People love to talk about "drug problems." Almost nobody wants to talk about the pain underneath them. The truth is simple: Drugs are usually a solution, not the original problem. People don't wake up one day and decide to ruin their lives. They use because their nervous systems are screaming. They use because they grow up in chaos. They use because they were never given another way to calm the noise.

I knew I had trauma from my childhood. That was never the question. I didn't expect to transition, after college, into a work environment that mirrored my chaotic home environment. The chaos felt familiar, and I thrived in it. I grew up in a home where managing other people's emotional states was a matter of survival. Staying safe meant staying alert.

Not everyone who supports authoritarian leaders is "evil" or ignorant. Many are unhealed. Many are scared. Many learned early in life that safety comes from surrendering their power, not holding it. Authoritarianism doesn't rise only because of politics. It rises because trauma - personal and collective - goes unaddressed. Here are ten reasons people who haven't healed often feel pulled toward strongmen and rigid ideologies.

Not everyone who supports authoritarian leaders is "evil" or ignorant. Many are unhealed. Many are scared. Many learned early in life that safety comes from surrendering their power, not holding it. Authoritarianism doesn't rise only because of politics. It rises because trauma - personal and collective - goes unaddressed. Here are ten reasons people who haven't healed often feel pulled toward strongmen and rigid ideologies.

In the AIDS crisis, silence felt like protection. Today, empathy is again being framed as weakness. This reflection explores what we inherit when compassion is punished - and why empathy remains our m...

Walk On Some songs don't just fill the silence - they become lifelines. They meet you in the chaos of heartbreak, the weight of uncertainty, the moments when you're gasping for courage. U2's songs, "Walk On" and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," hold deep meaning for me. They are more than just tracks on an album, they were armor.

TikTok video by Tara Cotten

I didn’t know I was experiencing C-PTSD numbness until recently. After a series of traumatic events, I spent most of the year emotionally shut down. It didn't fully hit me until I received a bad performance review. That's when I learned I hadn't completed four major tasks- something I hadn't even realized at the time. You Function... But You’re Not There…

C-PTSD creates a unique fatigue that rest cannot alleviate, involving deep physical and mental exhaustion. It stems from a prolonged fight-or-flight state, leading to nervous system depletion. Healing requires specialized practices like somatic therapy and trauma-informed rest, ultimately allowing the body to stop surviving and start healing.