Dissociation

June is national PTSD Awareness month.  For many, the concept of PTSD is linked to military service. The reality however, is that this disorder can affect anyone.  In the US, approximately 6.8% of adults will experience PTSD in their lifetimes, with women twice as likely…

Anxious attachment develops when the caregiver is loving but inconsistent and unpredictable. This can happen if the caregiver has serious mental health or substance abuse issue, when they expect their child to meet their needs, or when the caregiver is overly-intrusive or discourage a child’s…

Owning who you are is power. If you can learn to own every part of you, the light and the dark, that is power. If you can learn to own who you are then it cannot be used against you (emotionally). The powers that be,…

Microaggressions contribute to chronic stress/distress A common misperception is that microaggressions are small or insignificant in impact. While this may be understandable given the terms start with micro, it’s also a defensive reaction driven by our own desires to disavow any harm we may have…

The ACES study was conducted here in San Diego between 1995-97 and was spearheaded by Vincent Felitti, MD.  This study was conducted with 17,000 participants and clearly demonstrated a link between adverse childhood experiences and later health, social and behavioral problems. What I want to…

Secure attachment develops when a child’s caregiver is regularly attuned and nurturing and functions as a safe base for the infant to explore their environment. This secure attachment is based upon the accumulation of all the successes and failures in interactions between infant and caregiver.…