Given how childhood trauma damages the developing brain, no one should be surprised that survivors struggle with addiction. Study after study has found dramatically elevated rates of addiction among adults with a history of childhood trauma–and a high correlation between the amount of trauma and … Continue readingChildhood Trauma and Addiction
Last week, the Associated Press reported the story of Kristy Johnson, who is suing her father for sexually abusing her as a child. Melvin Kay Johnson, a well-respected Mormon educator, began assaulting his daughter when she was six years old and continued until she left … Continue readingKristy Johnson: A Survivor in the News
TL;DR Drug addiction is notoriously hard to film in a way that conveys both its terrors and its allure. In the first episode, PATRICK MELROSE fails badly, substituting OTT histrionics for the desperate, surreal rhythms of addiction. I almost stopped watching after a couple lines … Continue readingWatching Patrick Melrose
If we discover that childhood trauma is negatively influencing our adult lives, what do we do about it? Will remembering what happened to us and understanding how that experience continues to affect us actually help? As someone who has been a therapist for more than … Continue readingYour history is not your destiny.
Maintaining healthy boundaries is a challenge for all of us these days, especially in the face of new technologies. As with conventional advertising, companies such as Facebook and Google have put a lot of money and research into engineering boundary failure. Mechanisms to capture our … Continue readingTechnology is the front line of boundary control.