A Lot Of Pop Psychology Gets Thrown Around And Since I Already Have A Headache, Here's Preventing You

Stephanie Foo, What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma

Thanks🥺💕

"What if my friends secretly hate me?" What if they pray for you before bed? What if they hear a song come on and it makes them immediately think of you? What if when times are hard for them, they close their eyes and think of the memories they've shared with you? What if they study your face closely to see how you're feeling? What if they listen to your stories? What if they smile when you text them first? What if

you don’t talk too much. you aren’t too loud. you aren’t too needy. you aren’t too sensitive. you aren’t too this, or that. you aren’t too much anything. you will never be too much: you are you, and you are allowed to take up space. you are allowed to exist however you choose.

— Me (ice frog) // is there a right way to feel?

“I lied and said I was busy.

I was busy;

but not in a way most people understand.

I was busy taking deeper breaths.

I was busy silencing irrational thoughts.

I was busy calming a racing heart.

I was busy telling myself I am okay.

Sometimes, this is my busy -

and I will not apologize for it.”

- Brittin Oakman

- Artwork : Sivan.ka

“Childhood trauma trains us to anticipate other people's needs while ignoring our own. As we heal, we rediscover ourselves.”

— Thema Bryant, PhD

Powerful stuff here. One of the biggest things for me was realizing that I had been in survival mode for years, something that kept me from developing close friendships with others during my teen years and early 20s. There is some interest now, but time also has moved on.