Survivors Blog
As Above, So Below
I’ve been reflecting, as I regularly do… Let’s consider the environment. Chaos on the outside, chaos on the inside. Calm on the outside, calm on the inside. Hate on the outside, hate on the inside. Love on the outside, love on the inside. This is how it might work for those of us who have…
Filtering Reality: Attention, Awareness, and the Expanding Mind
In The Doors of Perception, Aldous Huxley described something extraordinary. Under the influence of mescaline, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in the peyote cactus, his brain activity didn’t increase — it decreased — yet his perception expanded. Colours deepened, time slowed, and…
Learning to Say No: Reclaiming Ourselves Through the STAND Framework
How We Learned to Fear “No” From early childhood, many of us were conditioned to equate obedience with love. When we complied, we were rewarded with affection or approval. When we resisted, expressed anger, or said no, we were met with disapproval, punishment, or withdrawal. We didn’t just learn…
Silencing
As I sit down to write, to put down in words the past events and experiences that shaped my present I hear a familiar noise. Every time I peel back a new layer of my story I hear familiar words running through my mind and body, not running, yelling. Old threats, old manipulation and traps. Old…
Duality
How we view the world and the people in it depends on our internal filter. A filter constructed from our experiences and understanding, from the flow or otherwise of our nervous system, and from the surroundings we live in. 2 people viewing the same event will see and experience it in different…
Uncomfortable
We are going to make you uncomfortable. Our truth is going to shake your illusion. Our words and our message are going to raise questions you don’t want to ask, never mind answer. Our vulnerability transforms to strength as you listen, read and understand. Our rawness will surprise you. And I’m no…
Finding Belonging Away From Home
I’ve been reflecting on what it really means to belong — not just to live somewhere, but to feel that deep exhale of “this is home.” Is it possible to truly belong to a place you weren’t born or raised in? Is belonging something we’re invited into through acceptance — or something that grows…
How Far is “Farthest”? Rethinking the Language of Welfare and Worth
When the Department for Work and Pensions classifies someone as “furthest from the labour market,” it might sound like neutral language — a simple policy term. But for the person it describes, already living in a state of survival, it can feel like a final verdict. “Farthest” sounds unreachable.…
4 Years
Convicted of a less serious offence” “Cleared of more serious charges” “Prostitution related offences” “Is now a mentor and advocate….his six-week business course that he's been teaching fellow inmates, "Mr. Combs can reach so many more on the outside than he can on the inside." “Transported male…