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A Follow Up to Oprah's 60 Minute Segment on Childhood Trauma

3/14/2018

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For most survivors of trauma, it is not the abuse we suffered that was the worst part, it is the fact that we had to suffer alone in isolation with our hurt and pain for years, sometimes for decades, before we either found the courage to ask for help or we had a breakdown where we could just no longer keep a straight face, pretend and hide the truth. 

The hardest work of healing is correcting the story that we lived with for so long, that you did not matter, that no one cared, and there was no one coming to the rescue. If you are one of the few lucky ones, you may have had a few helpful relationships along the way, even just one person that you can look back on and see that it was because of him/her that you hung onto hope and kept going. Even just one person that you had in your life that cared enough to ask you how you were doing, and was kind, encouraging, and supportive when no one else was, can make all the difference.

Did you have one person like that? Then you are lucky. I did too. For me, it was my grandmother. No matter what was happening or how I was feeling, being around her or at her house, I felt safe. She was the only person I remember in my teen years that would sit with me at her kitchen table while I had my meal and talked to me about my life and when she looked at me, I could see and feel the warmth from her love for me. I knew she loved me, no matter what.

This past Sunday, Oprah did a segment for 60 Minutes on the long term impact of trauma and how people are finally realizing both how trauma is showing up all around us and how we go about helping children and adults that have had a rough start in life. It was a powerful segment and I am including a link to it for you here. It includes the 15 minute segment and Oprah's response to it. She shares how this is the most impactful interview she has done of all the thousands of interviews she has done in her career. That is powerful. You don't want to miss it.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oprah-winfrey-treating-childhood-trauma/

I also want to include here for you a link to the ACE study questionnaire that she talks about and the research that she refers to. It is good for all survivors to understand the impact of our lived experiences. (Link to ACE study questionnaire) 

I have written a few blog posts about the ACE study and how important it is.  The good news along with Oprah bringing awareness to it, so is the path towards healing.

One of the people she interviews is Dr. Bruce Perry, who has spent years working with children and adults and seeing the difference childhood trauma makes between someone that makes it in life or someone that will struggle for the rest of their lives. He said something very eye-opening in the episode that I wanted to share:  "That very same sensitivity that makes you able to learn language just like that as a little infant makes you highly vulnerable to chaos, threat, inconsistency, unpredictability, violence....so children are much more sensitive to developmental trauma than adults."

I love how in under 20 minutes, she manages to highlight what we know about trauma and summarize what helps us all to heal. We heal in relationships, and it only takes one person to make that difference in a persons life. 

What communities and organizations that provide services to children and adults are beginning to realize is that we no longer can be asking, "What is wrong with you?" Because there is nothing wrong with any human being. We are all a product of our environments. What we need is to provide trauma informed care and and instead, start asking people that are struggling, "What happened to you?" and offer them a safe place to share. 

If you are interested in learning more about Trauma Informed Care, then please Google what organizations in your state are already implementing procedures centered around this important concept and way of helping. 

And, lastly, if there is a person in your life that is being challenged by their life circumstances, stop judging, offering advice, or trying to fix them. Be a safe person that understands the importance of caring, kind, and compassionate presence while your friend is navigating life the best they can. We can all offer helpful advice but someone that offers a kind, calm, understanding heart, is priceless. 

I am so grateful that this important information is reaching more people and more importantly, reaching the people that need it most, people like you and me. People that have been hurt and are in need of helpful information that gives us the language to better understand ourselves and how to ask for help.

After trauma, we need help and a lot of it. Now more people are bringing help to the places where traumatized children and adults live and work. And that is the change we need, finally to look past troubled behaviors (coping), recognizing the person hurting, ask what happened and offer caring support. 

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Got your ACE score? Now what?  Don’t worry.  I can help!  Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($125).  Let me help you understand the impact, and how to start your healing journey. You deserve it! Reserve your spot NOW! 

Have you read my new book, “Releasing Your Authentic Self”?  If you’re ready to do the deep, hard work of emotional healing, this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!

