My Stories
My blog, essays and articles feature stories on healing from trauma, coping with disorder and practicing mindfulness
What Receiving a Bipolar Diagnosis in My 40s Says About Me
I’d been struggling again. And was feeling suicidal. So I decided to make an appointment with yet another psychiatrist. It had been three years since my last psychiatric evaluation. I was long overdue. It took me months to get in with this new natural psychiatrist. Then I was assigned a PA. I like the PA I see. She listens. And seems to genuinely want help. Not something that’s always....
Mental Health and Well-being: We All Could Use a More Trauma-informed Approach in Life
My students have been forced into online learning due to the pandemic—and being forced into anything is stressful for anybody. It's made me think a lot about how we treat others when they're stressed. When we’re stressed. Or worse, when [...]
CPTSD, Perfectionism and Control: From Merely Surviving to Making Homemade Fries (+Recipe)
Recently, I was asked what those of us who suffer from childhood trauma do in our downtime. It made me pause. Well, there isn’t any downtime, was my immediate thought. Because when you suffer from trauma, it takes every second [...]
Chronic Pain, PTSD and Trauma: Getting Started Is the Hardest Part (and 7 Things That Help)
When I first wake up, it’s like everything is screaming — my body from the chronic pain, my soul from the emotional agony, my mind from all the things that have happened or that need to get done. It’s when [...]
Awakening: How Occupational Therapy Uncovered Hidden Trauma
It was March of 2018 and my third attempt at medication in three years. To try to ease my troubled mind. I had tried drugs before — prescribed or not — but this time, I was more desperate than [...]
Fight-or-flight and Trauma: My Husband Triggers My PTSD (and 5 Things to Do If Someone Triggers You)
My husband triggers me. As our loved ones tend to do. I told him the other day that it’s like he subconsciously knows what will set me off—like he can feel the energy in the air, but instead of moving [...]
CPTSD, OCD and Trauma: How Getting My First Tattoo Became a Lesson in Perfectionism and Control
I decided to get my first tattoo at the age of 39. In my 40th year. To mark the new beginning I’ve been gifted. The chance to start my life post-trauma. It symbolizes that the pain from my past is [...]
Depression and Mental Health: Mourning Rejection and Learning to Let Go
Dealing with the rejection that comes with being a writer is never easy. And I’ve spent the majority of my life feeling rejected. By strangers when I’m triggered. By doctors and healthcare workers who dismiss my concerns. By loved ones [...]
Anxiety, CPTSD and Intergenerational Trauma: Channeling Our Inner Superhero and Using Self-care
This week has been a doozy. Personally and nationally. It feels like that last battle everyone’s had in them is coming to an anxious head, needing a victory to feel the strength to move on. Because when you fight battle [...]
CPTSD, Fear and Intergenerational Trauma: Coming Out of Hiding and Learning to Trust Myself
I realized the other day that I lie to my therapist when we do a phone session. Well, not lie. But hide. Since COVID, we’ve been meeting via FaceTime. Then I switched to a phone session over the last two [...]
CPTSD, PTSD and Trauma: Using the Xen Unit to Get Out of a Fight-or-Flight Response
A Little about Me Few things help pull me out of a fight-or-flight response. When I’m in it, it’s like I’m trapped in a different world. Cowering. Shaking. Afraid. Stuck in the underworld. Surrounded by darkness. With no light to [...]
CPTSD, Depression and Intergenerational Trauma: Pushing Through the Discomfort Until the Joy Returns
It's a few weeks into a new semester, and I can tell it’s going to be a tough one. Students were forced into online classes due to COVID, and I can tell it’s causing them stress. Through the emails I'm [...]
CPTSD, PTSD, Intergenerational Trauma and Black Lives Matter: A Story of Officers and Compassion
My husband was driving as we pulled into the parking lot of the dispensary where I purchase my medical marijuana. Since lockdown, I’ve been placing my orders online and using the curbside service to pick them up. But this time, [...]
“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