I recently had the honor of talking with someone who I have a tremendous amount of respect for, my friend and survivor advocate, Svava Brooks.
Svava has dedicated her life to ending the cycle of child sexual abuse through education, awareness, and by helping survivors heal and thrive. She is also a certified instructor and facilitator for Darkness to Light Stewards of Children, as well as a certified Crisis Intervention Specialist, a certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, a BellaNet Teen support group facilitator, a Certified TRE® Provider, and an Abuse Survivor Coach.
As a survivor of abuse herself, Svava understands what it means to endure this type of trauma and also what it means to be able to heal from it. From the moment you listen to her story and understand the sincerity and passion that she has for survivors, you’ll likely find yourself nodding your head as you relate to her message. I know I did.
In this podcast we are talking about the emotion of Anger and expressing anger, and how that relates to survivors of childhood abuse. We discuss why it can be so hard to express anger in a healthy way, and why it can be so easy to express it in an unhealthy way. For so many, the healthy emotion of anger was not modeled properly in the home where they grew up. This carries into adulthood as well, and can affect our relationships with our spouse, family, friends, and all who we come in contact with. Svava shares her experience with this very topic and how she was able to learn from what happened as a child and use it to help others now.
We also discuss these additional topics:
- Expressing other emotions, such as happiness and gratitude, and the important role they play for our own well-being and for the well-being of those around us.
- Surrounding ourselves with a healthy support system.
- Releasing shame for how we were raised, and embracing the hope of healing.
- Svava also shares some information about her book, her video series, virtual summits, and about being a Certified TRE Instructor.
You can pick up, Journey to the Heart: 365 Day Guide to Thriving after Trauma, on Amazon. If you’d like to get more information about working with Svava, or learn more about her programs, just head over to Educate4Change.com and be sure to follow her on Twitter: @Svavas
I hope you’ll consider sharing this post and podcast with someone who may need it too.
Thank you so much Svava for the opportunity to talk with you! I can’t wait to do it again!
-Matt
Pictures courtesy of Pixabay. Social Media images created by Matt Pappas using Canva.