Break the Pattern

Here is a list of books that have helped me understand and navigate Trauma so I could rewrite my own narrative.
If you have any suggestions 📚, drop a comment; I’ll reply.
🔗: click any of the titles or images to find the book online

Alice Miller

This bestselling book examines childhood trauma and the enduring effects it has on an individual’s management of repressed anger and pain.

Why this is recommended​

• Very direct

• Makes connections to how early childhood development and the dynamics with your mother have affected your entire life

• So much of what we do as adults is driven by our desire to be seen and loved unconditionally.

• Healing this is possible.

Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

“Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society.” —Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies

Why this is recommended

• Learn that Trauma is more of how you experienced/processed an event than what actually happened.

• PTSD is not reserved for veterans. Everyday events can cause it.

• Understand how the brain mechanically processes stimulation and applies meaning, including events that create traumatic imprints on our psyches.

• Hang on tight; this is an intense journey.

Christiane Northrup

“Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society.” —Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies

Why this is recommended

• In order to understand how people/events have affected you in the past, you must understand why they act that way in the first place.

• The question is; why have you tolerated this kind of behavior, this kind of energy-suck in your life for so long?

Jackson MacKenzie

“… new chapters, updated content, and real survivor experiences—that will help you recover from emotionally abusive relationships with narcissists, sociopaths, and other toxic people.

Why this is recommended

• There are a number of personality traits that are consistent in “true psychopaths”

• We all have all of them, to varying degrees of course.

• You must be able to identify these traits in both yourself and those around you (especially if you find yourself tolerating abusive behavior)

Viktor E. Frankl

“A book for finding purpose and strength in times of great despair…?

Why this is recommended

• When looking back on your past, you must be able to find meaning in all that suffering.

• Learn to put your feelings into perspective as you journey through Viktor Frankl’s experience in the WWII Concentration camps.

• If you can find the reason for your experiences, both “good or bad,”… you can decide to use them for growth and empowerment.

Julia Cameron

“Do not expect your (creatively) blocked friends to applaud your recovery. That’s like expecting your best friends from the bar to celebrate your sobriety. How can they when their own drinking is something that they want to hold onto?”

Why this is recommended

• Is like someone holding your hand for 12 weeks as you explore your inner child/vulnerabilities

• Takes away the intimidation of journaling

• Empowers you to use journaling as a tool to discover and explore all parts of yourself

Joseph Campbell

“The ultimate aim of the quest must be neither release nor ecstasy for oneself, but the wisdom in the power to serve others.

One of the many distinctions between the celebrity and the hero, he said, is that one lives only for self while the other acts to redeem society.”

Why this is recommended

• The perfect intro into the world of Mythology, Archetypes, and Symbolism

• Teaches you to look at life/story as metaphorical as opposed to literal (it’s a superpower)

• It is critical to understand how humans respond to words and symbols of meaning throughout history and today

• You must understand how to see your story through applied meaning and not just through the literal interpretation from the initial experience.

Joseph Campbell

“.. – symbolic expression is given to the unconscious desires, fears, and tensions that underlie the conscious patterns of human behavior. Mythology, in other words, is psychology misread as biography, history, and cosmology.”

Why this is recommended

• When you can understand the “Monomyth” or “Hero’s Journey”, you’ll understand how similar your journey is to others….

• This will help you make more sense of how events play out in your life and in the lives of those around you

• Empathy is a superpower

Drop a comment of a book that’s inspired your inner-journey - ⬇️