What is Spiritual Abuse?
Those who have experienced domestic violence in their intimate partner relationships or families may have been abused in many ways: emotionally, psychologically, physically, sexually, financially. Often, they will also experience spiritual abuse. What exactly is...
The Gift of Retreat and Asking Big Questions
Have you ever been on a retreat? My church offers women's retreats once every other year. They usually invite a speaker who gives a talk 3 or 4 times over the weekend. We breakout into small groups to discuss what the speaker has talked about, and get to know each...
What Does Attachment Have to Do With PTSD?
When we are not securely attached to our primary caregivers, we are more apt to experience PTSD when we are traumatized. What can we do to heal from this, and prevent it from happening to our own children?
Take Off the Pain Goggles Before Dating Again
When we end a bad relationship, our first instinct is to find someone new. If we have not healed, we often choose someone just like the person we left.
Giving Up Our Tendency to Overfunction
In my last blog, I talked about how many of us tend to overfunction in our relationships. Think this is a 21st century idea? Nope. Moses, the prophet who led the Israelites out of Egypt was the quintessential overfunctioner. In Exodus 18:13, we see Moses acting as...
Do You Over-Function?
Do you over-function in your relationships? Many of us do. What do I mean by over-functioning? Before I describe over-functioning, let me describe someone who is functioning optimally. (I found these descriptions in a blog by Dr. Will Meek.) Optimal Functioning...
Submission – What the Bible Really Says
Submission - What the Bible Really Says Biblical Submission. This is a difficult topic. Many abusive spouses and churches take what God meant for good and twist it into something that keeps women in bondage to their abusive spouses. So, what does the Bible really say?...
Rebuilding Your Children’s Trust
In my last blog, I talked about the ways your kids have been affected by the abuse you've experienced, a difficult topic. Today, I will talk about how you can begin to help them heal from the domestic violence you have all experienced once you are no longer...
How the Abuse You Receive Affects Your Kids
In my last blog, I talked about how seeing or experiencing domestic violence affects the lifelong health of children. Today, I explore this further. This is a tough topic, something about which no protective parent wants to think. However, I believe this is vital...
How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime
I recently heard a TedTalk given by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris that talks about how childhood trauma affects a person's health across a lifetime. Even though I have written about this before, hearing it again still shocked me....