Are you looking for more support?  I have created a closed Facebook group for the readers of “Releasing Your Authentic Self”  If you are ready to dig deep, and want to experience the daily support, encouragement from others like you. Follow this link to learn more: Releasing Your Authentic Self Support Group.
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The Messy Middle Part of Your Healing Journey

3/5/2018

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Going through the hard part of healing, the messy middle, is demonstrated in what we see in nature as the winter turning to spring. At first, it looks muddy, gray, or lifeless. The frost, the layers of snow, the piles of dead leafs, the smell of decay and dirt is not always pleasant. You may even find yourself wading through the puddles of muddy water, muddy paths on your favorite hike, and slippery river banks as the water is running into the rivers and the river water is all cloudy and gray. 

How can you take solace in watching nature this season while you perhaps are going through your deep healing or the messy middle?

We have learned to trust the process and the season of change in nature, haven't we?  We know what happens and we know why. 

The same is happening on your healing journey. You have been courageously digging deep, gaining awareness that gave you clarity of what issues you are addressing or healing. You have planted a seed of new possibility for yourself. Whether it is your thinking or feeling that you are working to shift and change, if it is a deep core belief, a personal truth, or a boundary that you are establishing with yourself or others, the process is always the same and it takes time.   

After a dark, cold winder, we go into a soggy, messy spring that eventually leads to longer days, greener pastures, and blooming trees and flowers. The cycle is the same, every time. 

To support yourself through this process of healing, in times when you have forgotten that you are going through a cycle of change and that things do get better, make sure you have good support.Stay close and connected to others that are going through the same process, that can encourage you when things get hard. Don't go through healing alone. It is harder and more painful to do it alone. 

It takes courage to choose healing. Most of that courage is going to be needed to trust yourself, trust the process, to stay out of the way of what your body, mind, and spirit can and will do to heal itself. Because, just like in nature, a season of change is always right around the corner for you. The night is always darkest just before the dawn!

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Going through the messy middle? Feel stuck or alone?  Don’t worry.  I can help!  Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($125).  Let me help you with the next step to heal your life. You deserve it! Reserve your spot NOW! 

Have you read my new book, “Releasing Your Authentic Self”?  If you’re ready to do the deep, hard work of emotional healing, this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!

Are you looking for more support?  I have created a closed Facebook group for the readers of “Releasing Your Authentic Self”  If you are ready to dig deep, and want to experience the daily support, encouragement from others like you. Follow this link to learn more: Releasing Your Authentic Self Support Group.
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Becoming the Parent Your Inner Child Needed

2/27/2018

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What does becoming the change you want to see in the world look like?

So many victims of child abuse and trauma are stuck because they don't know that things can be different. Their inner world of tension, fear, and distrust has become their outer world. They have been living this way for so long that they don't know that things can shift and they don't know how or where to start. 

Then one day, they realize they are stuck and they want change but how to get unstuck is unclear, since this is brand new territory. Not only do survivors not know how to change, they don't know what that change looks, feels, or sounds like. Who do they turn to, what do they do next?

This was how I felt. The first 10 years or so of the healing journey was all about talking about and having my feelings about the past. I understood trauma and because of the unprocessed feelings and energy in my body, I needed to reconnect with my body, learn to care for it, appreciate it, be kind to it. That practice has taken a long time. 

What I learned from others only worked to a certain point. What I spent a long time searching for was someone outside of me to fix it, to show me, make me better. It was not until I started the daily practice of being kind to myself, practicing self-care, and really learning to listen to myself and what I needed, that things started to shift and I started to feel better about myself and hopeful about the future. 

Part of becoming the change I wanted to see in the world brought me to how I had wanted to be treated as a little girl. What kind of mother and father did I wish I had had? Someone that kept me safe. That loved and adored me for who I was, supported my talents and curiosity, helped me develop trust in myself and other people as I mastered the developmental stages of growing up through adolescence and into adulthood. I wanted someone that could have guided me through the challenges of becoming a partner and a mom. 

