As a stricter national lockdown looms in the UK, let’s not forget the indelible impact of the pandemic on the collective psyche. The most recent stats have shown that there has been an increase in mental health difficulties since the onset of the pandemic. Unfortunately, we don’t have a vaccine for our mental health. If you are struggling, reach out and don’t suffer alone. Here are some helplines that offer support for free. Also, a lot of psychotherapists offer low cost therapy in their private practices during these unprecedented times. Our mental health is as important as our physical health. . . #collectivetrauma #collectivegrief #trauma #anxiety #ptsd #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthsupport #therapyhelps 
Happy New Year my wonderful Instagram community! May 2021 be filled with good health, love, gratitude and authenticity. Let’s start this year without checklists to complete, lists of resolutions (often featuring some of the same goals from the previous year), or unrealistic expectations. This year let’s invest more energy in embracing our unique journey and being in a loving relationship with ourselves and our loved ones. Let’s focus more on appreciating the little, simple things that we so often overlook. Magic happens in the present moment. There is so much beauty and wonder to be found right where we are. . . #happynewyear #authenticity #authenticself #spiritualawakening #thepowerofnow #thepoweroflove #mentalhealth #mentalhhealthawareness #qualityoflife #purposeoflife #consciousness #consciousliving #consciousrelationships 
Says it all! It’s been a very challenging year and it ain’t over yet. 2020...the teacher, the preacher, the mender. . Photo @carrychalk . . #gratitude #growthroughwhatyougothrough #personaldevelopnent 
The majority of our sexual pleasure comes from the mind. It doesn’t really matter what is going on elsewhere in our body if our mind is not in it. This is one of the reasons that sexual pleasure and enjoyment can fluctuate over time. Sometimes we are so into it that nothing can destruct us. And other times we find irrelevant thoughts getting in the way of connecting with our partner, which makes it impossible to be fully present. Past sexual trauma can also have a huge impact on our ability to experience intimacy and be fully present and connected with our body during sex. . I will be running workshops and retreats on this topic in the new year, so watch this space!! 💖 . Art @itisartime . . . #sexualtrauma #trauma #sextherapy #sexuality #intimacy #traumatherapy #sexualpleasure #femaleorgasms #becomingorgasmic #therapyhelps 
Polyvagal theory is one of the approaches that I draw on in my work with trauma survivors. Identifying and working with triggers and glimmers, is a very important part of trauma therapy. But what are they? . Glimmers are essentially the opposite of triggers! If a trigger brings us into a survival state, and is also known as a cue of danger, glimmers are what bring us back into our window of tolerance and safety (cue of safety). To fully understand where glimmers take us in our nervous system, it’s important to outline the branches of it. The nervous system has the sympathetic branch and the parasympathetic branch. . Certain smells, places and people and so on activate us into a sympathetic response (our fight or flight response) or the parasympathetic response connected to the dorsal vagal (our freeze or collapse response). Certain smells, places and people and so on can activate us into our ventral vagal, the safe and connected zone of our parasympathetic nervous system. Those are our glimmers! Some questions to ask yourself: What people, places, feelings, smells, sensations glimmer me back into feeling safe and connected? What triggers take me into a survival response? What glimmers are most effective when I am in a survival state? Which ones get me home from fight/flight/freeze? What do my states feel like in my body? How do I know I’m triggered in my body? How do I know a glimmer is kicking in and taking me home? What does a glimmer feel like, what sensations does it bring up, what feelings? . . . #traumatherapy #traumarecovery #traumahealing #ptsd #sexualtrauma #relationaltrauma #sexuality #intimacy #compulsivesexualbehavior #triggers #glimmers #therapyhelps #posttraumaticgrowth 
I often hear people saying “My trauma isn’t as bad as what other people have experienced”. Your trauma is valid and it cannot be compared. Trauma is unique to each individual. Only you know what is or has been traumatic to you. Unresolved trauma will continue to perpetuate. Seek help, don’t suffer in silence. . . . #trauma #traumarecovery #ptsd #mentalhealthawareness #complextrauma #relationaltrauma #sexualtrauma #posttraumaticgrowth #sextherapy #traumatherapy #therapyhelps 
Love from another adult ripples back in time for us, repairing, restoring and renovating the inadequate past. . Safe, healthy, grounded love reassures the younger part of you that was unloved and/or unsafe that you are worthy. Reparative love invites you to walk the path of “I am loveable”, “I am enough”. It is important to remember though that your healing must involve the process of cultivating a loving relationship with yourself. . . . . #attachments #attachmentstyles #attachmentparenting #attachmenttheory #intimacy #intimacyquotes #relationships #consciousrelationships #relationshiptherapy #sextherapy #therapyhelps #choosetherapy #reparenting #reparentingyourself #adultrelationships #love #loveyourself #theartoflovingyourself 
Give yourself time to grieve what your trauma took from you. . The famed author Leo Tolstoy once wrote that “only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.” Tolstoy knew about grieving. As a child, he lost his brother. As an adult, he lost his son to scarlet fever. However, he also knew that he couldn’t be his best version of himself when he was in that state. He loved himself and his family too much to allow the sorry to consume him. Grieving comes from not only a death, but also past regrets, losing a relationship, losing hopes and dreams, and losing yourself. It might be time to love yourself enough to give yourself permission to grieve your past — and then move forward. This is a very important part of post-traumatic growth. . Art Beth Conklin . . #trauma #ptsd #traumarecovery #traumatherapy #grief #griefquotes #posttraumaticgrowth #sexualtrauma #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #compassion #personaldevelopment #therapyhelps