Use Your Damn Skills

We hear a lot about mental health “awareness.” 

Specifically, we hear a lot about the importance of being “aware” of the consequences— personal and social— of abuse, neglect, and violence. 

It’s my experience that many trauma survivors have kind of a bittersweet relationship with these “awareness” campaigns. 

It’s hard to make the case that many people in our culture aren’t “aware” that bad, traumatic things happen to humans. 

But that “awareness” often doesn’t translate into compassion, credibility, or accessibility to resources for survivors. 

It’s as if the culture is quite “aware” of trauma— but doesn’t particularly give a sh*t. 

Ironically, this can spike a particular reaction in trauma survivors. It triggers a feeling we know all too well: that we’re not important enough to bother with. 

One of the most common experiences of trauma survivors is feeling visible— but unimportant. 

It’d almost be EASIER to feel invisible. 

It’d be almost better if our culture WASN’T acutely aware of the prevalence and consequences of trauma. 

But the truth is, we see it all around us. 

We see it on the news. And we see it in real life, too. 

Literally everybody reading this has experienced trauma, or knows someone who has. 

It’s NOT that we are not “aware” that trauma exists— and I don’t think we have all THAT many illusions about how prevalent and devastating it can be. 

We just don’t want to do anything about it. 

When people come forward with their stories, we don’t want to prioritize them. 

When people are open about their trauma-based symptoms, we often tell them they’re being “dramatic” or “seeking attention.” 

It’s as if our culture will do ANYTHING from being honest about and responsive to the fact that trauma occurs. 

But we do love a good “awareness” campaign, don’t we. 

We do love pretending that “awareness” can change things on its own. 

There are even some therapy techniques that suppose once we become “aware” of certain things— usually things that have been tucked away in the “unconscious mind”— that the work of therapy is largely accomplished. 

Show of hands: who reading this has ever been MORE than aware of a problem, MORE than aware of the EXACT dimensions of the problem and its origin…and yet NOT had the tools, skills, or resources to actually DO what needs to be done about the problem? 

(This is why, for as respectful as I am of psychodynamic theory’s contribution to the therapy world, I will never consider psychodynamic insight to be the end-all, be-all of therapy work.) 

Speaking for myself, I’m sick of awareness campaigns. 

If our culture is going to say it cares about abuse, neglect, sexual violence, and other trauma, it needs to walk its talk. 

Survivors need compassion, not public service announcements. 

Survivors need to be believed and respected, not used as talking points in “culture war” discourse. 

Survivors need access to resources like specialized therapy, paid medical leave, specialty inpatient treatment, and case management, not f*cking colored bracelets showcasing the wearer’s “awareness.” 

Our cultural institutions, like governments and insurance companies, LOVE to talk about awareness. 

But we survivors in recovery every day have no choice but to WALK that talk. 

We’d love some actual help. 

We can’t let OUR recovery depend on what THEY are or aren’t willing to acknowledge. 

We just can’t. 

There will be times when other people will simply refuse to acknowledge what you’ve been through. 

There will be times when they refuse to acknowledge how difficult recovery is. 

There will be times when they try to turn it all back on YOU. 

They’ll call you “dramatic.” 

They’ll say you’re “attention seeking.” 

They’ll imply— or out right say— that you’re lying or exaggerating. 

None of this will have any basis in reality, mind you. 

It will ALL be about their issues. Their blocks. Their beliefs. Their agendas. 

But— they will try to get you to believe that YOU can’t move forward with YOUR recovery until you buy into their narrative. 

People really will do anything and everything to cram the world into the mold of THEIR beliefs, their agendas, their comfort zones. 

Unfortunately, for a lot of people, that means denying and disowning the fact that traumatic things happen to vulnerable people. 

The simply don’t want to acknowledge that. 

To really acknowledge it would be to upend their worldview. 

Similarly, they often don’t want to acknowledge that trauma RECOVERY is a hard, multilayered, one-day-at-a-time process. 

If they acknowledged THAT, they’d need to surrender many of their cherished beliefs about how all anybody needs to recover from painful experiences is “willpower.” 

I wish all of this was just limited to a subset of people out in the world— but the truth is, we run into these attitudes, beliefs, and narratives in a LOT of places. 

Our culture really glorifies this “all you need is grit” narrative. 

