Renegotiating relationships with traumatic memories
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Welcome to another edition of Life as a Lunatic. Perhaps a year or so ago, I was in the midst of an emotional argument with my partner when the light in our apartment took on the strange golden hue of my childhood afternoons. In reality, my partner approached me in our kitchen in an attempt to comfort me. All I saw was a menacing figure, backlit and cast in shadow, barreling toward me. My heart raced from the danger I perceived, and I tried to flee. At the same time, my partner tried to hug me. Instead of taking comfort in his arms, I screamed, flailed, and fought to get away from him, believing in that moment he was my stepdad trying to hurt me and not my partner trying to help me. It was finally hearing his voice between my screams that brought me back to reality.
Renegotiating relationships with traumatic memories
Renegotiating relationships with traumatic…
Renegotiating relationships with traumatic memories
Welcome to another edition of Life as a Lunatic. Perhaps a year or so ago, I was in the midst of an emotional argument with my partner when the light in our apartment took on the strange golden hue of my childhood afternoons. In reality, my partner approached me in our kitchen in an attempt to comfort me. All I saw was a menacing figure, backlit and cast in shadow, barreling toward me. My heart raced from the danger I perceived, and I tried to flee. At the same time, my partner tried to hug me. Instead of taking comfort in his arms, I screamed, flailed, and fought to get away from him, believing in that moment he was my stepdad trying to hurt me and not my partner trying to help me. It was finally hearing his voice between my screams that brought me back to reality.