Though many of these blog posts are
part of exploring the after-effects of the physical, psychological,
emotional, and spiritual abuse experienced by young women who were
incarcerated at Hephzibah House (a religious home for troubled
girls), click on links below to learn more about Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder.
Mourning grief and
loss after trauma is a healthy part of healing, and it is a healthy
person's response to terrible events. Sometimes, the survival
response that helps keep us safe fails to shut off when the threat
has passed. These posts discuss many aspects of trauma when the
physical responses of survival in the brain fail to shut off within
several weeks after a traumatic event. Many posts also explore ways
that we can find healing after trauma.
Aspects, Development and Symptoms of
PTSD
- Altered States of Consciousness in Mind Control
- Trauma and PTSD
- Bounded Choice
- Shattered Optimism in PTSD (and its role in self-protection)
- Learned Helplessness
- The Freezing Response (Immobility) in Response to Threat
- The Compulsion to Reenact Trauma as a Component of PTSD
- How Betrayal Bonds Exploit Trust and Power (Traumatic bonding the loss of perspective in chronic trauma; part of a series on forgiveness)
Coping with PTSD
- How to Find a Counselor (Includes an explanation of Eye Movement Desensitzation and Reprocessing [EMDR] and how it works.)
- Journey Out of Shame: A List of Resources
- Resources for Transforming Anger
- Journaling for Personal and Spiritual Growth
- Healing through the Twelve Steps (Though people who exit high demand groups are not “codependent,” the effects of abuse can leave a person with similar symptoms. The Twelve Steps presents a hopeful, spiritual approach to recovery.)
- Overcoming Distrust of Emotions Through Scandalous Ideas (A personal story which offers an example of how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/spiritual warfare can be used to heal trauma.)
Understanding & Healing PTSD
Associated with Exiting a Cultic Group
- Post Cult Trauma Syndrome
- Exit Counseling (How to heal after leaving a high demand religious group – a specialized type of PTSD, also called Post Cult Trauma Syndrome)
How Emotional Development in
Childhood Can Primes us for Trauma
- How Unhealed Childhood Wounds Affect Us in Adulthood (The roller coaster ride of emotions)
- Understanding How Emotional Development in Childhood Affects Adults: Fostering Spiritual Abuse via the "Roots of Victimization"
- How We Become Victims of Circumstance
- Overcoming Distrust of Emotions Through Scandalous Ideas (A personal story about the profound affects of early childhood trauma created by false beliefs and shame.)
Other Helpful Series of Posts at
Under Much Grace
- Understanding Difficult People Who Won't Repent or Forgive
- Understanding Repentance (Take special note of the Self Care section. Abusers usually avoid repentance and blackmail victims emotionally and spiritually into offering them forgiveness so that they can continue their ill behavior.)
