Survivors Blog
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,…
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…
The Limits of Your Life Are the Limits You Choose” — But It’s Not the Whole Story
I saw a post today that read: “The limits of your life are the limits you choose.” At first glance it feels inspiring, almost liberating — as if choice alone shapes destiny. But it also got me reflecting on something important: Nothing is relevant until it becomes relevant. Nothing truly lands…
How Trauma Held in the Body Shapes Our Thoughts, Behaviours, and Vulnerabilities
Trauma isn’t just something that happened to us — it’s something that lives in us. It lives in our bodies, in the patterns we learned to survive, and in the emotions we pushed down because they were too much to hold at the time. When old wounds stay unhealed, they don’t disappear. They simply go…
Intergenerational Trauma Isn’t About Blame — It’s About Nervous Systems Doing Their Best
Why children self-soothe, why parents struggle, and how the 7Rs Pathways offer the route to repair We often talk about cycles in families as though they are rooted in deliberate choices or moral failings. But most intergenerational trauma has nothing to do with intentional harm. What truly passes…
When Survivors Heal, Systems Shift
Over the past few weeks, my posts about trauma have sparked some deep conversation and connection. Yet when I spoke about the challenges around funding, gatekeeping, and entrenched thinking within safeguarding systems, the response was very different — absolute silence. I’ve been reflecting on why…
When Prevention Work Isn’t Understood: A Call for Clarity in UK Safeguarding Funding
I want to share something important about the challenges we face in delivering grooming-prevention training across the UK. This is not about criticising any individual funder — it’s about highlighting a recurring pattern that affects prevention work nationally. We applied for funding for a…
The Journey Before The Journey
If you’d asked me where A Positive Start began when I first started this work, I would’ve confidently said: “It began because of the domestic violence.” At the time, that felt true. It felt obvious. The dramatic moment. The crisis. The breaking point. The event that almost ended my life. But what I…
The TRUST Framework: Creating Truly Safe, Trauma-Informed Spaces
This framework is free to use in community, education, care and support settings. Please credit Deborah J Crozier & A Positive Start CIC when sharing or delivering. © 2021–2025 Deborah J Crozier, A Positive Start CIC. All Rights Reserved. Many spaces say they are trauma-informed because they…