It’s been a while. Between waiting for my new laptop, public access training with Azula, The Wisdom of Trauma courses, the International Trauma Research and Recovery Network, writing project proposals, trying to get information from organizations and having houseguests, writing took a backseat. Especially the public access training took its toll. For someone who suffers…
Tag: personal journey
Sometimes you’ve got to force the issue
Week in Review 8 – Sometimes you’ve got to force the issue. I really don’t like it, but sometimes you’ve got to stand up for yourself. And force people to take notice. It goes against my nature, but if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. Jeffry Stijn Foundation We finally got…
The Body Keeps The Score 2 – Lessons from Vietnam Vets
Chapter 1 – Lessons from Vietnam Vets The Body Keeps the Score 2. Yesterday I started reading The Body Keeps the Score and keeping a journal of what touches and triggers me as I read. I’ve just finished reading Chapter 1. I’m tense, shaking, anxious. My brain feels like mud. And grief is battering at…
The Body Keeps the Score & Healing Trauma: A First Step
Over the past 4 and a half years I have been slowly but surely learning about complex trauma and complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. During that journey, one of the names that consistently kept popping up in articles, dissertations and studies was Bessel van der Kolk, MD. One of the first things that caught my eye…
Some things take a little more time
Week in Review 6 & 7 – Some things take a little more time I started writing last week’s week in review and then things just kept on happening that needed a little more time and required a little more attention. That’s life; it happens. So this week’s week in review is a double feature….
It’s Chronic and Complex
The Week in Review Week 5 This past week has been all about things being chronic and complex. Both when it comes to the Jeffry Stijn Foundation for Mental Health and Patient Advocacy and when it comes to living with metal illness in a small society with limited resources. As well as for me personally,…
Complaint Respaldo
When I first started at Respaldo, Aruba’s National Mental Health Foundation, I was immediately informed that there probably wouldn’t be fitting treatment for me here on the island. That I’d have to move abroad. Or try to get sent abroad for medical treatment. I was informed that the chances of that happening would be pretty…
Service Animals: The quest to get my doggos certified
Ever since I got the okay to be sent abroad for treatment, I have been trying to find out how to get my dogs, Azula and Monroe, certified as service dogs, or at least emotional support animals. Initially I was told by Respaldo that they knew of one person who had managed it. This was…
It’s called self-actualization, Einstein
You know that last missing puzzle piece? The one that just doesn’t fit, or has mysteriously been missing? Turns out mine has been something called self-actualization. I’ve been asking for help with this for as long as I can remember. I just didn’t have the word for it. And now that I’ve found it… well….
Setting boundaries and conditions
I had been running into a similar pattern over and over at a certain point. When I tried to make agreements with my employer or people in my environment something went wrong. A very wise and management guru, offered to help me figure it out. And see what I could do to change or break…
