The ACEs Checklist: A First Tool for Understanding Trauma
When you grow up in a difficult environment, it can be hard to see just how much those early experiences shaped you. Many of us minimize, dismiss, or explain away what happened. We tell ourselves it wasn’t “that bad,” or that others had it worse. But the body and mind carry those memories whether we […]
The Invisible Water of Childhood Trauma
There’s a saying: the fish doesn’t notice the water it swims in. That’s what it’s like growing up in trauma. You don’t notice the water because it surrounds you. It’s the only world you know. You adapt. You breathe it in. You think it’s normal. For many of us, trauma wasn’t a single dramatic event. […]