We make heroes out of people who suffer silently— and we heap scorn upon those who are publicly vulnerable. 

Whenever somebody accuses a trauma survivor who is openly discussing their experience and recovery of being an “attention seeker,” I want to ask them: “What kind of ‘attention’ do you think comes from openly identifying as a trauma survivor?” 

It’s often not the kind of “attention” anyone reading this WANTS. 

So why do people say this about trauma survivors? 

Because they need some reason— any reason— that people might be saying these things…any reason, that is, BESIDES the simple truth that these things happen. 

Some people just don’t want to know that trauma happens. 

Some people just don’t want to admit that trauma recovery is hard. 

Some people just don’t want to admit that traumatic things can happen to people— regardless of how privileged they are, regardless of how attractive they are, regardless of how “safe” their world supposedly is— that they have no control over…and it can affect them in the long term. 

They will go out of their way to defend and reinforce this denial. 

That’s why we can’t let their denial get in the way of our recovery. 

If we do, we’re going to be waiting…forever. 

Their denial has zero to do with your recovery. 

We don’t need their permission to recover. 

We don’t need their permission to identify our pain points. 

We don’t need their permission to do what we need to do, especially within our own head and heart, to recover from what happened to us. 

Don’t let “their” attitudes and statements f*ck with your head in trauma recovery. 

They are defending a narrative that has nothing to do with your recovery. 

Complex trauma survivors often have this complicated relationship with visibility. 

On the one hand, many of us have learned over the course of our lives that to be seen isn’t particularly safe. 

Many of us consequently go through adult life trying hard NOT to be seen. 

It makes us anxious when attention is drawn to us. 

When someone wants to talk to us— when someone even calls us— we often assume we’re in trouble. 

We bend over BACKWARDS to NOT be “high maintenance” in our relationships or jobs— and if someone insinuates that we ARE “high maintenance,” we often feel TERRIBLE about it. 

For many complex trauma survivors, invisibility isn’t just the superpower they WISH they had— it’s something they’ve worked hard to cultivate. 

But then, on the other hand, feeling functionally invisible to certain people can be one of the most painful experiences of a complex trauma survivors’ life. 

We know what it feels like to be “invisible” to the people who “should” have seen us. 

We know what it feels like to be ignore by the people who “should” have been invested in us. 

We know what it feels like to be betrayed by the people who “should” have had our back. 

We often know all of that because we felt it growing up. For some of us those were some of the FIRST things we felt in life. 

As a result, in our adult relationships, we can often be hyper aware of whether we’re being seen and respected— at least by the handful of people who “should” see and respect us. 

If someone says they’re our friend— but then they don’t seem to have much genuine interest in our life, we notice. 

If someone says they love us, but then behave toward us in ways that really can’t be described as loving— we notice. 

If someone talks over us or interrupts us, as if what we were saying or expressing didn’t have particular value— we notice. 

We notice— and sometimes we react. 

Lots of complex trauma survivors find it surprising that, as hard as they’ve worked to NEVER feel or express anger in their adult lives, that feeling ignored or disrespected by certain, specific people can very suddenly elicit feelings and expressions of anger that even WE didn’t know were inside us. 

Almost nobody likes to think of themselves as an “angry” person, and complex trauma survivors in particular tend to go to great lengths to NOT be fundamentally “angry.” 

But when someone who “should” have our back behaves dismissively toward us, for some reason it often hits a button that lets ALL the anger we never expressed flow. 

Which, of course, means we sometimes feel ashamed afterward. 

After all, the emotions of anger and shame are often hard wired together in the nervous system of a complex trauma survivor. 

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to apologize for feeling angry OR hurt when someone behaves dismissively or disrespectfully toward you— especially a friend or lover. 

It DOES hurt. 

It hurts in a specific kind of way— because it recreates certain experiences that were at the root of our ORIGINAL hurt. 

How you manage and express your anger is up to you. I’m not in the business of telling anyone they’re dong it wrong or right. 

But you need to know that it’s not “wrong” to FEEL what you FEEL. 

You also need to know that this is the textbook definition of a trigger: a present day experience that is recreating old dynamics and emotional patterns. 

You bet your nervous system’s going to react. 

It’s not “wrong” or “bad” for doing so. 

