My Stories
My blog, essays and articles feature stories on healing from trauma, coping with disorder and practicing mindfulness
10 Ways to Connect to Our Interoceptive Sense to Help With PTSD
Jenna Grace2022-10-31T15:35:21+00:00October 31, 2022|Categories: Essays|
I didn’t know I was having a fight-or-flight response. For 23 years. A response that sent me flying outside of my body — dissociating — every time I became triggered. When there was too much sensory input. When I became too overwhelmed. Every time something took me back to my childhood. To my trauma. While living in a fight-or-flight state, I wasn’t connected to my body. Which led to many extreme complications. Complications like fainting, having high fevers, rashes, hives, [...]
Fight-or-flight Response and PTSD: Getting Back into Your Body (+7 Tips)
Experiencing trauma at 14 caused me to spend most of my adult life in a fight-or-flight response. My body was always on edge. Ready to fight or flee. Which has resulted in my body feeling tense. Achy. Painful. And has [...]
Agoraphobia, Fear and OCD: Learning to Leave the House Again (+3 Tips)
After having a baby two months ago, I’ve been on maternity leave and have barely left the house. Getting into a routine with my baby has consumed me. Days and nights have blurred together. I’ve been lucky if I remember [...]
Depression and Trauma: Recognizing the Importance of Self-care (+5 Tips)
I haven’t always understood the importance of self-care. After suffering trauma, every day was more like surviving than thriving and self-care became nonexistent. I loathed myself and didn’t take care of myself very well for decades. But after uncovering my [...]
Fear, OCD and Postpartum Depression: Reimagining Intrusive Thoughts (Plus 5 Tips)
I recently gave birth to our daughter, and while I love her more than I can explain, I haven’t loved the intrusive thoughts that have flooded my mind since. I’m used to having intrusive thoughts about myself. Sometimes I’ve even [...]
CPTSD, PTSD and Trauma: Managing Fear Triggers (Plus 6 Tricks)
My husband and I decided to take an adult, infant and child CPR class. While I’m eight months pregnant. And I had no idea how many fear triggers it was going to set off. To begin, the class was five [...]
Trauma and Self-acceptance: The Continued Journey to Self-love (+5 Tips)
Because of my thyroid, I gained 20 pounds before getting pregnant. And while pregnant, I’ve gained another 30, and I’m seven months in. Which means I’m going to gain more. Gaining this much weight has made me feel out of [...]
Bipolar, OCD and Trauma: Leaning into Discomfort (+6 Tips)
I started yoga again for the first time in months. I’m six months pregnant, and I’ve had a baby bump for quite some time, so I had to stop my regular class because I couldn’t do the positions anymore. Then [...]
Anxiety, CPTSD, PTSD and Fear: Learning to Separate Anxiety from Intuition (Plus 4 Tricks for Distinguishing Between the Two)
I’m in my second trimester of pregnancy, and I’m not feeling the baby yet.* A very fear-inducing feeling. An all-consuming feeling. And while I can sometimes quiet my fears, it’s easy to let them rule me. To let them lead [...]
Anxiety, CPTSD, Depression and PTSD: Taking Mental Health Breaks (+4 Tips)
I’ve been on hiatus. It’s summer, so I haven’t been teaching. Plus, I’m pregnant. And I haven’t felt like doing anything. But instead of beating myself up over my lack of motivation, I’ve decided to embrace it. To take the [...]
Anxiety, Depression and Trauma: Exploring the Wonders of Journaling (+ 7 Tips)
I typically journal every morning. Often when I wake up, I have the day weighing on my mind. As I’m sure most of us do. If I jump right into my day without journaling, I feel rushed. Scattered. Overwhelmed. Journaling [...]
Anxiety and OCD: Finding Ways to Release Control (+ 7 Tips)
I’ve been struggling lately. My semester is over, which means summer projects are upon me, and I’m feeling overwhelmed. Everywhere I look in my house, something needs to be fixed or cleaned. And it’s making me feel immobile with anxiety. [...]
CPTSD, PTSD and Trauma: Distracting Yourself from Fear (and 6 Tips)
Fear is inevitable. And when you’ve suffered a trauma, it’s everywhere. If I’m not careful, I could let fear rule my day. My life. But I’m finding there are ways to distract myself from my fear. If you think about [...]
“Loved reading this Jenna, what a great explanation of how your OT helped you. I have taken a few tips for a client of mine I am treating at the moment! Great post. Cheers!”
JAYNE OT