Thoughts Over Coffee with Shanon from Surviving Childhood Trauma ☕️ Join me for a cup of coffee and some real talk about complex PTSD and trauma healing and recovery.
I recently did a big thing. I made a decision that put myself first; a decision that required conversations that felt confrontational to my system and made my brain feel like I needed to explain and justify myself.
Healthy Ending
I left a position that was not a good fit for me, even though I am good at the job and everything in me told me to “just stick it out a little bit longer”. I created an ending that I chose rather than waiting for the situation to burn me out, make me resentful, and possibly cause a more difficult separation.
It took me weeks of processing with my husband, my therapist, my aunt, and even a couple times in peer group before I knew what my decision was, and even then – it took me days still before I mustered the courage to put in my notice.
It felt like I was letting people down and not keeping my word. I did all this work to find and get this job and now here I am leaving it four months later, what will people think of me?
The Echoes of Childhood Fear
I realized when sitting with my therapist unpacking my hesitations that I was dealing with the echoes of childhood fear stirred up by being authentically me.
I couldn’t tell you who I was afraid of, or what I was afraid would happen to me because logically I knew there were no real threats to my safety, but I was very afraid of the consequences of my actions nonetheless.
I was afraid of being me.
I was afraid of advocating for myself authentically based on what is right for me rather than what is best for others.
I was afraid that I would be judged, attacked, mocked, gaslit, you name it – I feared it.
But that fear is decades old and it belongs to a little girl who desperately wanted to be loved and valued for who she was, not my authentic adult self sitting here typing this today.
Challenging My Fears
Pushing through my fears and trusting both my process and myself didn’t feel good in my body when I was doing it, but now, in the wake of that experience I am learning that being me is the only way to be. It is the also the best way to be.
And what do you know, there were no consequences to my choosing me. I didn’t get in trouble, I was not attacked or mocked, and there were no threats to my safety.
I am safe now, it is okay to be me.✨
On goes the journey 💪🏻❤️🩹🔥
Looking for Ways to Connect With Other Survivors and/or Receive Support as You Heal?
Survivor’s Circle Peer Support Groups might be just what you need.
These small groups meet on alternating days of the week via Zoom. In these groups, survivors connect, share, and support each other through the ebbs and flows of healing. Attend a session and experience the magical healing that happens when survivors connect and support each other through shit only we can understand.
You can also book individual 1:1 peer support sessions with Shanon for private support in a closed space. You deserve support as you heal, and I am here to help. You don’t have to heal alone.
On the Journey Peer Support Monthly Package
As a part of this monthly support program you will gain access to all Survivor’s Circle Peer Support group support sessions every month as well as individual 1:1 peer support sessions with Shanon each month.
Hi, I am Shanon
I am a trauma informed, trained, and Certified Peer Support Specialist in the state of Wisconsin. I am also a survivor with years committed to my own trauma healing after being diagnosed with (C) PTSD due to childhood abuse. Additionally, I have a professional and personal history of community facilitation and peer work.
I specialize in helping survivors like you make connections between real time experiences and past trauma wounds, identify and communicate boundaries, create self-care plans that work, navigate big emotions and trauma responses, reparent your inner child, and embody your own self-worth through the healing process with confidence and personal empowerment.
These support groups and 1:1 peer support sessions should not replace professional therapy; they will however provide additional support and information.
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