Survivor, I see you.

I work with so many people who give me the strength to do what I do everyday. But holy shit, is it hard to hold everyone’s stuff all of the time. But it’s not nearly as tough as someone who has held in their stuff for their entire life and is now ready to release it.

The people holding years of neglect from emotionally immature parents (if you haven’t read Lindsay Gibson’s book.. run to get it now… its a favorite).

The grown woman who carries the shame from being sexually abused by someone who was supposed to protect her. The men who hold sadness and trauma from not being able to talk or cry about it openly. Women who are “too emotional” that they lock their feelings inside forever. Women who have been diagnosed with Herpes and it’s changed everything in their world.

Don’t get me wrong, some people come to therapy because they love it. They love the self realizations helped along by my questions, or the way I help them see things in a different way.

But the people who stay away from therapy for years because they don’t want to open up those memory boxes until they finally realized they can’t afford not to. They are the ones I cherish, because they feel that I have the qualities to help them in their journey and trust me with those deep secrets. I have been trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and I use it to help people process old memories that live very alive in their bodies when triggered, but are locked so far away in their brains because they are too painful to remember. Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy and Psychedelic therapy are also good approaches to help people process things without being emotionally overwhelmed by them.

I wish I could say it’s easy to process deeply painful traumas, but it isn’t always easy. Psychedelic therapy can be gentle or a “take no prisoners” experience. Ketamine is gentle. I can tell you by my own experience, Ayahuasca is not. That’s one that is going to show you what you need to see whether you want to see it or not.

People who carry around deep pain and trauma are survivors, and unless they process that trauma, will continue to relive it in some way or pass it to someone else. But trauma gets a “bad rep” as my therapist would say. It can be a horrible thing and it can make you into a superhero. Have you ever met people who have been through so much yet have lived to tell about it and sometimes even helped others with their issues? I meet them every day. I am one of those people. I have frequently said that Psychedelics have saved my life. They helped me feel a part of this earth, this land, this community of people around us. When you see yourself as part of something, it’s much easier to know that who you are and what you do is important. We belong to each other. I can change lives just like you can. You never know what a random act of kindness will do to a stranger you’ll never hear from again.

So if you are a survivor of trauma, in deep pain, if you’ve been wronged or hurt deeply, I see you.