AndrePetersen

As a psychologist, I’m really trying to bring my voice to this. Over my career, I’ve seen many people with (natural) complex traumatic stress responses from (unnatural) environments. Yet, they’re not taught to understand their behavior as adaptions. Even worse, their trauma is often invalidated. Or told it’s part of a “normal” childhood. Without awareness that what’s normal in culture is highly dysfunctional and sometimes destructive. It’s clear we are suffering. It’s time to stop pretending and denying. Complex trauma is not recognized in the diagnostic manual. It’s so important to give people self understanding and hope. To know that there IS healing. There’s more to life than diagnosing and telling people they have no agency over their lives. We have a collective issue we don’t talk about. We have adults who: -can’t build healthy relationships -who please so much, they abandon themselves in the process -who are filled with anger and repressed rage -who sabotage their partnerships -who continue to go into cycles of stress and chaos because it’s all they know -who feel so depressed and overwhelmed for VALID -who are so hypervigilant and overstimulated they’re stuck in survival mode Please educate yourself. Advocate for you, your family, and your community’s health. Use the resources in this video (if you’re called) to start your healing process. May we break the generational cycle. PLEASE RETWEET FOR AWARENESS

The normalization of depression has always puzzled me. If a majority of the population works at a job they dislike, comes home to a relationship without connection, and barely has the financial security to make ends meet, depression is the natural response. Human beings have emotional, relational, and spiritual needs. When they’re not met, we’re emotionally unwell.

Surround yourself with people with people who uplift and support you. Inspired people, inspire people. People doing things they feel good about will want the same for you.