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Today I\\u2019m joined by Cindy Wallace, author and mental health therapist, who is here for her first podcast to speak loud about healing from PTSD. Cindy has a bachelor\\u2019s in English and Creative Writing, as well as a master\\u2019s in Social Work, and as a writer has had more than 15 published articles and award-winning prose.\\xa0

Cindy describes that trauma often cuts life into a clean \\u2018before\\u2019 and \\u2018after.\\u2019 She was 16 when she was kidnapped and abused over 24 hours, while no one knew she was gone. When she returned home, she was \\u201ccatatonic,\\u201d and felt she was watching someone else live her life through a lens.\\xa0

Her brain kept telling her to survive, and Cindy did so by pretending she was someone else. She was eventually diagnosed with severe dissociation and chronic PTSD but had blocked the trauma out completely. She had no idea why she had changed or what had happened to her for another 15 years.\\xa0

At 31, Cindy\\u2019s trauma resurfaced while writing a story for creative fiction, resulting in a psychotic break and a 2-week admittance to in-patient. From there, she put in an incredible amount of work to rebuild. Cindy was determined to keep moving and doing things with her life. She has three kids, and at the time, they were her driving force to persevere. While recovering, Cindy learned to use mindfulness as a way to get through the day. \\u201cAll you have to do is put one foot on the floor,\\u201d Cindy told herself, continuing like that throughout the day. Everything went one step at a time.\\xa0

At first, Cindy rejected the \\u201ceverything happens for a reason\\u201d narrative. She constantly questioned what happened to her, and why. Eventually, she realized that she created her own reason, and decided on a career that gave her purpose. She has been a therapist for 6 years now after completing her master\\u2019s in social work.

Cindy explains how she processes everything through writing, and over the past year has finished writing her book on her journey. Some of the scenes took months to write, as she had to revisit everything that happened to her. When the pandemic hit, she experienced another breakdown, but this time found a community within the pandemic who supported her.\\xa0

Cindy\\u2019s journey has been an amazing one, but she notes that trauma is often not as \\u2018big\\u2019 as many people think. \\u201cTrauma is defined as anything that surpasses your ability to cope,\\u201d she tells listeners. Cindy hopes people know that they\\u2019re never too far gone and that they can start healing from where they are right now.\\xa0

Listen in to hear more about Cindy\\u2019s healing journey, her experience as a therapist, Ayahuasca retreats, and other healing modalities.\\xa0

Resources Mentioned

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