Lived Experience Blog
Understanding Trauma
Understanding Trauma, Disconnection, and Vulnerability to Manipulation One of the most important yet misunderstood aspects of trauma is how it disconnects us—from ourselves and from others. And this disconnection doesn’t just leave us feeling isolated; it also makes us more vulnerable to…
The Dorsal Space
There’s a place beyond exhaustion, beyond sadness, beyond fear. A place where the weight of everything drags you down so completely that movement feels impossible. Where the black cloud of doom doesn’t just hover—it swallows.This is dorsal collapse. It’s not just being “stuck.” It’s being buried.…
The Human Cost of Benefit Cuts: Why Compassion Must Come First
Cuts to benefits for people struggling with mental health issues are more than just financial decisions—they are attacks on survival, dignity, and humanity. For those reliant on the system, simply hearing that benefits may be cut can send their nervous system into survival mode. The body perceives…
Adolescence, Grooming & Disconnection: Why STAND Has Never Been More Urgent
For the past ten years, I’ve been trying to share STAND: Parents as Protectors – a program designed to help parents, caregivers, and professionals recognise grooming behaviours, build confident boundaries, and reconnect to the instincts that protect both themselves and their children.…
The Body Keeps the Score: A Real-Life Experience
In 2018, I was in a road traffic collision. A speeding van hit my stationary car as I waited to turn into my driveway. The impact knocked me unconscious, and I suffered a head injury. A truck driver who witnessed the crash blocked the road and climbed into the back of my wrecked car. Though I have…
True Acceptance
In a world full of differing perspectives, beliefs, and experiences, one of the greatest challenges we face is learning how to truly accept both ourselves and others—without judgment, without the need for agreement, and without losing ourselves in the process. At its core, true acceptance is about…
Survival & The Power of Trust
During the early days of COVID, I remember watching people pile their trolleys high, pushing ahead, grabbing what they could. There was no eye contact, no pause, no thought for the person next to them. It was survival mode in its rawest form. And I understood it. Fear does that to people. When we…
The Body Remembers
Trauma has a way of embedding itself deep within us, not just in our minds but in our very cells. As Bessel van der Kolk so aptly explains in The Body Keeps the Score, the physical body carries the echoes of past experiences, even when the conscious mind cannot recall them. I understood this…
Understanding Behaviour: A Trauma-Informed Perspective
The Foundations Humans are biologically hardwired to receive care and attention from their caregivers to ensure survival. Like other mammals, human infants rely on their caregivers to meet basic needs such as nourishment, comfort, and safety. For example, when a baby cries, a responsive caregiver…
The Power of Alignment, Congruence and Introspection
The Power of Alignment - Learning to Trust Ourselves Through Self-Awareness, Congruence, and Introspection In a world that constantly pulls us in multiple directions, the concept of alignment has become more essential than ever. At its core, alignment is about living in accordance with our deepest…