“Trauma is hell on earth. Trauma resolved is a gift from the gods.”
― Peter A. Levine

“If your body is screaming in pain, whether the pain is muscular contractions, anxiety, depression, asthma or arthritis, a first step in releasing the pain may be making the connection between your body pain and the cause. “Beliefs are physical. A thought held long enough and repeated enough becomes a belief. The belief then becomes biology.”
― Marilyn Van M. Derbur, Miss America By Day: Lessons Learned From Ultimate Betrayals And Unconditional Love

“Through mirror neurons and resonance circuitry, we are taking in each other's bodily state, feelings and intention in each emerging moment (Iacoboni, 2009).

This gives us an approximate empathic sense of what is happening in the other person, but it is important to be aware that the information is also being filtered through our implicit lens.

This filtering colors our perceptions and pretty much guarantees there will be ruptures that invite repairs, as our offers of empathy will sometimes not reflect what the other person is experiencing.”
― Bonnie Badenoch, The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships

“But you can’t escape from shadows or pain. You only find new ones. It’s better, I think, not to try to escape them at all but to accept that they will be there, and to remember that good things happen, too, even if you can’t always see them.”
― Christina Henry, Looking Glass

“Interpersonal neurobiology asks us to place no boundaries on where and how it might illuminate our world.

It is possible that every moment has the potential to be therapeutic in some way.”
― Bonnie Badenoch, The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships

“Ryan always had a special relationship with his father and considered him his best friend and hero. The thought of him walking away was a pain he could not bear and he realized he was at the lowest point of his life.” SEEN, Day 25”
― Rebecca Medina Stewart, Seen: Experiencing God's Tenderness After Brokenness

“While Humans of Cannabis in a Renaissance of Hope is filled with stories of hope, it is also a reminder of the work that remains. Thousands of people remain incarcerated in the United States for cannabis-related offenses, even as legalization sweeps across the country. The fight for justice and equity is far from over.
My hope is that this book inspires readers to see cannabis not as a divisive issue but as a unifying force. Whether you are passionate about medical miracles, criminal justice reform, or community healing, these stories demonstrate the profound impact of this plant.”
― Tamara Lyn Netzel, Humans of Cannabis in a Renaissance of Hope

“We heal the past by living in the present and visioning the future we deserve.”
― Anthon St. Maarten

“It is said the sum of the numb means we have succumbed to acceptance. I call that self-rejecting.”
― Vennie Kocsis

“My body will never tell you what my favorite flower is
Or how I want them more than only once a year
It won't tell you that I love to knit
But have never finished a single project
It will never show you that I hate sunrises
Or that every night I tell the stars goodnight before bed
Or how much I love horror movies
even though I always get too scared to sleep alone afterward
My body will never let you know my worst memories
My body will never share my deepest secrets
Or ever utter my most hopeful of wishes
You never seemed to understand that.”
― Emilia Thornrose, There's This Girl

“It's not shameful to seek help for a wound," Mischa continued. "Whether a wound to your body, or one to your mind.”
― Laura R. Samotin, The Sins on Their Bones

“Certain bodies don't belong to their inhabitants. Never have, never will again. A persistent, inescapable, and horrific truth known by millions of unsettled bodies. The Fear.

It had always been there, but I could see it now. Could really recognize it. And once that happens, once you see it, you can't look away. Can't ever quiet it. Can't ever forget that you don't belong to yourself anymore, but to the hands, fists, cuffs, and bullets of a stranger.”
― Jason Mott, Hell of a Book

“True meaning liberates the feeling.”
― SCMontenegro

“When left with a history for which there are no words, we read our way toward healing.”
― Daniella Mestyanek Young

“I once thought the chains
were meant to protect me,
to keep me from the unknown,
but they only made me small.”
― Tolu . A, Wild Woman: Ode to the Forgotten Muse

“I was taught to fear my own body, but today, I stand proud of every scar, for they are symbols of resilience, not weakness”
― Hagir Elsheikh

“رفتہ رفتہ اِس اِحساسِ کمتری کو ہرانے لگے ہیں

کُچھ بچپن کے صدمے

کُچھ بدقِسمتی کے قِصّے

آہِستہ آہِستہ بھُلانے لگے ہیں

کُفر ہے مایوسی دینِ اِسلام میں

بس یہی سوچ کر آج پھِر مُسکُرانے لگے ہیں”
― Adeel Ahmed Khan

“The past cannot be changed through dreams, but the effects of trauma may be.”
― Jennifer J. Brown, When the Baby Is Not OK: Hopes & Genes

“Forgiveness is not a method to bypass or avoid the long and at times brutal trauma recovery process.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Many trauma survivors anxiously wait for their offender(s) to die and aren’t bothered by their death when it occurs, or they feel relieved when their offender(s) are finally gone.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Revenge fantasies can be beneficial in trauma recovery. They bring significant catharsis and reestablish a sense of empowerment after one has been made to feel powerless.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Forgiveness should be considered an elective option – not a requirement – in trauma recovery.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“There is a popular misconception in many societies that offenders who are genetically related to you are entitled to forgiveness. This makes little sense.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Forgiveness is not a panacea. It does not make trauma disappear, nor does it heal all emotional wounds.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Comparing your traumatic experience with another’s doesn’t make sense; if trauma were a competition, every survivor would be a winner.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Anger is vital in trauma recovery. It starts by shielding us from those frightening, overwhelming, and devastating emotions that are waiting for us behind that door. We can hold onto that shield until we feel safe enough to open the door and cross the threshold; then, anger turns from a shield to a key.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Shame is the bane of my existence both as a trauma therapist and as a survivor, as it is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome in trauma recovery. It can masquerade as guilt, pessimism, or having a low opinion of yourself, but the reality is that it’s much more damaging and invasive, as shame erodes the fabric of our self-worth and identity.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Listen to me closely, okay? You cannot change the past. You can’t change what happened. All you can do is accept that it happened. Wondering about the ‘maybes’ and the ‘what ifs’ isn’t going to change your future. The only thing that’s going to help you now is accepting what happened and appreciating the fact that everything is okay. You made it out of that situation alive, mostly unharmed, and intact. Your daughter made it through that ordeal unharmed. Your husband is alive and here for you, too. You have so many more positive things to think about. Don’t let yourself dwell on things that can’t be changed.”
― Melissa Smith - Melissa J Smith, When You Fight

“Blessedly, she’d given up on ghost stories in her childhood. No. This was simply the imagination of a woman who had lived too long in fear. But no more.”
― KyLee Woodley, The Bounty Hunter's Surrender

“No matter how far you run from your past it is never far behind you”
― Eddie Capparucci, Why Men Struggle to Love : Overcoming Relational Blind Spots