Episode 154- “Nothing Really Bad Happened”

Episode 154- “Nothing Really Bad Happened”

Do you wonder if you have trauma, but “nothing really bad happened?” If so, this episode is for you. We discuss the difference between abuse and neglect and how it might be showing up in your life. Today we are going to talk about abuse versus neglect, dive a little...
When your parents encourage dating.

When your parents encourage dating.

I don’t know exactly how it all happened. He was an immature 16 year old. I was a mature 13 year old. I think I had just gotten my braces on, but still— my teeth were seriously big and buck. And I was in my most awkward phase ever. And yet…he asked me out. I wasn’t...
Trauma is a funny thing.

Trauma is a funny thing.

Sitting in a giant auditorium on the University of Washington campus as a college freshman, I first realized I had been sexually abused. The abuse was several years in the rear-view mirror. But it wasn’t until that hundred-question survey for psychological research,...
She needed me to love her.

She needed me to love her.

I started to write that my relationship with my mom was complicated. But it’s not even true. It was a simple relationship: I was here to love her and take care of her. Yes, she took care of me physically for a long time, and she taught me a lot about how to be...
The day I grew up.

The day I grew up.

“He puts his hand down my pants and touches me!” Standing face to face with my mother in our front yard (if you could call the dirt patch next to 3 broken down cars a front yard), I remember not knowing what to say and just blurting these words out. I was eleven or...