Posts by Tammy René
Is it Gratitude or Blinders?
Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, but sometimes accentuating the positive can be a way of masking truths we don’t want to look at. So, the question I’m asking myself is, “Is it gratitude or blinders?” Blinders Blinders are leather pieces that are placed on either side of a horse’s head next to its eyes.…
Read MoreLearning to Let It Be Healed
“Let it, rather, be healed.” (Hebrews 12:13 KJV) A simple statement, but sometimes a difficult journey. I’ve always hated feeling stuck. I don’t like limitations. But, navigating the pain and intense fear that is a result of childhood abuse, is a long and arduous process. It is difficult to let go of the fear and…
Read MoreExploring the Mystery of Faith
Recently, a friend asked, “What is this mystery of faith you all talk about?” We are both part of a group of friends that are working our way through healing from PTSD. Some members of the group talk about how prayer and believing in Jesus Christ help them on their journey. This man was horribly…
Read MoreStrength in the Spirit-Body Connection
Since the time I was a child, I have viewed my body and spirit as separate entities. The spirit-body connection alluded me. As an adult I have come to understand intellectually the inherent connectedness of the two. But the severe sexual abuse I endured as a child has made it difficult to internalize the truths…
Read MoreDisabling Emotional Triggers
The trouble with PTSD is how just when you think you’re on a good path and doing fine, something along the way triggers old emotion and you find yourself suddenly in a pit with no way out. Finding light in the darkness and disabling emotional triggers seems impossible. Panic ensues and you feel powerless to…
Read MoreCan I Cry Now?
Can I cry now? is a question that haunts me. Stuffed inside my brain is the notion that I shouldn’t feel sad, angry, anxious, or scared. If I was truly “good enough”, I would only feel positive emotions and expected to be in a constant state of Nirvana. I am a prisoner of the belief…
Read MoreMoving from “Why?” to “What now?”
Growing up, I was the shaky sort—not sure of myself and often feeling the outcast. A dark cloud hung in my heart, keeping my true self somewhere beyond the shadows of fear and anxiety. I searched for a light strong enough to counter the dark. Relief came in the Light I found in Jesus Christ.…
Read MoreFacing the Dragon
“Wow! Look at that sunset” our friend belted with his usual over-the-top enthusiasm. I sat quietly looking out over the mountains. The flaming colors of the clouds billowed in defiance of the setting sun, but the scene didn’t permeate anything deeper in me than an intellectual acknowledgment of its beauty. It’s not that I never…
Read MoreHealing Emotional Trauma and Building on the Light
Emotional trauma has a way of twisting reality, making it hard to see our way to healing. The pain and fear gets a strangle-hold on our hope, blinding us to the very light that can sustain us through the hardship. Trauma has a way of sneaking up on most of us. For some it is…
Read MoreHealing Truths
Childhood abuse resulted in most of my energy being used to fight feelings of worthlessness and despair. At one of my lowest points as a teenager, a leader in our youth group reached out to me for help with a project. Her “needing” me planted a seed of hope—maybe there was something inside me of…
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