Leon Macfayden

THE TRICKY BALANCE OF SUPPORTING YOUR PARTNER WHILE PROTECTING YOURSELF My Experience with Family Estrangement

THE TRICKY BALANCE OF SUPPORTING YOUR PARTNER WHILE PROTECTING YOURSELF
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And to the people who say “just get over it” when someone talks about their trauma — there’s a special place in my blocked list for you.

If you’ve never lived it, you don’t get to judge it.

3 Books That Hit Different If You’ve Been Through Trauma

The Body Keeps the Score – Understanding why your body reacts before your brain.

Man’s Search for Meaning – Finding purpose in suffering.

What Happened to You? – Realizing you’re not broken, just rewired.

What book shook you to your core?

Who you were during the trauma:

Quiet

Scared

Afraid of saying the wrong thing

Who you are becoming:

Confident

Clear about your boundaries

Willing to lose people to protect your peace

What people think healing looks like:

Forgiveness

Letting go

Daily meditation in the sunshine

What it actually looks like:

Anger

Rebuilding boundaries

Telling the truth, even when it shatters relationships

Interesting fact: Trauma can literally change the size of your brain.

The hippocampus (memory) shrinks.
The amygdala (fear) swells.
The prefrontal cortex (decision-making) goes offline.

Your brain rewires itself to survive.
Recovery isn’t just mindset — it’s biology.

Your peace isn’t for sale.
Your worth isn’t negotiable.
Your sanity isn’t up for debate.

No matter what trauma taught you.
No matter who tried to own you.

You’re not for sale.

Burnout isn’t laziness. It’s a nervous system stuck in survival mode.

It can look like:

Crying over nothing

Dreading every morning

Snapping at people you love

Feeling completely hollow

If this is you, you’re not weak.
You’re overwhelmed. And you need help — not guilt.

I don’t write for claps or followers.

I write because somewhere out there is someone lying on the floor, thinking they’ve run out of reasons to stay alive.

I’ve been that person.
And if my words can throw them a rope, I’ll keep writing.

That’s my why.

Bad advice: “You just need to get out more.”

When I could barely get out of bed, that advice crushed me.
People meant well, but they had no idea what I was enduring just to exist.

Sometimes “getting out” starts with drinking water.

Start where you are.

IT’S MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH.
“Please be kind to everyone 💚”

Except survivors still get gaslit.
Still get dismissed.
Still get told it’s “all in their head.”

Kindness isn’t a hashtag. It’s how you treat people when they’re at their lowest.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month.

Meanwhile, the system that creates trauma, ignores symptoms, denies support, and retraumatizes survivors is still fully funded.

But sure — let’s wear green ribbons and post infographics.

“I can’t start healing right now — I’m too overwhelmed.”

That’s exactly why you need to start.
Overwhelmed isn’t a barrier — it’s the signal.

You don’t wait to patch the roof after the storm.
You do it because the storm is here.

“I don’t talk about it because it’s in the past.”

It’s not in the past if it’s still shaping your present.
Unspoken trauma doesn’t go away — it just finds louder ways to show up.

Silence is not healing.
Processing is.

“Therapy didn’t work for me, so nothing will.”
That’s not truth — that’s fear wearing logic as a mask.
The Power of Trying Again: How It Can Save You When You’ve Given Up on Help.

PTSD =
Peace
Through
Small
Daily
steps

Not therapy marathons.
Not spiritual awakenings.
Just one tiny win at a time.

What does PTSD mean to you?

Shame on the ones telling people to “just get out more.”

If it were that easy, we wouldn’t be losing people in silence.

Healing takes courage — not clichés.

The Truth About Healing Trauma in 2025

Most people aren’t healing.
They’re rebranding their trauma and calling it a personality.

Real healing?
It’s boring. It’s lonely.
It’s crying in the shower and showing up anyway.

But it’s also how you get your life back.

Why Listening to 90s Mixtapes Will Change the Way You Heal

That one burnt CD.
That one song that got you through your worst day.

Music knew the words you couldn’t say.
And somehow, it still does.

Put your headphones on.
You’re not alone. You never were.

Why Saturday Morning Cartoons Will Change the Way You Rest

Before the burnout.
Before the deadlines.
There were cereal-stained pajamas and cartoon marathons.

Looney Tunes. Rugrats. X-Men.
No phones. No pressure. Just joy.

Maybe healing means finding moments like that again.

How to Turn Depression into Self-Discovery

When I hit rock bottom, I thought it was the end.
Turns out, it was the start.

Depression stripped away the noise.
It forced me to ask, "Who am I really?"

Pain taught me what healing never could: my life has meaning.

When I was battling PTSD and depression, I learned something hard:

Once someone decides they don’t like you, even your best intentions will be twisted.

It's not your job to fix their perception.

Keep healing. Keep growing. Keep going.

You are not your trauma.
You are not your pain.
You are not what they did to you.

Abusers aren’t always the obvious villains.
Sometimes they’re the “pillar of the community” handing out food at church.
Right after they screamed, shamed, or hit someone behind closed doors.
The face they show the world isn’t always the one their victims see.

Recovery (noun)
The radical act of choosing yourself every day—even when your mind tries to convince you that you’re not worth saving.

To anyone battling suicidal thoughts tonight—
You are not weak. This world is heavier than you can see right now. Stay. Ask for a hand. Tomorrow needs you.

Just listening—truly listening—can change a life. Sometimes what someone needs most isn’t advice, but a simple “hello” or a caring hug. In a world struggling with trauma and isolation, compassion is everything.

Here’s to anyone who needed a little kindness today.
You’re not alone.

If “sorry you feel that way” is their favorite phrase, you’re not in a relationship—you’re in emotional quicksand. Step out before you suffocate.

Therapy is powerful, but if your therapist doesn’t challenge you, you’re not in therapy—you’re paying for validation.
Progress requires discomfort. That’s the real cost of growth.

I’ll say it again: Suicide prevention isn’t about motivational speeches.
It’s about real, ongoing support, practical coping skills, and radical compassion for people in pain.
That’s the only way forward.