That's what I wanted to become. That was the change I wanted to see, not only in my mirror but to finally believe it about myself and embody and live out of these truths: I am a good person. I am a valuable person. I am a lovable person. I am a kind, compassionate person.  

So where did I start? With daily practice of self-care. With regularly checking in and practicing feeling my feelings and asking for support when I needed it. With making time to connect with my wounded inner child that felt abandoned, lonely and unlovable and by practice kindness, care, and love everday in my life, starting with myself. 

I am still a work in progress but I know I have navigated the challenging inner world of trauma healing. It is from this challenging journey that I can hold a safe place for my clients and show them the babysteps to learning how to be kind and gentle with ourselves as we learn what it looks and feels like to become the parent we needed and the courageus person we can be today. As we choose to love wholeheartedly, to live from our hearts, not our hurts, that will create the change the world needs now more than ever.
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Ready to become the parent and the protector that you needed? Not sure where to start?  Don’t worry.  I can help!  Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($125).  Let me help you with the next step to heal your life. You deserve it! Reserve your spot NOW! 

Have you read my new book, “Releasing Your Authentic Self”?  If you’re ready to do the deep, hard work of emotional healing, this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!

Are you looking for more support?  I have created a closed Facebook group for the readers of “Releasing Your Authentic Self”  If you are ready to dig deep, and want to experience the daily support, encouragement from others like you. Follow this link to learn more: Releasing Your Authentic Self Support Group.
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Why Getting Educated about Trauma Was the Turning Point in My Healing Journey

1/8/2018

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Something that helped me immensely on the healing journey was to get educated about the manifestation of trauma and the impact that abuse has on survivors and their well being. It was especially helpful in the beginning of my journey, when I was still in denial about the abuse I suffered and how it impacted me. I thought because I was out of the house and away from the person that was abusive that I was fine. I did not understand that I had spent my life in fight/flight/freeze mode and that because of it, I had developed behaviors and habits that had served well to protect me from the fear and pain, but that those habits were no longer helpful but toxic to my body and soul. 

It was in support groups that I slowly identified what my coping behaviors were. That I was not my coping behaviors and that many of my core beliefs were false. When I realized this hard truth, I was devastated. If I am not who I think I am, who I have been for the last 20 years of my life? Who am I??

After letting the sadness and grief come up and working through it over a few years, I realized that no matter what I had been through, I was still here. And deep in my heart of hearts, I was committed to uncovering the truth and to learning what I had found to be a truth that I was starting to believe in: that every single one of us is here to learn about love. That we are all unique and important and have gifts to share with the world. It just took a few more years until I discovered what mine were. 

As I read countless books on trauma and attended many conference on trauma, I heard all about the impact the trauma had on my mental, emotional, physical, and social well being. It was hard at times and I would feel triggered and have flashbacks. But I kept going. 

It was when I heard about the ACE study (link to the ace study) that it all came together for me. I heard the scientific proof that the toxic stress of my childhood had set me up for a long list of physical, emotional, and mental health issues that would manifest in my life sooner than later. It was brutal. I can still remember holding onto the chair I was sitting in, to not run out of the room, but I am grateful today for the truth I heard then. 

It pushed me to really focus on my health and wellness and now, 10 years later, I know that I have reversed some of the impacts by relentless self-care, mindfulness, and a balanced life style. Though I am always a work in progress, I became determined to life fully. To claim my birthright to thrive and live wholeheartedly. It became my new lifestyle and each year, I set a goal for myself that helps me grow, learn, and thrive as a human being in a healthy body. 

So what I want to encourage you, my reader, to take away from this blog post is to start to focus more on your balanced and healthy life style. It truly is the path for healing your body/mind/spirit and creating more meaningful and connected relationships with yourself and others. It is the path to what we all want, to feel connected and feel that we belong and are loved. You can have that and feel that. Just start today and start small. Slowly create new healthy habits that phase out the old habits/behaviors that you learned when you did not have a choice. Now you can choose you!

You will wake up one day and recognize that you have the power to change how you feel, that you can choose peace and joy, no matter the circumstance and start to feel grateful for the body you have been given to experience love, gratitude, and connection to those you love and care about. 