YOU’RE not “wrong” or “bad” for having feelings and reactions. 

Really. 

Dissociation is often subtle. 

It’s often not the dramatic “switching” we imagine it to be, or we’ve seen dramatized in the media. 

Most often people who dissociate don’t announce it. 

Hell, often people who dissociate aren’t entirely aware they’re dissociating. 

Even when dissociation is somewhat extreme— such as it is in Dissociative Identity Disorder— “switching” between self-states isn’t experienced by a person as fun or exhilarating. 

It’s often a pain in the ass. It interferes with your day. 

It’s often confusing. People discover purchases they made— sometimes signifiant ones— that they don’t remember. 

When people dissociate, it’s not a floaty vacation from the “real world.” 

Some part of us still has to be present or “out front” to deal with the “real world”— and some part has to carry or otherwise deal with the painful memory or emotion that triggered the dissociation in the first place. 

Even when there are dissociative barriers between parts or aspects of experience, it’s not like anyone gets to just “skip over” or “zone out” pain. 

Some part of us ALWAYS has to deal with it. 

If that part of us is walled off from the other parts of us, that means that part is dealing with it alone. 

It’s an experience that often echoes the experience of having endured the abuse or abandonment in the first place— being alone, frightened, abandoned. 

It’s not fun. It’s not an adventure. It’s an adaptation to trauma. 

Nobody “chooses” dissociation because they think it’ll make them more interesting, or give them a pass to not deal with with something. 

Because the “something” that is dissociated is ALWAYS dealt with— just not consciously. 

When emotional pain or traumatic memories are walled off via dissociation, it means we can’t bring our adult understanding and skills to deal with it. 

It leaves the younger pars of us to try to handle it— alone. 

Don’t get me wrong: sometimes people have parts of themselves that charge RIGHT at a painful feeling or memory to try to “handle” it. Some people have “warrior” or “defender” parts of themselves that can very much hold their own on the emotional battlefield. 

But they shouldn’t HAVE to hold their own. 

Lots of people who dissociate describe feeling embarrassed or ashamed that they struggle to stay present when they’re triggered. 

There’s no shame in dissociation. You’re not choosing it. Very rarely does anyone say to themselves “I’m just gonna float away now,” or “I’m just gonna hand this over to a self aspect to handle.” 

Dissociation is an adaptation to trauma, usually enormously panful trauma that happened to us relatively early in our development. 

If you’re dealing with dissociation at ALL in your trauma recovery, it’s because it was, at one time, a relatively SUCCESSFUL adaptation. 

That’s why I’m not hot on shaming anyone for dissociating or demanding that parts “integrate.” 

I have ENORMOUS respect for ALL self-aspects and dissociative processes. I respect them and I’m grateful they were there for you. 

I want to work WITH them now— not against them. 

I want them to be able to trust you. 

I want you to be able to be there for them. 

I want the NEED to dissociate to diminish. 

I want YOU to be able to handle things WITHOUT checking out or instinctively handing them off. 

I want your dissociative processes and self-states to INFORM how YOU deal with stressors— instead of feeling obligated to take over and deal with them themselves. 

Healing doesn’t mean your parts go away. 

It means they get BETTER at what they do— and that you and all the parts of you have each others’ back. 

Sometimes we just feel like we’re taking up…all the space. 

All the space, and all the oxygen. 

Survivors of neglect are particularly susceptible to this feeling. 

Growing up neglected is to grow up being sent repeated signals that you existence doesn’t matter; your needs don’t matter; your voice doesn’t matter. 

Survivors of neglect often come away from the experience feeling as if anyone allowing them to take up space in their world is doing them a favor— that they don’t have a right to exist, let alone consume resources. 

That’s a tough feeling to exist with, when we live in a world where we NEED to consume resources— in a world where we NECESSARILY take up space. 

It leads survivors of neglect to this place of contradiction: I don’t have the RIGHT to take up space or to consume resources; and yet I do, every moment I’m alive. 

Consequently, many survivors of neglect walk around feeling low-key guilty much of the time. 

Guilty for taking up space. 

Guilty for “demanding” attention. (Many survivors of neglect were specifically TOLD that they were “attention seekers”— as if there’s something unusual about children seeking attention.) 

