"When expressing that I felt I couldn't do something because no one in my family had done it, my therapist said, 'Be the first to do it so your daughter doesn't have to.' It broke me. "I don't want my daughter crying to a therapist in 25 years, feeling like she can't do what she needs to do to be happy because her mother didn't.""
"My therapist told me, 'You've been wearing a backpack your whole life and filling it up with all your traumas. You've worn your backpack for too long; it's too heavy for you. It's time to start unpacking and lighten the load, one thing at a time. We can start with writing on cheap glass plates what you're letting go and then breaking them.' "I loved her. She was certified in PTSD, childhood and adolescent trauma, and adult trauma. She is the kindest human I know.""
Therapy requires time and patience, and breakthroughs may take years or occur in a single transformative moment. Clinicians offer practical reframes such as: the brain is wired to keep one alive rather than happy, so one must actively pursue what brings joy; become the first in a family to model change to prevent passing limitations to children; remove relational labels to evaluate whether someone belongs in one's life; and gradually unpack lifelong trauma through symbolic acts. These approaches emphasize actionable steps, reframing, intergenerational responsibility, and incremental processing to lighten emotional burdens.
Read at BuzzFeed
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]