The holiday season has a way of magnifying everything we feel. Joy feels brighter. Lights seem warmer. But pain? Pain feels heavier. This time of year can stir emotions we didn’t expect and memories we weren’t prepared to revisit. Whether it’s the loss of a job, a friendship, a home, your sense of stability, a dream, a loved one, or even a beloved pet; every one of us experiences loss in one way or another. And every loss, big or small, leaves a mark.   But the reality that m

The negative influence of trauma describes the lingering impact of unresolved emotional, mental, and spiritual traumatic experiences. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, trauma is any disturbing experience that results in significant amounts of fear, helplessness, dissociation (separation of the mental connection), confusion, or other disruptive feelings. [i] These effects are commonly intense enough to have a long-lasting negative effect on a person’s attitudes,