Composure at any cost?
In addition to triggering an avalanche of health issues, suppressing negative emotions can also impact our cognitive functioning. One study notes that emotional suppression “impaired incidental memory for information presented during the suppression period.” Essentially, our brain is too busy suppressing emotions to remember details about what happened.
Open the ledgers
It means a reordering of resources and attention, a casting down of the powerful and exalting the lowly, an unflinching attempt to humbly engage something that isn’t crisply & mathematically defined—the unquantifiable wreckage of both individual and collective sin.
My Body Remembers
Leaving a high-control community like CFC inevitably leaves a void. People who we love and respect are still there. Many stay too long because the community feels so strong and the energy so loving, until they see that the cost for that community is to slowly relinquish nearly all individuality and control. So sometimes I grieve. I grieve for the lost relationships, the lost trust, the lost years.
Victim Blaming in the Church
Victim blaming is the act of holding a person responsible for the harm they have experienced or the crime committed against them. This often looks like attributing blame or responsibility to the victim for their own victimization, rather than the perpetrator or other external factors.
Emotions & Abuse: Part 2
God created us with emotions. Our God-given emotions keep us safe, help us live an abundant life, and motivate us to take action based on our values and goals.
Emotions & Abuse
I was and still am a serious Christian, and it was important to me to obey God. But I thought that meant I had to do things that felt really bad to me. If it felt hard, that was probably God telling me to do something.
You Are the Author of Your Story
When I first left, I didn’t tell many people about my past or background. I wanted to put it all behind me and move on with my life now that I had my freedom. But I had experienced so much disempowerment that I was struggling to move on. I slowly began writing down my story, and I discovered great healing in the process of putting my experience into words.
The Lord is my courage
Honesty about our hurt empowers us to hope in God who stretches out a staff to comfort us. Courage is a continuous choice to be honest about the reality of harm while reaching for hope, even when it is inconvenient and even when it bristles against cultural and religious expectations that equate goodness with niceness.
Researching the effect of trauma
It is projected that people who have experienced trauma are up to seven times more likely to develop chronic health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.
Trauma is more likely to cause health complications even in people who maintain a healthy diet, stay active, and do not indulge in drugs and alcohol. Young people are more at risk for the effects of trauma specifically because our brains are still developing and will not be fully developed until age 25.