easier to process if they were ALL good or ALL bad.
Alas, they are not. There are many shades of gray.
And thank goodness, as that’s one of the things that makes us human.
Celebrating 2024 by Reflecting Back
This is a great time of year to think about the last 365-ish days that we have gone through. Four seasons of transitions, losses, gains, grief, acceptance, emotions, and more.
One of my favorite ways to reflect is to take a look at what affected YOU the most.
There are not a lot of ways to quantify trauma and grief recovery, but one of the ways is to take a look at my blog and social media stats and see what people read, saved, and shared the most over the course of the year.
Of course, life is busy and it can feel impossible to keep up with everything all the time, so…
ICYMI: Here’s What YOU Liked in 2024!
In case you missed it, here are the TOP 7 blog posts of the last year!
#7 – Let’s Talk About Capacity and Spoon Theory
I wrote this in December 2023 and it has gotten a lot of traction into this year. Here’s the first snippet:
Capacity is an important – and neglected – topic in our culture.
Sometimes you want to do something, but you just can’t.
Sometimes you want to do A LOT of things, and you just can’t.
That might not be because you are stressed and tired. This might be an issue of capacity. What is capacity? Go here for more…
#6 – Do You Feel Like You Don’t Belong?
I love this post. If you feel like you don’t belong and/or like a scapegoat, here are some reasons as well as how that can be a GOOD thing. Here’s the first snippet:
The theme of “I feel like I don’t belong” came up for me THREE times in the course of two days.
That’s a lot.
It got my attention.
I got curious. What does the feeling of not belonging have to do with surviving trauma and/or abuse? What about the grieving process? What specifics in my own life contribute to feeling this way? What do I have in common with others? Can these feelings be reframed, moving forward? What is this about? Go here for more…
#5 – Download These Free Mental Health Worksheets and More
This is a great post to bookmark to come back to when you are ready to follow helpful rabbit trails or want to look something up or need a strategy or or or… Here’s a snippet:
Recently, a client asked me for downloadable mental health worksheets.
“Any specific area of interest?” I asked.
“Not really,” they said. “I’d like information and inspiration that I can print out and hang up to remind me about what I’m working on.”
Such a great idea! Especially since it takes 1,500 repetitions to really learn something. Trauma and grief recovery is slow-slow-slow life-changing work. Every step forward is valuable. Go here for more…
#4 – Reflect on Darkness & Light with Two Solstice Poems
I love celebrating the Winter Solstice! Here is the first snippet –
The shortest day and darkest night appeals to me on a visceral level. I have found myself in the darkness many times over the years, shuffling around & bumping into things, praying for light to return.
It was only later that I learned that darkness has its own lessons and blessings, like water bioluminescence – you can’t see it without darkness.
The darkness is part of the cycle of trauma and grief recovery. I remember wondering if I would drown in my own tears in the dark, and before I knew it, light had returned.
I love poetry the most when I am stumbling around in the darkness. Go here for more…
And the TOP THREE MOST POPULAR Posts of the Last Year…
#3 – As a Trauma Survivor, Making a Mistake is Hella Triggering
Trauma Survivors don’t like making mistakes. This is me. I am that trauma survivor. You might be, too.
I work hard, and I have come a long way, and I STILL MAKE MISTAKES.
Oh my word, you have no idea HOW MUCH I have wanted a finish line. As in, we’re going along, working on our trauma and grief recovery, processing away, and then – boom – we reach the finish line and we’re done!
I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY YEARS I PROCESSED THIS IN THERAPY.
Trauma and grief recovery are not like that. There is no “done.”
There is growth, development, health, and even – dare I say – happiness! When we participate in trauma recovery, we get to LIVE A LIFE THAT IS NOT CONTROLLED BY PAST TRAUMA. Go here for more…
#2 – Two Free and Easy PTSD & CPTSD Apps
I’m not talking about appetizers! (haha groan, old joke). I’m talking about using apps on our phones to help track PTSD and cPTSD symptoms.
Why apps? Because it’s important to track symptoms and emotions, gain valuable information about your triggers and what you can do about them, and find support.
Plus, many of us already have our phones with us most of the time. What better way to use them than with PTSD and CPTSD recovery? Go here for more…
#1 – A Letter to My Abusive Father
Year after year, this is my most popular post. Here’s one part –
I recently attended a writing retreat that uncovered the layers of shock, disgust and shame I had been wearing for so long. Our facilitator would assign us a word and we would write, sharing our work after shedding blood, sweat, and tears on our notebook paper or laptops.
One of our exercises was to write a “Dear John” letter to something that no longer served us, that held us back or threatened to drown us. I chose shame, and I crafted an awesome letter about how shame’s services were no longer needed. Go here for more…
Thanks for being part of this community in 2024!
Go From Surviving to Thriving in the New Year!
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