About

Photo credit: Rebel Recovery

I am a former mental health therapist in my 50’s, a woman with a graduate education who, a few years ago, found myself on a medical leave from my job.  That leave turned into an extended time away as I dealt with — and still deal with — the reality of my own mental health difficulties.

My mental health issues stem from chronic, unacknowledged trauma, mainly from psychological abuse, in my family of origin.

Since beginning appropriate treatment for these issues, I have also come head-to-head with some other problems.  I had financial issues and declared bankruptcy.  I also recognized my issues with alcohol and decided to become sober.  I write about these things — and other deeply personal struggles — in this blog, too.

It does not escape me that to some readers it may seem ironic that a mental health therapist is unaware of the precise condition of her own mental health. My use of the term ‘appropriate’ in the preceding paragraph is intentional. What I have reaffirmed for myself in my journey is that the lasting psychological effects of childhood trauma on adults is often not understood properly by mental health professionals. The concept of dissociation, specifically, is often either disacknowledged or poorly understood.

The term ‘recovery’ encompasses an array of meanings. It is used to refer to corrections in an economy following a downturn; it is used for the process of combating addictions and other health disorders; and it is also used more generally to describe a process of finding or repairing something that has been lost, stolen or broken.

Dissociation is a protective psychological strategy used by human beings in situations of trauma or overwhelm. However, ultimately, dissociation used heavily over time results in a loss of parts of the self. My blog therefore is about Recovery in what I consider to be the capital R sense of that concept: Recovery of self.

Recovery of who I was always meant to be.

My journey is about becoming whole.

Thank you for joining me.

Yours,

Annie.