After a flashback, grounding in the present, allowing your nervous system to regulate and approaching yourself with compassion are key strategies.

Trauma that happens in the context of relationships increases risk for developing Complex PTSD and impacts your current feelings in relationships.

High functioning depression is real and significant, but it can be invisible to others and even to you.

Irritability is a common presentations of anxiety, and it can be misread by the people experiencing it and by others.

Trauma can take the nervous system in two different directions, and understanding both of them explains what’s happening in your body and what will help. 

Radical acceptance means fully acknowledging reality exactly as it is, without fighting it, without demanding it be different before you can function, and without the mental suffering that comes from refusing to accept what’s already true.

Grounding is an important skill to use after experiencing a PTSD trigger. You can practice some simple strategies to help.

The skill of opposite to emotion action is a powerful DBT emotion regulation skill. Here is an introduction to the reasoning behind it and how to get started practicing it.

Night can be a vulnerable time for overthinking. Here are some strategies to stop the cycle.

The manipulation myth is one of the most damaging misconceptions attached to BPD, and it’s worth examining carefully. 

If you are in trauma therapy and wondering why it is taking so long, this post is for you. The pace of trauma recovery is one of the most common sources of discouragement and self-blame.

People struggling with BPD often find that any media portrayals are sensational and pessimistic. Seeing such representations can make patients and their loved ones feel hopeless about the possibility of recovery.

The short answer is: NO you can’t banish your emotions. But with practice and support, you can learn to regulate your emotional experiences.

People differ in how they relate to others in close relationships.  We call these differences adult attachment styles.  Knowing your style can help you understand yourself.

Holidays can be stressful times that pull up complicated emotions.  Visits to family can bring up unresolved and painful memories from childhood. Current relationships can be difficult to manage, especially when the "togetherness" is intense or lasts too long.

The first research studies found DBT to be effective for treating individuals diagnosed with Borderline personality disorder who were chronically suicidal and had experienced repeated hospitalizations.

I want to share some of the reasons why childhood trauma can have an impact on your adult functioning and to offer hope that the impact of childhood trauma can be resolved even years later.

I wanted to follow up on my last post about goal setting with depression by sharing some more specific tips that have helped my patients effectively set, work toward and achieve their goals. 

For all people, setting and achieving goals can be an important way to build self-esteem. We have a sense of direction and empowerment when we know we are progressing toward goals that are important to us or that will make our lives better. 

Traumas can involve threats of death, serious injury or sexual violence.  PTSD was originally seen in veterans of combat, but over the years we have come to understand that a wide range of experiences including natural disasters, crimes and childhood abuse to name just a few can lead to PTSD.