The Holistic Healing Center, LLC

10/31/2025

💯

10/29/2025

We often assume “processing trauma” looks the same for everyone: sit in therapy, talk it through, feel the emotions. But for many people, simply remembering can reopen the wound.

When the body doesn’t yet feel safe, the brain can’t tell the difference between past and present. The amygdala fires, stress hormones surge, and you’re no longer remembering - you’re reliving.

That’s why trauma processing has to be personalized.
Some people need to start with somatic work to bring the body out of survival mode.

Others need modalities like EMDR, parts-oriented therapy, or neurofeedback to help the brain safely rewire the memory.

Healing isn’t about forcing yourself to “face it.” It’s about creating the safety and support that allow your system to integrate it.

Because when your body no longer treats the memory as a threat - that’s when remembering becomes rewiring and healing begins.

10/28/2025

10/11/2025

Most of us try to get rid of painful thoughts:
“I shouldn’t feel this way.”
“Stop overthinking.”
“Just move on.”

But here’s what neuroscience shows us—
the more you fight a thought, the louder your brain makes it.

That’s because your amygdala interprets that inner struggle as danger, and your prefrontal cortex—the part that helps you regulate—temporarily shuts down.

So instead of calming your mind, you end up reliving the same emotional loop.

Those thoughts that keep looping aren’t random.
Many were formed in moments when your brain was trying to protect you.

That’s why healing isn’t about forcing positive thoughts—it’s about changing how you relate to what arises inside you. When you meet a thought with curiosity instead of judgment, you send a powerful signal to your body: “I’m safe now.”

Your body doesn’t know the difference between an external threat and an internal one. So if you meet your thoughts with fear or frustration, your brain reads that as danger— and your amygdala, the part that scans for threat, amplifies the sense of threat.

But when you pause, breathe, and simply notice what’s happening—without trying to fix or silence it—your nervous system receives a different message.

The amygdala quiets.
The prefrontal cortex—responsible for reasoning, reflection, and choice—comes back online.
And that’s where neuroplasticity begins.

Your brain starts building new connections that link awareness with safety instead of threat. Over time, that repetition teaches your mind:

“I can think and feel difficult things without being in danger.”

That’s what true rewiring looks like—not controlling your thoughts, but creating safety inside your relationship with them.

So the next time an old thought shows up— “you’re not enough,” “something bad will happen,” “they’ll leave”— pause. Notice it. Soften your response.

You don’t have to believe it or banish it. You can simply get curious about it—maybe even listen to what it’s trying to protect.

That’s where healing begins.

07/02/2025

Thoughts? Is it hard to enforce boundaries? Explore why through a 5 minute journal entry. Boundaries are hard to set and enforce, especially with family.

06/11/2025

It’s okay to:
✅ Feel insecure
✅ Ask for help
✅ Cry
✅ Be vulnerable

Men deserve the full range of human emotions — and the support to navigate them.

Find help and support here: nami.org/menshealthmonth

06/10/2025

Words from my book The Strength That Stays 🌹