Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is typically framed as the body’s response to a single, earth-shattering event. Complex PTSD considers trauma that is or was ongoing, lasting months or even years. It's often viewed as trauma by ‘a thousand tiny cuts’ instead of by a single blow.
In her late 20s, artist Fariha Róisín felt ready to confront the abuse she experienced in childhood in all its complexities. While processing the abuse, she found solace in writing and penned her thoughts for the world. Fariha has published five books, all of which contemplate the nature of complex trauma.
Guest host Anisa Khalifa talks with Fariha on how imagination and storytelling became her gateway to resiliency. Dr. Karen Winkler, a psychotherapist and nurse with a doctorate in clinical psychology, joins the conversation to expand upon the mind-body connection of complex PTSD by discussing how persistent trauma can manifest as a chronic illness. Dr. Winkler serves people living with chronic illness and is a public health advocate in New York City.
Anisa also sits down with Dr. Monnica Williams, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Ottawa, where she is the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities. Dr. Williams discusses how racism can be traumatic and can eventually lead to complex PTSD in people of color.
Additional thanks to Dr. Tanner Wallace, Jess, Johanna Draconis, and members of the Out of the Storm forum for contributing to this episode.