So make this year count with a small beginning or a new step towards your fulfilled and healthy life. It is worth, it. You are worth it! 

I believe in you...always.   
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Ready to tackle the impact of your trauma? Not sure where to start?  Don’t worry.  I can help!  Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($100).  Let me help you with the next step to heal your life.  Reserve your spot NOW! 

Have you read my new book, “Releasing Your Authentic Self”?  If you’re ready to do the deep, hard work of emotional healing, this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!


Are you looking for more support?  I have created a closed Facebook group for the readers of “Releasing Your Authentic Self”  If you are ready to dig deep, and want to experience the daily support, encouragement from others like you. Follow this link to learn more: Releasing Your Authentic Self Support Group.
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Releasing Your Authentic Self

12/27/2017

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Are You a Survivor
of Child Abuse or Trauma?
If so, this Book
was Written for YOU!

Releasing Your Authentic Self

A Daily Guide to Help
Child Abuse and Trauma Survivors
Rediscover Themselves

by Svava Brooks

$14.95 Paperback (live Amazon link)
$9.95 Kindle ebook (live Amazon link)

(381 pages)


Child abuse teaches you to disconnect from your “authentic self.”  It’s the only way to survive the trauma of abuse.  Because of that, adult survivors need to dig deep to reconnect with who they truly are, because their real identity has been hidden for decades.  

And that’s why I wrote Releasing Your Authentic Self.  I wanted to give you a very special tool to help you do just that!

In this life-changing book for child abuse and trauma survivors, you’ll receive a tiny piece of your “truth” every day for 365 days.  Each truth is followed by two questions, which encourage you to dig deep enough to rediscover your beautiful, authentic self.  

Feel free to write your answers to these questions directly in the book like a workbook.  I’ve left plenty of room after each question for you to do that.

These questions were created to bypass the resistance of your conscious mind and reveal your toxic core issues.  Every time you eliminate a core issue, you’re one step closer to releasing your authentic self.  

If you’re ready to do the deep, hard work of emotional healing, Releasing Your Authentic Self is the tool you’ve been searching for.  Nothing is more exciting than rediscovering that incredible, unique, awesomely wonderful person you were destined to be.  Much love to you on this amazing journey!


What Are Readers Saying About Books by Svava Brooks?

“Journey to the Heart is a well-written, supportive, and gentle work to help anyone with trauma in their past learn how to live a thriving life in the present.” (E.K.)

“I am grateful for Journey to the Heart and its author, Svava Brooks.  This book is filled with so much compassion and understanding that only another trauma survivor is able to put into words.   Bought a copy for myself and gave a copy as a gift to my therapist to share with her other clients.  I highly recommend this book.” (A.)

“This woman totally gets it.  Bottom line, this author will hold your hand as you work through the dark places, and you will KNOW that those feelings cannot hurt you now, so you are free to develop into the person who has been struggling to show itself!” (D.)


Isn’t it time you began living your life
as the happy, healthy person
you were always meant to be?

Order this Life-Changing Book TODAY!


Releasing Your Authentic Self

A Daily Guide to Help
Child Abuse and Trauma Survivors
Rediscover Themselves

by Svava Brooks

$14.95 Paperback (live Amazon link)
$9.95 Kindle ebook (live Amazon link)


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Are you a survivor of abuse or trauma?  Are you struggling with your healing journey?  I can help!  If you are ready to start "Thriving" I have just the support for you.  If you are ready to do the deep, hard work of healing and create lasting change, succeed by joining a community of people just like you working through the RYAS book, one day at a time. You are worth it! Follow this link to learn more

Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($100).  Let me help you heal your life.  Reserve your spot NOW! 


Are you on my email list?  If you’d like to receive my empowering monthly newsletter and an email with a link to my weekly blog post, click here: http://www.educate4change.com/
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How Can TRE® Help You?

10/30/2017

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Being in Iceland this month, teaching TRE®, has been such a rewarding experience.  What a blessing to be able to witness the immediate benefits of TRE® on the two groups I’m leading!

