Writing as both a trauma therapist and mother after yesterday's Minneapolis school shooting, I understand the gut-wrenching fear of sending children to school. Your daily anxiety is valid—the knot in your stomach, checking your phone constantly, memorizing what your child wore. Here's how we heal together.

Substance use disorder is a medical condition where someone cannot control their drug or alcohol use, even when it causes serious problems. It's not a moral failing or lack of willpower—it's a complex brain disorder that affects millions. Understanding the facts helps break down shame and opens paths to recovery.

Your body holds trauma in muscles, tissues, and your nervous system—but it also knows how to release it. As a therapist, I've seen how healing manifests physically through trembling, yelling, temperature shifts, and unexpected tears. These aren't signs something's wrong—they're evidence your body is finally letting go.

Your body holds memories that your mind can't always reach. In brainspotting therapy, we use body awareness to unlock healing that traditional talk therapy sometimes misses. By tracking physical sensations and somatic responses, your nervous system can finally process and release what it's been holding onto for years.

Dissociation is your mind's emergency exit when life becomes overwhelming. It's your brain's freeze response to being overwhelmed - a protective mechanism that disconnects you from reality. Through therapy techniques like Brainspotting, you can learn to reconnect with yourself and develop healthier coping strategies for emotional healing.

That explosive anger might actually be anxiety in disguise. Your brain often chooses anger over anxiety because it feels more powerful than vulnerable. Learn to recognize when anxiety wears an angry mask, understand why this happens, and discover practical steps to address the real emotion underneath your irritability.

Substance abuse and mental health problems feed off each other in a dangerous cycle. Using alcohol or drugs to cope with anxiety or depression actually makes these conditions worse over time. Understanding this connection is the first step toward breaking free from guilt, shame, and reclaiming your mental health.

When trauma enters our lives, it often rewrites the rules we live by. One of the most powerful rules it creates is this: your needs don't matter as much as keeping others happy. Learning to say "no" isn't just about setting boundaries—it's about healing and reclaiming your voice

Anxiety isn't your enemy—it's your brain's protective system. While complete elimination isn't realistic, you can learn to manage anxiety so well it stops controlling your life. Understanding your triggers, listening to anxiety's message, and examining your history are key to building lasting confidence and peace.

Ever wonder why you feel emotionally younger than your actual age? Trauma can literally freeze development, creating "developmental arrest" where your brain pauses emotional growth to focus on survival. The good news? Your brain can resume healthy development at any age through proper healing and support.

Recovery involves more than initial withdrawal. Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) can last 18+ months, causing waves of emotional, mental, and physical symptoms. Understanding your body's healing timeline helps manage expectations. Recovery isn't linear—symptoms come in waves that gradually become less frequent and intense over time.

Trauma doesn't just live in your mind—it lives in your relationships. When your nervous system is stuck in survival mode, intimacy becomes impossible. But healing is possible. Learn how trauma disrupts connection, why shame keeps you isolated, and how therapy can restore your capacity for deep, meaningful relationships.

People often ask if Brainspotting is just another form of hypnosis. While both therapies work with the mind in powerful ways, they're fundamentally different approaches. Hypnosis uses relaxation and suggestion, while Brainspotting keeps you fully aware as your brain processes stuck emotions and trauma naturally.

Your body remembers everything, even when your mind tries to forget. Trauma gets stored in your muscles, nervous system, and organs—showing up as chronic tension, unexplained pain, and breathing changes. Learning to listen to these signals without judgment is the first step toward healing and releasing what you've been carrying.

Anxiety isn't just "being worried." It's your brain's alarm system stuck on high alert. I see people every day who feel trapped by anxious thoughts and feelings. They often ask the same question: "Why do I feel this way?"

Relapse isn't failure – it's feedback. When someone returns to substance use after sobriety, it reveals exactly where safety measures were missing. The biggest overlooked safety? Not reaching out to your support system when cravings hit. You're not starting over; you're building on everything you've already learned.

If you have a history of trauma, taking hours to calm down after being upset isn't weakness—it's your nervous system doing what it was trained to do: protect you. Trauma rewires your brain's alarm system, making it hypersensitive and flooding your body with stress chemicals long after danger passes.

Men experience panic attacks, racing thoughts, and overwhelming worry just like anyone else. The difference? They're less likely to talk about it and far less likely to get help. Real strength isn't about never feeling anxious—it's about facing that anxiety and doing something about it.

Trauma doesn't just hurt us in the moment – it changes how we connect with and share our feelings. Your brain learned to protect you by shutting down emotional expression. This isn't weakness – it's survival. But what once protected you might now be holding you back from healing.

Being highly empathetic isn't a weakness, but it becomes overwhelming when you're constantly absorbing other people's emotions. You might feel exhausted after social interactions, responsible for everyone's problems, or anxious from being overly attuned to others. Learn to care without carrying everyone's emotional baggage.