Intermittent Positive Reward Withdrawal

Congratulations! You’ve left the abusive relationship! Now, you are starting to have post acute withdrawal symptoms just like when someone…...

Congratulations! You’ve left the abusive relationship! Now, you are starting to have post acute withdrawal symptoms just like when someone stops using drugs or alcohol. Our brains have been conditioned by the intermittent positive rewards that the abuser would bestow upon us to live for those emotional highs when the abuser was actually kind or nice. It was a roller coaster of ups and downs. The highs were amazing and the lows were awful. When we leave that kind of relationship, we go through withdrawals. Our brain is wanting to know where those endorphins, norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline went. In the immediate aftermath of leaving the relationship we will think constantly of the abuser, we will have dreams of the abuser. No, that is NOT a sign to go back to the abuser. Your brain is trying to recreate the highs from when the abuser was “nice”. What can you do to overcome the effects of trauma bonding? Yes, intermittent positive rewards IS trauma bonding. So, what to do? You get with a damn good trauma therapist. You write down every rotten thing your abuser ever did and you read that list anytime your brain tries to take you for a trip down “memory lane”. You work on self esteem, boundaries, deal breakers, positive affirmations, meditation, you educate yourself on abuse and abusers. You gird your loins for the inevitable hoover. Eventually, your brain will adjust to the healthy self esteem and self worth and stop bringing the abuser up. As you heal from the intermittent positive rewards/trauma bonding, you must practice self care like a boss! Eat healthy food! Rest! Exercise! Start doing the things you used to love doing before you were in the abusive relationship. You must be gentle with you!

01-09-2022 Throwing Terms Around

01-09-2022 Throwing Terms Around

In this episode of We Need To Talk With Kris Godinez, Kris talks about psychological terms and how abusers love to throw them around (without actually understanding what they are or what they mean).

01-02-2022 Energy Vampires

01-02-2022 Energy Vampires

In this episode of We Need To Talk With Kris Godinez, Kris talks about energy vampires, the Colin Robinson’s of the world, what they do and how to deal with them!

Future Faking

Future Faking

Congratulations you made it through the majority of the Hoover Season! We are, however, not out of the woods yet! That’s right! The dreaded Valentine’s Day is a little over a month away and trust me, the hoovers are not over yet! Instead of walking down memory lane,...