If you’re a survivor of child abuse or trauma, there are many immediate and long-term benefits to TRE®, like:

  • Less Worry & Anxiety
  • Reduces Symptoms of PTSD
  • More Energy & Endurance
  • Improved Marital Relationships
  • Less Workplace Stress
  • Better Sleep
  • Less Relationship Conflict
  • Increased Flexibility
  • Greater Emotional Resiliency
  • Decreases Symptoms of Vicarious Trauma
  • Healing of Old Injuries
  • Lessens the Anxiety of a Serious Illness
  • Relief from Chronic Medical Conditions

But there are also long-term benefits for those who aren’t survivors of abuse or trauma.  One of those benefits is a reduction in muscle and back pain.

Unfortunately, I know this type of chronic pain well.  I was an athlete in high school and sustained a painful neck injury, which continues to plague me.  I was delighted to discover the shaking of my spine during a TRE® session has increased the flexibility of the muscles in my neck and shoulders.  It does this by stimulating the flow of blood to the muscles surrounding the bones in my neck.  Wow!  

Several of the people in my TRE® groups in Iceland are athletes or those who work out regularly.  They’re noticing the tremors created by TRE® have improved the flexibility of those extra tight muscles in the legs and pelvis, like the psoas muscles (hip flexors) and hamstrings.

All humans are born with the ability to shake out stress and tension.  But this isn’t something we’re taught in our modern society.  Instead, the body’s natural shaking (healing response) to trauma is seen as a weakness in our culture.  We learn from an early age to suppress it.

The biology of the human body contains all the wisdom and knowledge it needs to heal itself.  TRE® restores this natural healing ability by helping your body remember how to eliminate trauma naturally.  How cool is that?  

Is TRE® a healing tool you’d like to try?  If so, contact me for more information.  I’m always happy to help!
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Are you struggling with chronic pain or stubborn healing issues, and you’d like to try TRE®?  If so, I can help!  Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour session with me ($100 per hour).  Let me help you heal your life.  Reserve your spot TODAY!


Have you read my bestselling book, “Journey to the Heart”?  If you’re ready to heal from the effects of abuse or trauma (depression, anxiety, PTSD, allergies, chronic pain, etc.), this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!


Are you on my email list?  Email list subscribers receive an email with a link to my weekly blog post and occasional special offers.  If you’d like to subscribe, click here: http://www.educate4change.com/

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The Healing Effect of TRE® on Your Relationships

10/23/2017

2 Comments

 
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Did you know connecting with your body makes it easier to connect with other people?  It’s true.  Because of that, one of the side effects of TRE® is the healing effect it has on your relationships.

I’m in Iceland this month, leading two groups of ten people through the TRE® process for three weeks.  Teaching TRE® is one of my favorite things to do.  I love the way it helps my students connect with the wisdom of the body.

When most people come to a TRE® workshop for the first time, they tend to be a little nervous.  I can relate.  I felt the same way when I was introduced to TRE® three years ago.  Some come after watching a few videos and googling articles about TRE® online.  But most attend because they believe TRE® will help them heal.  And it will!

Being connected to the body is a new experience for child abuse survivors like us.  We had to disconnect as children in order to survive our traumatic past.  Since connecting is not a skill we were taught, we never knew we needed to reconnect as adults.  This is one of the main reasons why our relationships tend to be a mess.  If you’re not connected to your body, it’s impossible to connect with others in a meaningful way.

It’s important for all survivors to proceed slowly when they practice TRE®.  Baby steps are essential.  It takes time to learn self-regulation when working with your body, which is another skill we were never taught as children.

We all know recovery from abuse is not a quick fix.  TRE® is no different.  Yes, you’ll experience immediate relief during your first few TRE® sessions.  But deep healing from the chronic trauma of child abuse takes time.  Be patient with yourself and your progress.  Be consistent, stick with it, and healing will come.

If TRE® sounds like a healing tool you’d like to experience, send me a message.  I work with clients worldwide through private, online, TRE® sessions.  I’m always happy to answer your questions or schedule an online TRE® session with you.  Just ask!

