Marianne Esterly

Living life within the church does not come without harm. Unfortunately, many have experienced more hurt within the walls of the church than outside. Life is messy and for many the mess took place within the church, the very place that should have been safe was toxic and harmful. Particularly in the Seattle area, church harm is large, and the fallout of that harm has been gut wrenching, confusing, identity shaking and created a greater suspicion of authority. There has been great spiritual har

Trauma can take the form of capital “T” trauma as in an assault, or it can take the form of little “t” trauma from the smaller insults of daily living. Either way, when we feel threatened we store the experience in a heightened state and that experience becomes stuck. Traumatic memories then become buried in the unconscious only to be triggered later in life by a host of factors, including anniversary dates, similar words, actions, looks, sounds, or feelings.

What is abuse? Abuse is the mistreatment to harm and/or control another person. Abuse of all types causes pain, harm, and confusion. Abusers rarely (if ever) stop their abusive behaviors on their own. Being in an abusive relationship/environment is designed to have the victim feel crazy and to doubt their own perceptions, thoughts and recall of the harmful events.