Whether you're grieving someone you loved, navigating painful memories, or simply trying to make it through the season, there is nothing wrong with you.

You are human.
You are adapting.
And you deserve gentleness through this season.

Research shows that up to 80% of people with PTSD experience chronic inflammation (Michopoulos et al., 2017).
When we live through repeated or extreme stress, our bodies release pro-inflammatory cytokines — chemicals meant to help us fight infection. But when they stay elevated, they begin to affect mood, cognition, and immunity.

Resilience is not about pretending things are okay or “bouncing back” as if nothing changed. It’s about adapting — finding ways to keep going through profound difficulty. 

When trauma happens, your brain doesn’t fail you — it protects you.

It rewires itself for survival, even if that means staying on high alert long after the danger has passed. Just as a fever helps fight infection, your brain and body activate certain regions and quiet others in response to threat. Stress hormones surge, heart rate increases, and attention narrows — all designed to keep you safe.

This is wisdom at work. Your body knows how to protect you.

Trauma recovery isn’t linear. Setbacks, avoidance, and triggers are all part of the journey. With intention — and a path like the Resolve to Rise Roadmap — you can build resilience, honor your pace, and find healing.

When we hear the word trauma, many of us think of extreme events — combat, natural disasters, or violence. But the truth is, trauma touches far more lives than we realize, and its impact can take many forms.

This week’s Resolve to Rise series explored the question: What is trauma, and how does it affect us? Here’s a deeper look at what you need to know.

The belief is simple and profound: when something has been broken, it can be put back together in a way that celebrates its story and as a result is stronger, more beautiful, and even more valuable than before.

Healing from trauma is a deeply personal journey—one that requires patience, persistence, and self-compassion. While trauma recovery looks different for everyone, research shows that consistent daily practices can play a vital role in supporting emotional healing, improving mental health, and building long-term resilience.

Why We Expect So Much From Ourselves in Hard Times—and How to Shift That Perspective?

Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who spent years in Auschwitz, famously said: “An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.”

If we know that stress and extreme challenges can cause us to respond in ways we wouldn’t under ordinary circumstances, why do we still expect so much from ourselves?

In the wake of a devastating event—whether it’s a flood, hurricane, tornado, wildfire, or earthquake—the impact doesn’t end when the skies clear. The physical damage may be visible, but the emotional and psychological reverberations often continue for weeks, months, or even years.

Painful experiences may feel like detours or even dead ends, but they can become the foundation for something more integrated, meaningful, and enduring.

There was a season when I didn’t like myself, trusted no one, and was on a path of self-destruction. Repetitive abuse had convinced me I was broken. Today my nervous system is calm, my relationships are healthy, and Resolve to Rise exists to help others make the same journey—from “I’m broken” to “I’m resilient and able to heal.”

The pivot point? Belief. Before we talk solutions, let’s name exactly how abuse rewires it.

If this sounds like you…

• You live with severe anxiety, severe depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or another serious mental illness (SMI).

• You’ve survived extreme—or even repeated—trauma.

• Your doctors focus on meds for mood, psychosis, or anxiety but rarely ask about your trauma

If that’s your reality, this post is for you.

You’ve been doing the work.
You’ve gone to therapy.
You’ve read the books.
You’ve made real progress.

So why are you still getting triggered?

Attachment styles are patterns of relating to others, formed during early childhood based on your interactions with caregivers. If those early relationships were safe, responsive, and consistent, you likely developed a secure attachment—the foundation for healthy relationships later in life.

But when those relationships were neglectful, abusive, or unpredictable, the result can be long-term emotional dysregulation, fear of connection, and difficulties in trusting others—core features of Complex PTSD.

When you are going through something or start noticing past events re-emerging and negatively impacting your life, it’s not uncommon to start seeking answers. You may wonder what is wrong with you? Was what happened to you traumatic? Do the symptoms your experience mean you were abused as a child? 

We aren’t going to answer all of those questions today, but let’s explore some important things to know about trauma. 

When painful times feel like too much to bear they can become all-consuming and begin to break us down and diminish our hope. What if there was another option? In this post, we discuss just that; how can transform discouragement into hope and healing.

"We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. We’ve got to go through it."

That phrase, from the beloved children’s book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, holds a deep truth about healing from trauma.

Most of us want to move past pain as quickly as possible—to avoid it, numb it, or bury it under our daily responsibilities. But the only way to truly heal is by going through it.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be debilitating, affecting every aspect of life—from relationships to daily functioning. Fortunately, research has identified several evidence-based treatments that have been shown to help individuals process trauma and reclaim their lives.

However, if you’ve ever started PTSD treatment only to find your symptoms getting worse, you’re not alone. Some of the most proven therapies for PTSD can actually increase distress before leading to improvement.

So, why does this happen? And what can you do if these treatments feel overwhelming? Let’s break it down.

Growing up in a highly disciplined or authoritarian household can shape how we navigate life in profound ways. Some individuals internalize the rules and norms they were raised with, following them without question, while others react against them, defining themselves by opposition rather than genuine personal values. In both cases, our upbringing continues to exert control over us, whether through obedience or defiance.