Guilty for sucking up emotional oxygen, even in their closest relationships. 

The way we resolve that guilt is to realize your early experiences tricked you into believing you didn’t “deserve” time, space, resources, and attention— when, in fact you do, by virtue of being human. 

But that can be a tough sell to a survivor of neglect. 

Survivors of neglect are very often hesitant to believe they “deserve” even the basics that any human being deserves— after all, their early experiences led them to believe their very existence was a hassle. 

It’s a particular kind of anxiety to believe that your very presence in your closest relationships is somehow a burden to the other person— but that’s very often what survivors of neglect feel like. 

At the same time, many neglect survivors have a particular craving for intimacy and connection— for those things they didn’t get once upon a time from an indifferent family.

This often leads the kid we once were, and who we still carry around in our head and heart, confused. 

On the one hand, all they want is a hug. To be told they matter. To be told they’re not wrong or bad for taking up space. 

On the other hand, every experience that kid has ever had with someone who “should” have held them or made space for them, has resulted in that kid feeling like a burden. 

Here’s the thing: you’re not a burden just for being human. 

You’re not a burden for having needs. 

You’re not a burden for consuming resources. 

You’re not a burden for taking up space— emotional OR physical. 

The world very often tries to convince us we need to “earn’ the right to our existence— that if we’re not “productive” in ways defined by the world, that we really DON’T have a right to breathe or take up space. 

But you exist. You don’t have to “earn” the “right” to exist— you’re here. The right to exist is a right that cannot be taken away from you— definitely not by guilt or shame. 

If you’re in a close relationship with someone, you need to know that you ADD to that relationship just by your presence. The relationship wouldn’t exist otherwise. 

You need to know that that feeling that you’re a burden, you’re taking up too much space, you don’t have a right to breathe, need, or be— it’s fake news. 

It’s BS. Belief Systems— but also the OTHER kind of BS. 

Guilt and shame are powerful feelings that are difficult to cope with. But don’t let them bully you. 

You exist, you have the right to exist— and the world is better BECAUSE you exist. 

Yeah, you. 

I may not even know you, but I’m willing to place exactly that bet. 

What “should” you feel bad about? 

I don’t know. And I don’t get a vote. 

Nobody does get a vote when it comes to what you, specifically, “should” feel bad about. 

The point of chipping away at shame in trauma recovery is NOT that we “should” never feel bad about anything. 

You get to decide what you “should” or “shouldn’t” feel bad or guilty about. You get to decide what you need to “make amends” for. 

In trauma recovery we DO discover, however, that we DON’T have to feel bad or guilty about things that were done TO us. 

We DON’T have to feel bad or guilty about OTHER people’s decisions. Not in a personal way. 

That might seem obvious— but it’s important we make that distinction, because one of the most common symptoms of complex trauma is feeling bad about almost EVERYTHING that’s EVER happened to us in our past. 

Trauma survivors’ default is very often to blame ourselves. 

Our default is very often to assume EVERYTHING was our fault, and everything IS our responsibility. 

Experiencing relational trauma in particular tends to leave our “fault” and “responsibility” wires crossed. 

As we develop our new philosophy of life in trauma recovery, we often have to grapple with what we ACTUALLY “should” feel fault and responsibility for. 

Sometimes people mistakenly assert that in trauma recovery, we encourage trauma survivors to reject responsibly for almost anything and everything. 

Not true. 

In trauma recovery, we are, in fact, taking responsibility for a LOT— most notably, our choices in THIS moment. 

But it IS accurate to say that in trauma recovery we are also REJECTING fault and responsibly for certain things— most notably, things that were done TO us and OTHER people’s decisions. 

I’m not going to tell you what you “should” feel bad about. That’s up to everybody’s individual sense of morality, ethics, and maybe spirituality. 

But I will tell you, with absolute conviction: meaningful recovery means giving up this fantasy that WE can or should be responsible for things that happened TO us, or OTHER people’s decisions. 

Not only were things that happened to us not our fault; not only were (and are!) other peoples’ decisions not our responsibility— but we can’t MAKE those things our fault or responsibility, even if we tried. 

It’s complicated, because we so often FEEL ashamed. 

That has nothing to do with reality. That has to do with conditioning. 

It has to do with the messages we were sent once upon a time— and, usually, that were reinforced over and over and over again, over the course of YEARS. 

