We often think of inheritance in terms of DNA, generational inheritance, or physical features, but some of the heaviest things passed down through the legacies we carry are invisible. One of them is the mother wound. And, contrary to what many assume, the mother wound is not simply about having a “bad mother.” Sometimes, it is emotional absence. Sometimes, inconsistency. Sometimes, criticism, silence, emotional immaturity, or growing up feeling emotionally unseen. Sometimes, your mother is...

There are indeed two different sides of trauma-induced silence. On one hand, you have the woman who seemingly overshares. She speaks openly about her past in ways that draw unwanted attention and make others uncomfortable. People often label her as “too emotional,” “too transparent,” or “unable to let things go.” What they fail to understand is that speaking her truth is something she had to fight for. Trauma once convinced her that her voice did not matter. That what happened to her should...

Not everything we call self-care is actually self-care. Some of it is avoidance. Some of it is performance, and some of it is self-abandonment dressed up in better language. I’ve learned that losing yourself doesn’t always happen all at once—it happens slowly, in the ways you silence yourself just to be understood. Nearly 11 years ago, I began my self-love journey. I lost nearly 75 pounds in five and a half months—going from 247 lbs. to 173 lbs. At my heaviest, I felt like a stranger in my...