                                                         ********

Are you curious about TRE®, and you’d like to know more about how this self-help tool can heal your body and relationships?  If so, just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($100 per hour).  Let me help you heal your life.  Reserve your spot TODAY!

Have you read my bestselling book, “Journey to the Heart”?  If you’re ready to heal from the effects of abuse or trauma (depression, anxiety, PTSD, allergies, chronic pain, etc.), this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!

Are you on my email list?  Email list subscribers receive an email with a link to my weekly blog post and occasional special offers.  If you’d like to subscribe, click here: http://www.educate4change.com/

2 Comments

Why Do You Resist Healthy Change?

8/28/2017

2 Comments

 
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As you can tell from my blog post topics this summer, I’m on a mission to help you dig deep enough to uncover hidden toxic coping skills and patterns.  These are what fuel your triggers and create major stumbling blocks on your healing journey.  

Thanks so much for all your emails and comments about this series of blog posts.  I’m thrilled to hear I’m giving you the kind of information you want and need!  

Today, I’d like to tackle the frustrating issue of “resistance.”  Why do we resist healthy change?  Why does resistance rear its stubborn head every time we decide to do something good for ourselves?  It makes no sense!  

Or does it?

Actually, it makes perfect sense.  Every scary door you open on your healing journey contains an important message.  Resistance is no exception.  

The purpose of resistance is to protect you.  Once again, this is a biological brain issue.  Your brain keeps you safe.  That’s one of its many skills.  However, change involves stepping outside your comfort zone.  Change is risky, and risk can be dangerous.  This is why any kind of change flips the switch that sends your brain into “Protection Mode.”  The end result is resistance.  

Fortunately, you can dissolve resistance.  The first step is to identify it.  Resistance takes many forms: foggy brain, discouragement, overwhelm, panic attacks, anxiety, a brick wall, a swamp, quicksand, or your inner critic.  

The second step is to sit patiently with resistance.  Let it know you’re grateful for the way it has always kept you safe.  Tell it you appreciate how it has never allowed you to deal with more than you can emotionally or psychologically handle.  By doing this, you build trust.  

Now resistance can loosen its iron grip on your mind, emotions, and body.  Only then will it reveal its message.

Today, make the decision to work with resistance rather than against it.  When you do, you’ll find it much easier to make those healthy changes!
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Has resistance turned your healing journey into an uphill climb?  Is your brain so foggy you have no idea what to do next?  If so, I can help!  Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($100 per hour).  Let me help you heal your life.  Reserve your spot TODAY!
​


Have you read my bestselling book, “Journey to the Heart”?  If you’re ready to heal from the effects of abuse or trauma (depression, anxiety, PTSD, allergies, chronic pain, etc.), this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!


Are you on my email list?  Email list subscribers receive an email with a link to my weekly blog post and occasional special offers.  If you’d like to subscribe, click here: http://www.educate4change.com/

2 Comments

Parenting Your Inner Child

8/21/2017

2 Comments

 
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Becoming a loving, caring, nurturing parent to your inner child can be scary at first.  This child remembers every minute of the child abuse you survived, even if you’ve blocked out the worst of it.  Ouch!  

But don’t worry.  Your inner child isn’t going to unleash all those horrible memories on you.  Instead, it will only be the parts of you that need healing, the parts you have rejected or ignored.

Yes, your inner child is angry.  That’s scary, too.  Mine was furious.  She wasn’t as upset about the abuse from the past as she was the fact that I had rejected her for decades.  I kept giving her to other people to love.  She didn’t want their love.  She wanted mine.

The wonderful thing about making the commitment to do inner child work is you discover just how loving you can be as an adult.  In my case, I discovered I was capable of creating safety for this little girl.  I could make her a top priority in my life.  I could protect her.  I could even help her express her negative emotions without allowing her to wallow in self-pity and blame.  I had no idea I could do any of this until I tried.

