Positivity isn’t a cure for anger. It may distract from it, but the anger isn’t going away. Anger isn’t bad. It’s a normal response to a felt disrespect to the mind/body. Healing happens by affirming honest emotions rather than attempting to swap them out-which will delay growth.

Our trauma conditioning, that self-sabotaging programming our bullies & abuses laid on us years ago, wants us responding to every memory & feeling we experience w/ panic & self-cruelty.

Trauma programming gets scrambled & weakened when we respond w/ compassion & patience.

“But, it made you strong”

What people don’t see is it also made them lonely, afraid to ask for what they need, & fearful that if they ask for help they’ll be rejected. There is often a lot of pain the strong people you know are hiding. Strong is sometimes the only option.

Survivors often feel pressure to talk or not talk about their story, from lots of people, for lots of reasons. It's real important, if we're going to talk about our experience, that we feel ready, & we do it for our reasons, not anyone else's pressure. Your story. Your rules.

We are not always gonna feel great about ourselves or be thrilled w/ all our decisions as we recover from trauma-- but facing that sh*t without shame or self-abuse is what building realistic self-esteem is all about.

Easy does it. Just do the next right thing.

Germans know...

I have never once met a trauma survivor who "wanted" to "play the victim card." Every survivor I've ever met would happily burn their "victim card" & never think about it again.

Trauma is about conditioning we have to systematically undo, not a "mindset" we "choose."

This Bishop is amazing for the courage she had to do this to their smug faces

"Victim" is not a bad word-- & it behooves us all to get curious about who has been working, effortfully, to make it taboo & shameful to identify as a victim. Who benefits from there being "no true victims," except those who "choose" to be victim?

That's right. Perpetrators.

The Los Angeles wildfires are at risk of contaminating the city's water supply, with ash, pathogens, toxic chemicals, flame retardants, and even melted pipes able to enter reservoirs and aqueducts.

Several communities have advised residents not to drink tap water.

Incredible footage by a KTLA helicopter at the badass firefighters working their asses off to contain the new fire that flared up last night in Jurupa Valley 🙏💪

Direct yourself away from "should" statements as quickly & emphatically as possible. 90% of "shoulds" are recovery sabotaging black holes.

Unless a "should" is tied to a concrete goal-- "to accomplish X, I should do Y"-- it's very likely of limited or negative impact on you.

Every time we choose to talk to ourselves w/ realism, kindness, & respect, we make a tiny, incremental investment in new neural pathways that will serve us better than those formed early on through abuse, neglect, & trauma.

Invest, invest, invest. Plant emotional acorns.

Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013

Collection of Short Poems in Chinese from Itako https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/78634

This app is helping Californians stay on top of wildfire risks An interest in getting more sources of intel on wildfires in California spurred John Mills to create an app. He's not alone.

The Watch Duty app is making the rounds online right now due to the unfolding tragedy in Los Angeles. Here's a past look at what it is, how to use it, and how it helps in times of crisis*

*reposted after correcting grammatical errors. It's been... a week, y'all.

www.popsci.com/technology/w...

My son loved this article and the Darth Vader sea bug. Thank you for the article 🫶. Our deepest thoughts go out to LA, to all the people who lost someone, to all the communities impacted by the wildfires losing their homes, businesses & livelihoods. It’s a horrific aftermath ❤️😢

When we get triggered, have a sh*t day, backslide, relapse, we gotta remember: we're not starting again from scratch. We're STILL skilled & experienced, even if our struggles got the better of us for a sec. We're NOT at Square One.

Easy does it. Just pick up where you left off.

The fantasy of living a "normal" life was a roadblock to my trauma recovery. The stuff that happened to us wasn't "normal." The stuff we need to do to recover isn't gonna be "normal." Look around you; "normal" isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway.

Yeet "normal."

For trauma recovery to stick, self-forgiveness & self-compassion need to be more than just abstract concepts-- we need to have realistic, practiced things to tell ourselves & visualize in the moment when trauma responses try to make us hate & sabotage ourselves.

Purchase, Bequest of Stephen Whitney Phoenix, by exchange, 1985

Landscape with Pavilion https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/42346

State of the art fire-fighting equipment in 1866 included a horse drawn fire engine accompanied by separate hose and ladder carts. Text says A new book explores over 800 years of history, connecting the pursuit of empire, environmental destruction, and human migration.

A new book asks a giant question: How did we end up in a climate crisis?

In today's episode, a historian joins us to explore the common threads that run through both human and environmental history.

Listen here 🎧: https://buff.ly/3Mut28J

Let 'em make fun of "breathe & talk yourself through this" if they must. "They" don't have to handle the triggers kicking your ass. YOU do, & you need somewhere to start-- & in my experience, "breathe & talk yourself through this" is where ALL successful coping strategies start.

Our bullies & abusers do not want us talking kindly or supportively to ourselves. They want us echoing the harsh, mocking ways they spoke to us-- because us relating positively & safely to ourselves? Will eventually result in us holding them accountable for their behavior.

Wrangling a trauma response starts w/ how we breathe, how we talk to ourselves, & what we visualize & focus on. I know, trauma responses are overwhelming, & none of this is easy-- but survivors who successfully recover keep going back to these basics, again & again. And again.

Validating our pain & the reality of our past is not somehow affirming our unchangeable identity as a passive "victim."

Anyone who tries to tell you trauma recovery hinges on denying or disowning our wounds doesn't understand trauma OR recovery.

Remember today that your playlists, your books, your comics, your movies, your poems, your historical figures, your fictional characters-- these are all trauma recovery tools that are as real & important as anything a trauma "expert" has to say. Use 'em. Use the hell out of 'em.

Sending peace to those who are tired. Not just the sleepy kind. The grind kind. The lack of people who understand. The lack of moments that make sense. The lack of time to process it. Peace for you for a moment. Peace that helps you pause to be proud of what you’re trying to heal

Thank you so much, Debra❤️❤️🌺. I would love to see Jay in other movies or TV shows. I miss him. I’m dreaming that #MagnumPI comes back one day.

a person is holding a card that says `` has anyone told you today that you 're awesome ? `` ALT: a person is holding a card that says `` has anyone told you today that you 're awesome ? ``

If you only knew how important your voice is and how much it means to us🫶

Absolutely😢🫶🌺we miss him 🫶 & his smart tweets 🫶😢