Because we strongly FEEL ashamed doesn’t mean we have REASON to be ashamed. It doesn’t mean we “should” feel ashamed. 

And it DOESN’T mean we were at fault for our trauma. 

It DOESN’T mean we were responsible for avoiding it or stopping it. 

You are responsible for your decisions and your behavior. Right here, right now. 

There are things that impact and influence how “free” your decisions can be at ANY given time— but when we try to take responsibility for things that we can’t POSSIBLY control, often can’t even INFLUENCE…we set ourselves up for chronic shame. 

No more. 

Recovery is about taking realistic responsibly for what we can…and rejecting fault that isn’t ours. 

I know. Harder than it sounds. 

Which is why we just take it one day at a time. 

In every trauma or addiction recovery, there will be a ton of stuff we can’t control. 

In every LIFE, there is a ton of stuff we can’t control. 

I don’t believe in trauma or addiction recovery that depends on controlling stuff we can’t control. 

It’s true that it would be much EASIER to recover from trauma or addiction if we had control over certain things in our lives or environments…that we just don’t. 

It would be much EASIER to recover if we NEVER had to come into contact with people or situations that trigger us. 

It would be much EASIER to recover if we NEVER had to interact with family members that had been abusive or neglectful toward us. 

It would be much EASIER to recover if we didn’t have to work jobs to make a living. 

Many of the trauma and addiction recovery takes I read on the internet seem to assume that those of us in recovery have nothing else to do BUT recover. 

But that’s not the world we live in. 

We have jobs. Many of us have kids or pets. We can’t just check out of life to deal with our trauma or addiction issues, the check back in when we’re sufficiently safe or stable. 

I HATE when I see takes about how we need to take our recovery “seriously” by “getting help” when we need it…without acknowledging that the “help” on offer, even when it is affordable and/or accessible, often asks us to put everything else on hold in a way that just isn’t practical. 

Similarly, I see lots of recovery takes that encourage us to “take control” of certain things in our lives that we just can’t control in the real world. 

In the real world, we’re never going to be able to 100% control the people we have to interact with or are exposed to. 

In the real world, we’re never going to be able to control certain things about our stress level or our personal or professional responsibilities. 

In the real world, we will ABSOLUTELY come up against systemic obstacles and prejudices that can drastically limit how accessible or realistic certain recovery resources are to us. 

We can’t meditate or stress-manage those real world things away. 

So we need to design a recovery that is, as much as possible, realistically under OUR control— one that doesn’t hinge on us being able to access things that we just can’t reliably access. 

To me, what that means is that the main work of recovery happens in our head and in our heart. 

We have very limited control over certain aspects of our external environment— but we have a lot MORE control over our INTERNAL environment. 

That does not mean we have PERFECT control over what happens in our head and heart. 

Often times we are starting out with habits and beliefs that are energetically working AGAINST our recovery. 

Often times trauma survivors in particular struggle with intrusive thoughts and memories that can, at times, absolutely DOMINATE our internal environment. 

Often times addicts struggle with cravings that can positively OVERRUN anything we’re intentionally trying to think, feel, or focus on. 

What I’m trying to say is that NO aspect of recovery, internal or external, is easy. 

But if we are truly invested in our success in either trauma or addiction recovery, it matters whether we start with and focus on our internal or external world. 

I say life is too short to wish and hope that things reliably change for us externally. 

But in my experience focusing on the external world to bolster our recovery is a mistake. 

I can’t control what other people say or do. I can’t control the weather. 

i can’t perfectly “control” what I think, feel, or focus on either— but I have a LOT more INFLUENCE over what happens INSIDE my head and heart than I often have over what goes on out there in the world. 

So that’s where I choose to focus. 

My recovery— our recovery— has to work for us EVEN IF things to to hell in a hand basket “out there.”

Because— spoiler— things absolutely WILL, sometimes. 

In trauma and addiction recovery, you’re going to hear a LOT about how important connection and trust are. 

Chances are you’re going to have people telling you that trauma is a disorder of connection— and that healing from trauma is all about RECONNECTING.

If you’re in addiction recovery you’ll likely hear over and over again that the key to avoiding relapse is to connect with a group of people also in recovery— that isolation puts you in particular danger of relapse. 

