Although this isn’t an actual diagnosis in the DSM, it is very real and it is very destructive.
I have had first hand experience with someone who has this condition and I live with a very real mental illness that was caused by that person.
I made a quick video outlining the basics.
I hope you find it helpful.
Love Athina ♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
Childhood trauma produces physiological effects upon the developing brain that have an adverse effect upon the individual’s stress response system.
Childhood trauma is likely to increase a person’s vulnerability to falling victim to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
FACTS ABOUT CFS.
The symptoms of CFS are as follows :
– persistent fatigue/exhaustion which affects everyday life and is not rectified by sleep or rest
– in the UK, the condition is thought to affect approximately a quarter of a million people
– the condition is more prevalent in females than in males
– it normally affects people between about the ages of 20 – 45 years; however, it can begin during childhood – if so, it normally begins between the ages of 13 and 15 years
CFS can be split into 3 different levels of severity :
– MILD : the person can probably care for him/herself, but may require days off in order to rest
– MODERATE : at this level the individual may well experience reduced mobility, disturbed sleep, as well as a need to sleep in the afternoon
– SEVERE : at this level the person will have significantly decreased mobility, possible impairments to his/her ability to concentrate as well as greatly reduced ability to perform many everyday tasks
Individuals with CFS who were tested in various studies, had higher overall trauma scores than those without CFS.
Exposure to trauma increases the risk of CFS between three and eight times, depending on the type. Emotional neglect and sexual abuse during childhood were most strongly associated with CFS.
It generally appears that CFS is part of a spectrum of disorders that are associated with childhood adversity.
Do you suffer with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
As someone who lives with CPTSD, I would say that I suffer from it moderately.
What is your experience?
Love Athina ♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
As many of you already know, my journey to qualifying as a Life Coach, was based on my own recovery from my narcissistically abusive parents.
For those of you who don’t follow my more personal blog, I wanted to just give you a little insight into my own struggles.
In the last few days, I have been struggling with contact again from my father, after 1 year and a half of not speaking.
I sent him a letter, so he could stop harrassing me by phone.
I never exclusively told him I wanted no contact, but after a very traumatic time following his attempted suicide, (as a way of stopping his wife from leaving him) he gave me the silent treatment for a year, so I just went along with it.
I was not willing to respond to him and was already in a grieving process, even though there was no closure of any sort.
When he finally decided to start hoovering me back in with his phonecalls and sudden caring, I continued to ignore his calls. This communication from him went on for 8 months. I finally got fed up with the constant calls that I decided to send him a letter to end our relationship. I briefly explained my reasons and gave him the chance to reply.
I received his reply and it hit me really hard! More than I expected it to.
I realised that I still had a tiny glimmer of hope that he might change his behaviour and this was a huge setback for me. I also realised how incredibly strong the trauma bonding is between us, even more so than with my mother.
As a means of coping with my recent distress and the final letter to him, which I am in the process of writing at the moment, I created the below video!
It outlines what I have been going through and what many other survivors of abuse face all the time.
Please feel free to share it, if you think it may help others.
Just visit my Youtube page and embed it into your page.
Thanks for reading
Love Athina ♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder is a long-term condition that causes you to feel anxious about a wide range of situations and issues, rather than one specific event.
People with GAD feel anxious most of the time and often struggle to remember the last time they felt truly relaxed. They are constantly affected by worried thinking, which can affect their daily routines, their work, their appetite and their sleep.
GAD can cause both psychological (mental) and physical symptoms. These vary from person to person, but can include:
GAD can commonly also co-occur with other mental health disorders such as social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, (C)PTSD or depression.
GAD can be caused by genetics, by childhood trauma or loss or by an imbalance of serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain.
If you are affected by GAD, then please feel free to share your experience.
I am offering free initial consultations to anyone who is affected and is in need of support.
Love Athina ♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
This is a topic I previously covered on my personal blog last year but it is important to highlight again, especially in the current climate.
Most extremely powerful & wealthy people in this world, are usually void of empathy. Politicians, country leaders, business tycoons etc..
Narcissists and especially overt & malignant narcissists, lack empathy, lack self insight and aren’t able to form healthy & reciprocal relationships.
In this video, I talk about the importance of money in a narcissist’s world.
I talk about financial abuse and how narcissists may use this sort of abuse.
Having had first hand experience with a narcissistic & very controlling father, I have witnessed the obsession of a narcissist with his money & how he uses it in his life, to harm those close to him.
If you have experienced financial abuse or known someone who has used money in a harmful way, then please feel free to share this in the comments below.
Love Athina ♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
How do we each fit into this world?
Are we defined by whether we have a good job? A good marriage?
Do we feel that we constantly have to measure up to our friends’success?
Do we feel that we have to have the latest gadget, a new car or a big house?
Do we feel like a complete failure if we haven’t secured a stable job?
And what about relationships & family? When someone is single past the age of 40, everyone has an opinion about why that person is still single. If someone is jobless, everyone has an opinion on why that is.
STATUS ANXIETY is a constant worry about whether we are good enough in the world we live in. It is an insecurity about whether our life is a failure or whether it is a success.
Status anxiety is a term I came across after watching a video by Alain de Botton.
Status anxiety happens because we allow our environment to affect our inner world. Status anxiety happens when we allow other people to criticize us or the way we choose to live. It is only natural to become anxious, when we start comparing ourselves to others.
