Category Archives: self-care
New: Moving Past Sexual Abuse Seminar
Raeburn House is running again a sexual abuse survivor group. In previous years the survivor groups were ongoing support groups that accommodated survivors to attend for several terms. They were designed following the three stages of Judith Herman’s model described in Trauma and Recovery (1992). Since then our understanding of recovery has evolved and the …
So Simple – So Powerful
I have lately written a number of posts that reflected my understanding of the 3 Principles. I posted the trailer here for those who might be interested in getting an idea what this is all about. My understanding is still at a beginner’s level – yet as it deepens more and more, things make sense …
Letter To My Younger Self
Today I came across a lovely blog post from a fellow blogger. The title is “Letter to My Younger Self”. I became curious to see what Rachel (the blogger) wrote. Those of you who know me will understand that: I hold the strong belief that a big part of the recovery journey is to find a …
Coping When Disaster Strikes
A terrifying disaster like the Christchurch Earthquake has a huge impact on people. We are confronted with the fragility of life, with the unpredictability of our physical safety on this planet, and with our inability to protect ourselves and loved ones from such tragedies. Trauma people may have experienced earlier in their lives often gets …
Staying Safe Over The Holidays
The Christmas season is promoted as the ‘Merry Season’, the season of good-will where people congregate with loved ones, families, and friends. People buzz from shop to shop to get small (or bigger) presents, decorations for their home, and last but not least food. For survivors of trauma, abuse, or neglect the holiday season can …
Grounding Meditation
Here is another relaxation / meditation exercise. This one is more focused on grounding yourself. Grounding is one of the concepts used in therapy quite a bit. In the widest sense it means 'getting both of your feet firmly on the ground'. Do you feel shaky, spacey, or confused? A grounding exercise might be just …
STOP – BREATHE – RELAX
Have you ever wondered how you can relax? You will have heard about tapes that help you to get into a relaxed state – but usually you can't find it the moment you need it. Here is some good advice. Relaxation is something that you need to practice. Ideally you practice it every day for …
Can You Trust Your Feelings?
A big part of recovery from the legacies of sexual abuse is getting to a point where you have a sense of control over your emotional states. That means not to be thrown around all the time – or a lot of the time – by feelings of hurt, anxiety, fear, panic, suspicion, envy, hopelessness,"self-loathing, …
The Rocky Road of Integration
There seems to be a myth about integration where people expect never to have flashbacks, depression, and triggers to interfere with their lives. Although they interlectually understand and even proclaim that "recovery is a lifelong process", they get discouraged when they find themselves in spaces that are very reminicent of the 'bad times'. So here …
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