At my 15-year reunion, someone told me I should have been a statistic. Here’s what that moment taught me about resilience and the privilege of breaking the cycle of trauma.

Narcissistic traits don’t always mean narcissistic personality disorder. Here’s why understanding the difference matters.

Many people stay in unhealthy or even abusive relationships because early experiences and lessons from their family teach them what to expect in relationships.

Why can someone’s dislike of us feel so threatening—even when we don't even particularly like them? Sometimes we're afraid of what their rejection might mean.

Why does the Lindsay Clancy case feel so unsettling for so many women? It may tap into a familiar fear: knowing something is wrong and wondering whether anyone is listening.

Leaving an abusive relationship doesn't always end the abuse. Learn how to protect your privacy, set social media boundaries, and protect your peace when abuse moves online.

Cognitive dissonance can make abusive behavior difficult to recognize and respond to. Understanding what happens in the brain can help survivors make sense of their own reactions.

The greatest barriers LGBTQ survivors face often aren't just abusive partners—they're the systems that fail to recognize and support them.

Why pressuring survivors to forgive can interrupt healing—and what trauma recovery actually asks of us instead.

Marriage is often said to benefit men more than women—but the real story is how gender shapes emotional support and connection.

Could the iPhone be contributing to the declining birth rates? Or are we asking the wrong question?

We often repeat relationship patterns shaped in childhood, which, for some, might mean repeating the cycle of dysfunction.

Personal Perspective: What happens when children are expected to suppress their pain and become adults?

What to do when old trauma patterns resurface during healing.

Many survivors of abuse blame themselves for "missing the signs." But when abuse was normalized in childhood, harmful behavior can feel familiar.

When someone grows up in an environment where safety and support were inconsistent or absent, they may become hyper-vigilant about protecting their own children from harm.

Historical trauma and minority stress can shape how queer partners cope with fear, danger, and protection in relationships.

Mother’s Day can feel painful and isolating for those navigating different levels of family estrangement. Here’s a tip that may help ease the guilt while honoring your truth.

Struggling to call your past “abuse”? You’re not alone. But you can acknowledge harm and begin healing without forcing a label you’re not ready to use. Here is how.

When someone is abandoned by a parent, the focus often shifts to what they did wrong. This reinforces the trauma and further harms survivors. Here are some ways to respond.

How long is too long to be affected by trauma? Survivors are often told they should be over it—or that it wasn’t “real” trauma. But is getting over it realistic?

Healing could change more than your own life. Learn how breaking relational patterns today can shape safer, healthier futures for generations to come.

Many survivors experience what therapists call terminal uniqueness: the belief that our suffering is so profound or unusual that no one else could possibly understand it.

Many adults grew up in dysfunctional homes without realizing how much it impacted them. Learn why family trauma is hard to see—and how to begin healing from it.

Parents often want to give their children what they never had. But unresolved trauma can shape parenting in ways we don’t always recognize.

Survivors of dysfunctional families often struggle with boundaries because they were never taught—or they were punished for having them.

An abandoned baby macaque’s story reveals what family rejection does to the brain—and how new attachments can help us heal.

Trying to fix the people you love may come from childhood wounds. Learn how boundaries, not rescuing, create healthier relationships and support your own healing.

Are you able to recognize signs of family abuse or dysfunction and how these childhood experiences may be affecting your relationships today?

Personal Perspective: Childhood trauma within the family system can shape attachment, coping, and relationships well into adulthood. Insight alone doesn’t lead to healing.

Ever wonder how childhood trauma follows us into adult relationships? Shame and self-blame can shape behaviors, and healing requires unlearning them.

For many survivors of abandonment, watching others receive support or experience success can be deeply painful, often because those moments reinforce what they did not receive.

Some of the most effective healers are those who have confronted their own pain, done their inner work, and integrated their healing into their practice.

Family estrangement isn’t impulsive or trendy. It’s often the only way survivors can break harmful cycles. Here’s what most people get wrong about going no-contact.

Research shows that systems often fail survivors, especially when abusers hold power. Addressing these failures requires both legal and cultural shifts.

"Diet talk" is always around, but seems inescapable in certain environments. Here are 3 ways to deal when these uncomfortable topics come up.

Tipping has expanded immensely, creating pressure to tip where it never used to exist. But research shows people tip mainly due to social expectations, not because of service.

Growing up with domestic abuse in the home can make survivors more likely to overlook red flags of abuse in adult relationships. Here are five that are commonly overlooked.

Fear of being different can keep survivors from acknowledging their history of abuse in their family of origin.

A new show highlights many of the systemic biases that LGBTQ victims of crimes experience when reporting abuse or other violent crimes.

Early family dynamics can shape our understanding of what abuse looks like. These false beliefs explain why so many people often miss the warning signs.

Living with a caregiver who struggles with substance use can be traumatic for children, leading to long-term mental health challenges and a sense of over-responsibility.

The Trevor Project’s new Project SPARK report offers a look at how LGBTQ+ youth mental health changes over time. While help-seeking has increased, so has suicidal ideation.

Untreated mental illness in a caregiver can be frightening for children, who often end up with a sense of over-responsibility to “take over” and help in the absence of any support.