psychoeducation Archives

The sicker the relationship, the stronger the bond – trauma bonding and what that means

There are many reasons it’s difficult to leave an abusive relationship. ⁣Some of the reasons are of practical nature, fx. Financial or safety worries. ⁣Others are of a more psychological nature. ⁣One of them is the psychological phenomenon of trauma bonding. ⁣Trauma bonding forms in exploitive relationships. ⁣It’s best described as: “The sicker the relationship, …

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Imprints of trauma are more varied than you realise

Blog, Psychoeducation

This photo, originally from Janina Fisher, PhD, is one that I show quite often to my clients. ⁣The response is usually the same, a quiet moment followed by: “Wow…” ⁣Most people have never seen their pain and symptoms drawn up like this, haven’t made the connection between the symptoms they’re manifesting and their painful experiences …

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How your brain cooperates with your mind to generate your individual reality

Blog, Psychoeducation

Try putting your finger horizontally over the middle, and see how the colours of the blocks change instantly. What before was very distinctively two colours, blend into the very same grey colour. What’s happening here? This is a great example of what is called “top down processing”. Every second of every day, your brain is …

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Body scan meditation in Icelandic

Psychoeducation, Tips & tricks, YouTube videos

Meditation is for your brain what going out for a run is for your lungs. Here’s a body scan meditation that I recorded some time ago, that I would like to share. Body scan meditations are a good way to connect to your own body. One key aspect of trauma is the disconnection that often …

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Some words on forgiveness

Psychoeducation

What forgiveness is not: It’s not the same as forgetting what happened It’s not the same as agreeing with or liking what happened It’s not the same as absolution It’s not denial It does not mean we will never again get angry about what happened It’s not something we can decide to give once and …

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The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog

Book recommendations

Even though fictional books can be wonderful, and can change the lives and thought processes of their readers, I personally rarely give myself time to read fiction. The reason being that there are so many amazing non-fiction books out there, too many for one lifetime. ⁣The book I‘ve given most as a gift, recommended and …

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Never underestimate the healing power of your own brain

Blog

They say time heals all wounds, but that is only half part true. In order for a wound to heal, the conditions for healing must be right. If you break your leg, but you need to continue walking on it, the wound will re-open again and again. Wounds need care, rest, shelter, time, space and …

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Do you lock up your trauma like Danaerys locked up her dragons?

Psychoeducation

In my work I often use the analogy of Danaery’s dragons. If you’ve watched Game of Thrones, you know that as Danaerys’ dragons get bigger, she at one point in time stops being able to control them. She’s afraid of what they might do, and the harm they might cause, so in a desperate attempt …

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Witnessing abuse carries the same risk of harm to children’s mental health and learning as being abused directly

Psychoeducation

Research shows that both the perpetrator and the victim in domestic abuse situations minimize the impact the abuse will have on their children. People tell themselves that the children don’t realise what’s going on, that they never see anything directly, that they were asleep, that they’re to young to understand what’s going on. Its an …

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