Lived Experience Blog
Neuroplasticity, Hypervigilance, and the RASamataz Plot Twist
One of the concepts we explore in our Reconnect & Regulate programme (starting Monday 29th June) is neuroplasticity – the brain’s remarkable ability to change, adapt, and form new neural pathways throughout our lives. The image below captures an important truth, although I’d add a little…
The POT of Perception: How Awareness Brings Clarity
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” — Anaïs Nin This simple sentence captures one of the most important truths about being human. Our experience of the world is shaped not only by what is happening around us, but by what is happening within us. Recently, I came across an image…
When Does Persuasion Become Manipulation?
As many of you know, one of the topics I explore in our STAND – Parents as Protectors workshops is manipulation. Not always the obvious kind. Not the dramatic, easy-to-spot kind. The subtle kind. The kind that influences perception before we have even realised it is happening. Recently, I found…
When Survival Becomes a Way of Life
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of being invited by Florence Koenderink to join a conversation about her work, Beyond the Trauma Wall. I’ve found myself reflecting on that conversation ever since. As a trauma-informed practitioner, and as someone with lived experience of trauma, Florence’s…
Leaving Dorsal
There was a time in my life when I was considered “farthest from the labour market.” At that point, I struggled to look people in the eye. Shame sat heavily in my body. Fear kept me small, quiet, and disconnected from my own potential. It wasn’t just anxiety. Whenever I had to stand up in front of…
Seeing the Person, Not the Problem
It’s been a tough week. A week of study and learning. My own MSc reading. Supporting others with theirs. Noticing how theory is learned… & then how it translates into real lives. Later in the week, I read case studies, medical & session notes from across clinical professions — GPs,…
Supporting Nervous System Regulation During Trauma Work:
Learning to care for the helper as well as the person being helped Working with trauma survivors is deeply meaningful, but it can also touch the helper’s nervous system in powerful ways. Regulation is not something we arrive with fully formed — it is a practice we learn over time, often through…
Is It Possible There Can Be Two Selves?
I was recently asked a question that landed quietly but powerfully: “Is it possible there can be two selves?” My answer came without hesitation: “Absolutely.” What follows is not theory offered from a distance, but reflection shaped through lived experience, me search, we search, research —…
When “Discipline” Becomes Harm: Understanding Cruelty Disguised as Parenting
When “Discipline” Becomes Harm: Understanding Cruelty Disguised as Parenting There is a kind of harm in childhood that many people never talk about. It doesn’t leave bruises. It doesn’t always involve shouting. Often, it was normalised. And one of the main reasons people stay silent is simple: Many…
Your Body Is Wise: And How We Frame Our Responses Shapes Everything
There’s a line that has been echoing in me ever since I read it: “Your body knows what to do. Your body is wise.” — Yuki Askew - a comment on one of my posts. It spoke to a truth I have lived, witnessed, and now teach every day. The Body Speaks Before the Mind Does There were moments in my life…