One of the most uncomfortable situations which may trigger status anxiety, is at a social event where you don’t know any of the guests. In such events, such as a party, you can only get to know someone initially by making small talk. You may be approached with questions such as ”What do you do? Where do you live?”. These questions may make you feel uncomfortable or inferior, because you don’t think your job is anything special and you don’t currently like the area you live in. In these situations you worry what the person asking the questions might think of you.
Status anxiety is rooted in judgements or how we think others will judge our choices, beliefs, skills and way of life. Nobody really has any control over the thoughts or judgements of others but everybody has control over how they react to others’ judgements.
If we really don’t care what other people think, then we probably won’t have status anxiety.
Status anxiety also frequently causes envy.We tend to envy in others, what we haven’t quite managed to achieve for ourselves. We may secretly envy the person who seems to have the perfect relationship when we are feeling lonely. We may envy the person who is always going on holidays because we can barely pay the bills with our low-wage job. Envy, can give us insight into a part of our lives we may need to work on.
What is the most important thing to consider when suffering with status anxiety?
Is it more important to worry because we haven’t managed to develop a good career for ourselves? Is success only measured by having a high salary, a perfect marriage and celebrity status?
What is MORE important, is the meaning WE give to our life. If we are happy with all we have achieved (despite all the difficulties or judgements by others), then that is all that matters.
Our judgement of our own life is the most important.
Not everyone is born equally lucky, supported, intelligent, confident or motivated.
The people who are highly successful in business and are making the big bucks, are usually lacking in many other areas in their life. They may lack emotional intelligence and empathy.
If you had a choice in your life, what would it be?
In my personal opinion, success is being a kind & empathetic person.
Success is being able to self-reflect and being able to help others do the same.
Success is being remembered as a good person.
I believe that success shouldn’t be measured by whether you work, have a relationship or have kids.
Success should be measured by the type of person that you are..
When I die in the future, I would much rather be remembered as a good human rather than a successful businesswoman or celebrity. I would much rather be remembered as empathetic, giving, respectful, generous & lovable. I would much rather be remembered as someone who meant something to someone or as someone who inspired others.
If you find that you suffer with status anxiety, make sure that you define your own life in a way that makes you feel comfortable.
At the end of the day, all that really matters is the opinion you have of yourself and the respect and kindness yougive to others.
Love Athina ♥♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
Hello dear followers,
I have just completed the 2nd part of my sexual abuse video series.I know this topic isn’t relevant to a lot of you but for those it is relevant to, I hope it helps.If you have only just started coming to terms with any past sexual abuse, then this video series will be useful.
As I did at the end of the first video, which you can find here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKlfQMVeyBA , in this 2nd video I list a more comprehensive set of questions that you can ask yourself. The more of these you can relate to, the more support you will need in your recovery of sexual abuse.
Much love to you
Athina ♥♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
Incredibly important writing.The ignorance of people will continue to hurt all sufferers of CPTSD. Reducing stigma will remain a constant in my life! Thank you for this brilliant writing Charlotte! ❤
Piers Morgan who is a rent a gob for the Daily Fail newspaper has taken to twitter over the weekend to comment on Lady Gaga’s rape and her suffering of PTSD. In his comments he suggests that as Lady Gaga is a celebrity that her claim of rape and mental illness is a ploy to gain fans and further her brand. Further more Piers has said that he believes it is an illness which only military veterans can experience.
You would be forgiven for thinking (if unaware of this man) that this maybe someone who suffers from PTSD or who has been raped or possibly that they have a medical degree specialising in neurology or psychiatry. However your assumption would be wrong, this man has NO authority on these matters, he is just a hypocrite who ironically has done the very thing he criticises others of doing. He uses his…
View original post 4,267 more words
Sexual abuse of any kind, whether that is long term childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault, has a profound effect on whoever experiences it.
Since starting my first blog nearly 2 years ago, I have come across so many sexual abuse survivors, who have brought me to tears with their resilience and courageousness. I have met both men and women who have been through hell and back and have suffered far worse experiences than I ever did. This video was created with them in mind and for one of them in particular who asked me to do a video on this important topic.
I have learnt so much more about myself through doing research on this heartbreaking topic. I have also learnt how insidious sexual abuse can be and how many layers of trauma a survivor has to work through before reaching a more comfortable state of being.This video will be PART 1 of a 2 video series.It is such a sensitive topic and I want to make sure I cover as much as possible for those who may be affected by a past experience and may not even realise it yet. I am currently working through a list of questions that survivors can ask themselves, so they can have a better idea of where their difficulties lie in relation to sexual intimacy. At the end of this first video I have included some of these questions. How many of these did you answer ‘Yes’ to? I really hope that your answer is ‘None’.
Love Athina ♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
I wanted to share this great article by Psych Central.
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/caregivers/2017/01/15-ways-you-are-resisting-therapy-or-recovery/
It is ok to not ‘click with a therapist’ or to not be ready for therapy.This can also happen in a coaching relationship too. You find someone to assist you on your journey of change or recovery and the 2 of you just don’t have any rapport.
From my own personal experience, rapport is very important in a therapeutic and coaching relationship.
Sometimes there have been sessions where a client isn’t managing to make any progress. There may be emotions that are too painful to deal with, or memories that haven’t quite resurfaced. It might be that they aren’t as commited as they initially set out to be. It might be that they are afraid of exposing the ‘truest’ part of themselves.
Whatever the reason, the Psych Central article is very insightful.
Let me know what you think 🙂
Love Athina ♥
© All blog posts and images are owned by me and Courage Coaching. Please don’t use without consent and only re-blog if you would like to use the information on here.
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