My aim is to inspire people around the world one blog post at a time.
This is the place to nourish your mind, heart, body and soul.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch your own business. Maybe you want to escape the rat race and find peace in simple living. Maybe you want to improve your health. Whatever your dream is, it is valid!
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Dreams without action are just dreams. But taking action doesn’t necessarily mean quitting your job and burning the ocean. Small steps matter. It is the ability to plug away consistently at something over time that is the key. Small steps add up. You’ll get there!
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If you keep building slowly and consistently with passion each day, adding value that matters to you, then the growth will take care of itself. The keys to achieving success are patience and avoiding complacency.
The Body Keeps Score
When we think about trauma, it’s easy to assume it lives primarily in the mind. After all, isn’t trauma just a psychological experience?
Well, not quite.
According to renowned experts Bessel van der Kolk and Gabor Maté, trauma also embeds itself deeply into the body, affecting our physical health, behaviours, and even the way we perceive the world.
Their research offers profound insights into how unresolved trauma can wreak havoc on our lives and, importantly, how we can begin to heal.
So, let’s explore the key ideas presented in “The Body Keeps the Score” by Dutch psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk and “The Myth of Normal and When the Body Says No” by Canadian Physician Gabor Maté.
We’ll also look at strategies for reducing the impact of trauma on physical wellness.
The Ways We Respond To Trauma
Trauma is like a rock thrown into a pond, creating ripples that affect everything around it. It can be a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope.
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that someone is weak if they aren’t as adept at dealing with trauma as you are.
However, how we respond to trauma varies significantly from person to person and is influenced by a multitude of factors such as genetics, upbringing, personality, and the nature of the traumatic event itself.
Let’s have a brief look at these.
Slow Burn
Ah, burnout – that sneaky, slow burn that can turn your once vibrant work-life equilibrium into a smouldering heap.
It's the kind of thing that doesn't come with flashing warning signs or blaring alarms. No, it's more like a quiet ember, patiently smouldering until you realize you're on the verge of combustion. And that is what makes it dangerous.
Psychological Rape
"Psychological rape is possibly the worst form of abuse. Like an invisible cancer, it slowly eats away at your soul until there is simply nothing left" - Dion Le Roux
If this quote evokes a chilling awareness of the profound and insidious nature of psychological abuse, then it will have served its purpose well. It intentionally draws a poignant parallel between the violation of one's psyche and the relentless devastation caused by a cancerous force, both eroding the essence of an individual until they are left hollow.