Anyone else self-injure today?

I didn’t cut, burn or punch myself today. So I did not need Self-Directed Violence (SDV). I did, however, put a significant dent into a pile of junk food. And I don’t believe I am quite done with that yet. Perhaps brownies for dinner later…

Today was a painful day for me and millions, if not billions, of people in the United States as well as around the globe. Although I am in a significant minority where I live, I cannot believe that a man known for arrogance, entitlement, brutality, threats, theft and sexual assault will have much to offer that will evolve people forward. I have pondered how not to live in sorrow, outrage and a sense of helplessness today. I have some ideas. I like them. Returning here is one of them.

I teach that connection and empowerment create opportunities for healing from trauma. The consequences of surviving trauma include the need for SDV to cope for many people. SDV remains mostly misunderstood and people who live with self-injury do not often have a safe place to come. My passion to create safe places for us had softened over the past years. I have been doing this work for over three decades. I wandered into another career that has me busy and excited. And then the election. Enough said.

I am inspired. I need you. I need a community and a sense of action. I have many concerns, nationally and globally, for people who are survivors of trauma when a person who is a predator has gained such a position of power. May this be a place of safety.

I have begun writing “the book.” It is in pieces and parts and will be a long journey. Now is the time to come back here though. I hope that this reawakening here is useful to you. It is to me. Activism is an antidote to despair. Anger shared is powerful. Sorrow is divided when pain has a place to sit safely. I have little idea what the future holds but I highly doubt it will be more accepting and understanding of those who live with SDV. So let that inspire us to action to be there for ourselves, each other, and those in the future who are the survivors.