There are so many benefits when we open our hearts to loving and caring for a pet. This is especially true if you are a trauma survivor and have been wounded by people you trusted..One of the deepest wounds for trauma survivors is that your capacity to trust has been ruptured and now it is difficult and painful to trust people and difficult to trust yourself.. Opening your heart and your home to a new “family member with 4 legs” can be a big part of the healing process! You rescue and you will be rescued!

As a child you were completely dependent and vulnerable:”like a little hostage”. If your parents were emotionally unavailable and not equipped to nurture and protect you by providing safety for you then a deep wounding occurs in your soul. If your family was one where your emotions were ignored, criticized, shamed, then you got the message at an early age that it is not safe to be “you” and in order to “survive” became disconnected from yourself. To be intimate with another it is essential to be self aware, vulnerable, and accountable.

Have you been denying and avoiding the pain inside?

Do you constantly need validation and praise but even when you get it you feel it is not enough?Do you struggle with identifying your feelings and have difficulties verbalizing your wants and needs in a direct way? Do you often feel that you are “not good enough” Are you overly concerned about the needs of others and fear rejection and abandonment?

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Do you shame and blame yourself when you begin to have angry feelings?

Are you “exceedingly” grateful for every “crumb” given in your relationships?

Are you noticing that your life is out of balance and you are becoming more emotionally and spiritually shutdown and disconnected from yourself and others?

Is it is getting more and more difficult for you to set boundaries and limits on time you are

working? Is it difficult for you when it is time to leave work to know that it is time?

Do you constantly ruminate about work and strive for perfection?

Are you exhausted and yet you do not know how to rest?

Are you starting to see that your addiction to work is related to your history of trauma?

Many men who experienced sexual abuse in childhood carry a silent weight — one that shapes their relationships, identity, and sense of worth. Breaking the silence is not weakness; it’s a radical act of strength. In therapy, that silence meets safety, and the long-overdue work of healing begins.

Trauma often lives in your body and nervous system, showing up as intense reactions to seemingly small moments. These triggers can leave you feeling confused, overwhelmed, or ashamed of your response. In this post, I share how to begin recognizing your trauma triggers, why they happen, and how therapy can help you respond with more compassion and calm.

Are you starting to see and no longer deny and avoid the effects of your unhealed wounds in your relationship with yourself and those close to you? Have you been experiencing pain in your body as your memories and emotions are more difficult now for you to stuff and avoid your pain? Are you feeling overwhelmed and “stuck” by your woundedness and having difficulty moving forward? Are you starting to understand how essential it is for you to address your pain and no longer neglect yourself so that you can begin to heal?

Are you continually finding yourself struggling with trust issues? Do you find it difficult to know who you can trust and who is not trustworthy? Do you often make choices of letting people in that hurt you and cause you to doubt yourself rather then having healthy relationships with people that support you and encourage as well as challenge you to grow? Do you struggle with trusting yourself and your own impressions and perceptions? Do you expect to be rejected and betrayed rather than honored and loved?

Pandemic has been so stressful for so many of us and for others it has been traumatic. You may already have had a history of trauma as a child or adult and this difficult stressful time has been a “reinjury” ” Now that there is more movement forward in this pandemic situation you may have become even more aware of how this has effected you both inside and out as well as you may be longing to begin another level of moving forward with HOPE and to gain understanding of how your history of trauma has effected you and that you need to take time to HEAL but are not sure how to go about that.