I keep a photo of myself as a child on my nightstand.  Seeing her every day helps me stay connected to her.  When I look at it, I feel her presence, and she feels mine.  That’s usually all she needs to feel safe.

Whenever fear or anxiety appears in my body I know it’s her.  All I have to do is ask her what she needs from me.  It’s usually a safety issue.  I may have taken a big step in my career, or a troublesome situation may have triggered her.  She just needs to know I’m there for her and will protect her.  I’m her loving parent and always will be.   

What I love most about my inner child is that she’s also the part of me connected to God.  By loving myself in this way, I’m opening the door to God’s unconditional love.  I may be parenting her, but she is teaching me how to love everyone and everything.

Wow.  It doesn’t get any better than that, my friends!
​

                                                              ********
Do you need help connecting with and learning how to parent your inner child?  Is healthy change difficult for you?  I can help!  Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($100 per hour).  Let me help you heal your life.  Reserve your spot TODAY! 

Have you read my bestselling book, “Journey to the Heart”?  If you’re ready to heal from the effects of abuse or trauma (depression, anxiety, PTSD, allergies, chronic pain, etc.), this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!


Are you on my email list?  Email list subscribers receive an email with a link to my weekly blog post and occasional special offers.  If you’d like to subscribe, click here: http://www.educate4change.com/

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How Do I Connect With My Wounded Inner Child?

8/14/2017

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Picture
Every time you make a decision to change a toxic behavior pattern, your wounded inner child will appear.  It’s what makes healthy change hard for us.

And that’s why inner child work is so important.  You can’t recover from child abuse and trauma without doing this deep, messy work.

Your wounded inner child is that very young part of yourself, who was hurt by the abuse and is still in pain.  In my case, it was my 6-year old self.  She was angry for never being seen, heard, or valued.  She believed the only way she could ever be worthy was by overachieving and taking care of everyone else’s needs, while ignoring hers.

Because I could feel her anger, resentment, and pain, I was terrified of her.  So I rejected her for decades.  Of course, that just added to her painful burden.

Inner child work is the practice of building a loving relationship with your abused inner child and becoming the loving parent that child never had.  Easier said than done, right?  I mean, how do you do that when you never had a loving parent?  Here’s how to start!

  • Whenever you feel unrest inside you, stop, and listen to it.
  • Sit with this unrest until you can name it (anxiety, depression, sadness, overwhelm, grief, fear, loneliness, etc.).
  • Place your hand on your heart, so your wounded inner child can feel you.
  • Close your eyes and visualize a safe place for your inner child to feel comfortable talking to you.
  • Ask your inner child what it’s trying to tell you.
  • Listen to whatever this child says with an open mind, whether you agree with it or not.  That’s what a loving parent does.
  • Cuddle this precious child in your arms and take loving action by letting it know you hear it, see it, acknowledge it, and value it.  

Basically, all your inner child wants is to be loved by YOU.  That’s it.  You do this by making your inner child a top priority, creating a sense of safety for it, and giving it all the love and care it craved but never received.  

Few things are more rewarding in life than building a peaceful, loving relationship with your wounded inner child.  It’s not an easy process, and it won’t happen overnight.  But it’s well worth the effort, because it always leads to major breakthroughs.

                                                          ********

Are you struggling to build a relationship with your wounded inner child?  Is healthy change difficult for you?  I can help!  Just follow (this link) or call 619-889-6366 to reserve a one-hour coaching session with me ($100 per hour).  Let me help you heal your life.  Reserve your spot TODAY!
Have you read my bestselling book, “Journey to the Heart”?  If you’re ready to heal from the effects of abuse or trauma (depression, anxiety, PTSD, allergies, chronic pain, etc.), this book is for YOU!!  You’ll find it at Amazon in paperback (link) or Kindle (link).  Enjoy and happy reading!


Are you on my email list?  Email list subscribers receive an email with a link to my weekly blog post and occasional special offers.  If you’d like to subscribe, click here: http://www.educate4change.com/

0 Comments
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Svava Brooks
Educate4Change
Dedicated to Ending the Cycle of Child Sexual Abuse
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