It’s true that connection can play a powerful role in recovery— for some people, at some times. 

It’s also true that connection, in and of itself, isn’t an overarching solution to…well, anything. 

There are people who very strongly believe that the key to healing any emotional or behavioral pain is connecting through the therapy relationship— and it’s true that therapy that is based in a trusting, safe relationship can be powerful. 

Similarly, it’s true that connecting with other people in a group, either a therapy group, a support group, or a Twelve Step fellowship— can make the difference for some people in avoiding old people, places, and situations that might otherwise contribute to relapse. 

I’m not anti-connection. I’m a therapist, for crying out loud. I believe in the power of certain kinds of connection, and certain points in our recovery. 

But I’m also mindful that people who are recovering from complex trauma in particular tend to have really complicated histories when it comes to connection. 

I don’t think it’s fair— or therapeutically sound— to tell those people that they “have” to connect in order to make progress on their recovery, especially in the early stages. 

Some people don’t know how terrifying connection can be for a survivor of interpersonal violence. 

Some people don’t know what a tall order “trust” is for a survivor of childhood abuse. 

Some people don’t know what they’re asking when they ask a survivor of bullying or group violence to place their faith in a group of strangers. 

I just don’t think some people realize that when they tell a trauma survivor or recovering addict that they “have” to “trust” and “connect” in order to heal, that they’re essentially telling them that if they CAN’T trust or connect right now…they’re kind of screwed. 

That’s what the survivor or addict often hears, at any rate. 

There are LOTS of survivors who figure they would rather endure what they’re enduring than take the risk of trusting and connecting— especially to strangers. 

I think therapists in particular underestimate how difficult it can be for survivors in recovery to trust us, especially in the beginning. 

Therapists by definition come with power and privilege. Survivors of complex trauma have been hurt people in their lives who had relative power and privilege…and who were “supposed” to look out for and take care of them. 

I think we need to be super clear with people in trauma and addiction recovery that there are multiple ways to do this. 

Not every version of trauma or addiction recovery depends on you being social and heavily interactive. 

Trauma and addiction recovery can be tailored to fit how you work and where you are when it comes to your ability and willingness to connect and trust. 

It is my experience that, the further along people get in recovery, their willingness to connect and trust tends to increase— but they only GET to that place if we extend them understanding in those beginning stages, where they truly CAN’T connect and trust. 

Survivors need to know that we’re not going to try to make them connect and trust before they’re ready— and they need to know it’s okay to NOT be ready, especially given when they’ve been through. 

Recovery takes the time it takes. Connection takes the time it takes. Trust takes the time it takes. 

Insisting that survivors be open to “connection” and “trust” before they’re ready can turn people off of recovery altogether. And there are already ENOUGH things that discourage people from working their recovery as it is. 

Yeah. It’s hard to believe we matter, when we don’t, or didn’t, seem to matter to the people who should care about our existence. 

Lots of us use that experience— of whether we seemed matter to those people— as our baseline for determining whether we do, in fact, matter. 

Very often I’ll tell someone they matter— and they’ll disagree. 

How is it possible that I matter, when I didn’t matter to my parents? 

How is it possible that I matter, when I apparently didn’t matter enough for that relationship partner to fight for me? 

How is it possible that I matter, when I withdraw, and nobody seems to notice or care? 

When we’re convinced we don’t matter, we filter everything through that belief— and we’ll find TONS of “evidence” that we just don’t matter. 

Sometimes our brain will then pile on, and tell us we don’t matter because we don’t “contribute” anything of value to anyone. 

We get convinced that in order to have “value” as a human, we need to contribute value to other people in very specific, measurable ways…and if we don’t, we “must” be worthless. 

After years— decades, sometimes— of all of this, we wind up in a place where we are convinced we are worthless and we don’t matter. 

And if we’re convinced we’re worthless and that we don’t matter, we simply don’t see the point of trying to improve our lives or NOT go down self-destructive behavioral paths. 

Trauma and addiction recovery ask us to take a radically different approach to the question of whether and how we matter. 

It asks us to start out from the premise that we DO matter— whether or not we SEEMED to matter to those to whom we should supposedly matter the most. 

It asks us to start out from the premise that we DO have value— even if we’ve been in positions in our life where we didn’t SEEM to contribute much, if anything, to other peoples’ lives. 

