“Something happened to me,” Padma Lakshmi explained, “that happens to a lot of girls.” Unfortunately, she’s right. And unfortunately, not just girls. On the publication day of her new memoir, “Love, Loss And What We Ate,” the former model, “Top Chef” host and cookbook author sat down with People and Entertainment Weekly’s editorial director Jess…
“One in six men are sexually abused as boys, according to multiple studies. But a much smaller number ever talk about it. Most suffer in silence. I want this story to reach those who have gone through any form of sexual abuse, from the teenager struggling with his own silence to the man who has…
“During an experience of abuse, your resourceful young self used coping strategies to try and protect yourself from the pain. These behaviors served you at the time. They were your army of protection against the abuse. However, when you continue to use these behaviors as an adult, you become your own eternal jailer. These strategies,…
“In all honesty, my hands are tied when it comes to helping my readers. All I can do is encourage you to reach out to real help – someone in your life that can really help you. All I can do is encourage you to take an action step.” I get the frustration of this…
“In the midst of a sexually abusive experience, we disappear. We become invisible. We retreat so far into ourselves that sometimes, we even dissociate. It is our best coping strategy for avoiding the pain, horror and trauma of the abuse. However, even if it occurred decades ago, past abuse may still be haunting you in…
“It has been well-documented (link is external) that autobiographical memories associated with smell are frequently more intense and emotionally tinged than memories associated with other sensory cues. This is due to the uniquely direct access smells have to the olfactory cortex, and the proximity of this area of the brain to the limbic system and the…
