Dorothy Winter 7/11/22 Dorothy Winter 7/11/22

Keepsakes & Grief

I have always kept hold of keepsakes- maybe you are the same? It began with stones and shells like most kids, and then developed into tokens from adventures, boys I fancied, notes passed in class. These objects were important to me, the same as any teenage diary. They represented rites of passage or terrible heartbreak, but they were mine, for me to rediscover again and again. So often I would examine them, heart pour over them, dive into them for melancholy and nostalgia, to cry and laugh.

Dorothy Winter 5/24/22 Dorothy Winter 5/24/22

The witch in me

I found the witch in me when I daydreamed myself into dating that boy on the bus.

I found the witch in me when I was 6 & astral travelled through the gate in the sky and returned there every night of my young years. Hatching plans, flying, fighting wars.

I found the witch in me when I saw the fairies and pixies my dad pointed out in the wood and sat gazing at the folk in the water.

I found the witch in me when I created a force field around myself to shield myself from hurtful words and temperamental tempers.

I found the witch in me when I learnt I could protect myself by turning energy back around to the sender.

I found the witch in me when I realised I could feel other people's emotions and try and Alka-Seltzer them with my mind & my heart.

I found the witch in me when my hands became instruments to send and receive healing.

I found the witch in me through the simple lighting of a candle.

I found the witch in me when I studied, worshipped, prayed, asked, requested, pleaded and INVOKED.

I found the witch in me in the dark days, in the angst, in the fury, the shame, the pain, envy and madness.

I found the witch in me in the light, in the sun, in the glory glory glory Hosanna and in kindness, peace and LOVE FOR ALL.

I found the witch in me when I was in recovery, when I thought I would die from sadness and lonliness. When I could not be rescued or rescue myself. I found the witch in me when I had given up.

I found the witch in me and then through me: my mother, my grandmother and her mother and her mother and her mother and her mother.

I found the witch in me and remembered who I was.

#ifoundthewitchinme #witch

Dorothy Winter 10/20/21 Dorothy Winter 10/20/21

Mending parts & self love

Dorothy Winter 10/20/21 Dorothy Winter 10/20/21

trauma informed care in spiritual healing

Dorothy Winter 10/20/21 Dorothy Winter 10/20/21

Affirmations for trauma survivers

Dorothy Winter 10/20/21 Dorothy Winter 10/20/21

bodymap

Dorothy Winter 6/7/21 Dorothy Winter 6/7/21

The physiology of trauma

Trauma and chronic stress have a direct effect on the body and the automatic nervous system.

We can react in various ways from perceived threat and harm such as mobilisation responses like fighting or fleeing. These actions that are performed have us either confronting or hiding from the danger. These responses are fuelled by adrenalin and cortisol which power us up to move quickly, sending blood to our muscles, changing our heart rate, and blood pressure.

If these options do not help us to escape or survive, or if our brain does not see this as an advantage- we will immobilise, freeze, and play dead. This is a shut down method, or dissociation. The body decreases in oxygen, blood pressure and heart rate and we are flooded with body numbing endorphins so we can be shielded from pain.

Dorothy Winter 5/28/19 Dorothy Winter 5/28/19

THE TRAUMA WAS NOT YOUR FAULT.

The trauma was not your fault. How the automatic nervous system acts on our behalf to keep us safe when it senses danger and threat. How you responded to the danger is wired in and is not part of the cognitive/thinking brain.