By Linda C J Turner | Trauma Therapist, Survivor, Advocate
Healing from long-term emotional abuse is not just about what happens in the therapist’s office. It’s about what happens in your everyday life. It’s in the rhythms, the rituals, the relationships. It’s in your body, your brain, and your nervous system.
After years of psychological trauma, I’ve learned one profound truth:
Healing is not one thing—it’s everything you do consistently that tells your body and mind: “You are safe now.”
Here’s a look into how I’m healing—and how each element of my life plays a vital role, both psychologically and neurologically.
🥗 Nutrition & No Alcohol – Feeding the Brain What It Needs to Heal
A healthy, balanced diet nourishes not just the body, but the brain. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, B-vitamins, and antioxidants help reduce inflammation in the brain and support emotional regulation.
No alcohol means no neurological interference. Alcohol may numb pain short-term, but it disrupts sleep, intensifies anxiety, and impairs emotional processing. Removing it has helped me sleep deeper, think clearer, and reconnect with my true self.
🧠 Therapy with Professionals – Rewiring Thought Patterns
Working consistently with psychologists trained in trauma has been life-changing. Therapy helps reframe distorted beliefs about yourself that the abuser implanted over time. Through cognitive and somatic therapies, I’m literally rewiring my brain—building new neural pathways rooted in self-compassion, clarity, and strength.
🤝 A Varied Social Life – Reconnecting with Safe Humans
Trauma isolates. Healing reconnects.
By maintaining a varied and interesting social life, I’m rebuilding trust—first in myself, and then in others. Trusted friends, new connections, laughter-filled lunches, different conversations—these aren’t just distractions. They’re relational neuroplasticity in action. When you experience safety and warmth in social interactions, your brain forms new expectations: “Not everyone will hurt me.”
This is deep healing.
🎾 Padel, Pilates, Dog Walking – Moving Trauma Out of the Body
Trauma lives in the body.
Regular movement—like padel twice a week, Pilates, and long dog walks—is crucial for releasing stored trauma. Physical activity lowers cortisol (the stress hormone), increases serotonin and dopamine (the feel-good chemicals), and helps regulate the autonomic nervous system, shifting you from “fight or flight” into rest and repair.
My body is no longer bracing for harm. It’s flowing, stretching, playing, living.
🎶 Singing in Choir – Healing Through Voice and Belonging
There is something incredibly powerful about singing with others—especially with a group that sees you, knows your story, and supports your journey.
Singing activates the vagus nerve, promoting calm and emotional release. Choir offers me the healing of co-regulation—where nervous systems harmonize, literally and emotionally.
🏡 Caring for My Home – Reclaiming Control and Creating Beauty
After years of being controlled, I now find peace in owning my space—physically and metaphorically. Looking after my house, pool, and garden is grounding. It gives me rhythm. Autonomy. A reminder: This is mine. This is safe. This is my life now.
🌱 So What Does This All Say About Healing?
It says this:
Healing isn’t just surviving therapy sessions.
It’s in joyful movement, meaningful connection, delicious meals, sacred solitude, and consistent self-care.
It’s in rewriting your nervous system’s story—from one of fear and vigilance to one of trust and possibility.
I am not just healing—I am living.
With variety. With people I choose. In places that bring me joy.
And every day, my brain is learning:
“This is what love feels like. This is what life can be.”
#HealingJourney #TraumaRecovery #NeuroscienceOfHealing #PsychologicalWellness #LifeAfterAbuse #ThisIsHealing #RewiringTheBrain #LindaCJTurnerTherapy #FromSurvivingToThriving #VariedLifeHealingMind #SafeNow
— Linda C J Turner
Trauma Therapist | Neuroscience & Emotional Intelligence Practitioner | Advocate for Women’s Empowerment