Mind you: YOU don’t have to accept those premises, if you don’t want to. All I know is that I strongly do accept those premises. 

I think you matter, and I think you have value— whether or not anybody has seen it or expressed it. 

I think sh*t happens in life that prevents us from contributing to the world at times. It’s hard to contribute to the world when you’re busy just trying to survive. 

I think people DO have value— even if the people in their lives, such as their parents or caretakers, don’t see it or don’t express it. 

I don’t think our value or worth decreases if the people around us can’t or don’t see our value. 

I don’t think our value or worth decreases if we happen to be in a position at the moment where all we can do is keep our head above water. 

I don’t think our value or worth decreases even if we have painful things happen to us.

I don’t think our value or worth decreases if we go through periods where we make decisions we later come to regret. 

At the risk of sounding controversial, I think we’re all human, and sh*t happens. 

If we’re going to realistically recover from addiction or trauma, we have to start out by “acting as if” we DO matter. 

As if we DO deserve better. 

As if we DO deserve the benefit of the doubt. 

As if we DO deserve support and dignity. 

I know— that flies in the face of a LOT of our old conditioning. 

“I don’t matter” and “I am worthless” are beliefs that die hard— especially if we’ve been accumulating “evidence” for those beliefs for decades. 

But beliefs change. 

Beliefs change every day. 

Even strongly held beliefs. Even beliefs that have been held for a long time. 

It all starts with openness to the possibilities. 

Opening the door a teeny, tiny bit to “maybe I do matter.” 

“Maybe I do have worth.” 

“Maybe ‘they’ shouldn’t be the standard by which I judge myself.” 

Just crack that door. 

It all stars here. 

I feel that if trauma or addiction recovery’s gonna work, it can’t just work if we have access to resources. 

It can’t just work on days we feel like doing the sh*t. 

It can’t just work if we have the luxuries of time or safety. 

If recovery’s gonna work, if it’s gonna stick, it has to work and stick under the worst of circumstances. 

The truth is, having access to resources and safety makes recovery 1000% easier. Of course it does. Access to resources and safety makes EVERYTHING 1000% easier. 

But not everybody has access to resources and safety. 

Not everybody can pay for specialty therapy or inpatient work. 

Not everybody can take time off of work to do specialty therapy or inpatient work. 

Not everybody has the luxury of life or employment situations where they can always call a sponsor when they’re in danger of relapse or self-harm. 

There are a LOT of people who have to piece together their recovery plan as they go— WITHOUT access to the resources and privilege that would otherwise make recovery easier. 

Recovery is very much a DIY project. It has to be. 

I hope we can someday create a world where more people have realistic access to certain resources. 

But we can’t wait for that world to materialize. 

If trauma or addiction is ruining your life now, your recovery has to begin now. 

The people and pets we love, who count on us and need us— and they need us actively dealing with our trauma or addictions. 

There are lots of things that impact our ability to recover from trauma or addictions. 

Money. Health. Ability and disability. Age. Social and power dynamics. Events happening in the culture and the world. 

I wish I could tell you this was a perfect world where everybody has the same opportunities for trauma or addiction recovery— but of course it’s not. 

What I don’t want is anybody giving up because of that fact. 

You will meet PLENTY of people who are VERY invested in telling you ALL the reasons why you cannot recover from trauma or addiction. 

They are entitled to their viewpoint. 

But I don’t want you— you, there, reading this— to give up because you’re facing what looks like an insurmountable climb. 

I know. This shit is NOT easy, and there are DOZENS of factors that make it infinitely harder. 

But you are worth it. 

What happened to you is not your fault. 

You did not choose the environment you grew up in and you did not choose your genetic predispositions. 

You and I were dealt the cards we were dealt. We didn’t choose ‘em. Hell, we didn’t choose to sit down at the table. We came online holding the hand we were dealt with the game already underway.

But I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think there were realistic ways that you and I could take baby steps toward a better life— a life that is not dominated by trauma or addiction, and not determined by our past or our genes. 

Our recovery may not be perfect. In fact I guarantee it will not be perfect. 

We don’t have the resources we don’t have, and all we can do is what we can do. 

But god dammit— we can do that. 

One day at a time.