Survivors

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Sharing – Trauma survivors process angry expressions differently on a subconscious level
ByMikeM August 2, 2026 Reading Time: 1 minute

This doesn’t surprise me. Growing up in an abusive situation taught me to be on the lookout for danger, and nothing was more dangerous than people on the verge of being angry. It’s only natural that I’ve spent the rest of my life highly attuned to anger and trying to find ways to diffuse it before they hurt me or someone else.

Now we can show that it’s not just a learned behavior, but it’s hard-coded into our brains.

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Sharing – New research challenges the idea that memories of childhood maltreatment can’t be trusted
ByMikeM July 31, 2026 Reading Time: 1 minute

The takeaway, of course, is that we should believe survivors when they talk about their trauma; they do know what they are talking about. Secondly, maybe we should stop trying to convince ourselves that young children will move past it and likely not even remember it when they’re an adult.

That’s not how trauma works.

Read More Sharing – New research challenges the idea that memories of childhood maltreatment can’t be trusted
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Sharing – Why We Remain Silent
ByMikeM July 18, 2026July 17, 2026 Reading Time: 1 minute

That’s sometimes the price we pay for speaking out. It’s not an easy price to pay, but let’s not kid ourselves that it doesn’t exist.

It exists, and as long as it does, there will remain thousands upon thousands of people out there who never talk about their abuse, but still need some of us out here talking so they know they are not alone.

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Sharing – Listening to Survivors: What Our Survey Is Telling Us
ByMikeM June 1, 2026 Reading Time: 1 minute

As a survivor of childhood abuse, I don’t know if these being in place would have changed whether I reported it. For many of us, where abuse happens within the family, that’s a very complex question. What I do know is that those three things did not appear to exist, and that guaranteed I would not tell anyone about it until I was an adult, let alone report it.

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Sharing – What does it actually mean to be safe?
ByMikeM May 25, 2026 Reading Time: 2 minutes

The logical part of my brain knows that I’m safe. The part that learned how to be hyperalert is busy making sure I stay that way. It never stopped looking for danger. I doubt it ever will. I don’t consider that something wrong with me, but it is something I have had to learn to live with.

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Sharing – Not Just Social Isolation: Loneliness Comes in Many Forms
ByMikeM May 23, 2026May 28, 2026 Reading Time: 2 minutes

It is true that there are people with plenty of social skills and social contacts who are still lonely. As a survivor, I recognize this in things like the small number of people we can talk to comfortably about our abuse, our healing, etc. At various times in my life, I’ve had a lot of friends and was very social. I was still lonely. Because no one saw all of me. No one sat with me in my pain. I kept it hidden from everyone. That’s lonely.

Read More Sharing – Not Just Social Isolation: Loneliness Comes in Many Forms