Same Café, New Me: How I Found Freedom Without Changing My Life

“Trauma creates change you don’t choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose.” ~Michelle Rosenthal” Today I am sitting in my favorite café in Venice Mall. I got my favorite seat, the one near the water. I have spent countless hours here. I have cried here. Journaled here. Drawn here. Consoled myself here. There […]

How My Need to Clean Was a Childhood Coping Skill

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ~E.E. Cummings When I was a little girl, I had the smallest bedroom in the house. It was tiny. Honestly, probably the size of a small walk-in closet. But it was mine. And for the first time, I got to choose what it […]

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Knowing the Score

Eat healthfully, exercise more, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, practice sleep wellness… These lifestyle interventions are commonly recommended by doctors as part of the treatment or prevention of serious and common health conditions such as heart disease, obesity, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. The evidence shows that these lifestyle interventions and changes in one’s daily habits […]