Trauma Survivors Blog

As the year comes to a close, it’s easy to look back at all the goals you set in January and feel like you’ve failed if you didn’t reach...

Sometimes the hardest part of the holidays isn’t what’s happening. It’s what isn’t. The empty chair at the table. The traditions that no longer feel the same. The absence of someone you wish could be there. The holidays are supposed to bring people together, but when you’re grieving, estranged, or protecting yourself from unsafe spaces, the season can highlight loneliness in ways that feel especially sharp.

Self-blame is one of the heaviest burdens survivors carry. It creeps in quietly.

Harm hurts, no matter the intent. Even if someone didn’t mean to upset you, your pain is still real, and you are still allowed to feel it.

The holidays are framed as a season of joy, connection, and celebration. Every commercial is filled with smiling families, every song on the radio insists it’s the “most wonderful time of the year,” and social media is overflowing with decorated trees and cheerful traditions. But what if you don’t feel that way?