Moonwalker

Please reblog so as many people as possible can see this. People who were not abused don't understand this about traumatic memory and that is often a basis for them not believing you.

There's all sorts of complicated science behind how this works, but I'm not going to get into it right now because I really want to hammer home this very specific point and not get distracted by anything else.

Traumatic memory is different than normal memory.

Traumatic memory is different than normal memory.

Traumatic memory is recorded more similarly to a dream then waking life.

Do not let anyone hold your traumatic memory up to normal memory standards.

Do not let anyone convince you that your traumatic memories are invalid because they are recorded differently than normal memory.

Your traumatic memories are fragmented, out of sequence, and dreamlike. They contain both very vivid parts and totally missing parts. This is all valid. This is how traumatic memory is recorded in the brain.

A newly born elephant learning how to stand up! 

Calm Harm can be tailored to your needs and will provide strategies to help you get past those crucial moments of wanting to harm.

It’s also totally FREE.

Communicate with a Deaf/HoH Person

DO:

Ask them their preferred method of communicating (paper & pen, voiced, Sign language)

Don’t:

Assume just because they’re d/Deaf/HoH that they all know Sign Language.

DO:

Face them when speaking as most d/Deaf/HoH lip read. Body language/facial expression is important too.

Don’t:

Face away, cover mouth, exaggerate on lip movement, chew while talking.

DO:

Talk to them normally, just like anyone else. We are normal human beings, we just can’t hear.

Don’t: YELL, Talk slow with exaggerating lip movements, as if they are ‘stupid’

DO:

If they ask you to repeat, do so. If they ask from a specific point, don’t repeat the entire sentence, just from the current point on.

Don’t:

say “Never mind” “I’ll tell you later” or ignore them when they ask to repeat. We want to be engaged in the conversation too. Saying “Never mind” is like a swear word to the d/Deaf/HoH Community.

Get Their Attention:

DO:

tapping their shoulder, move hand slightly in their vision view, stomp ground, tap table, or flash light (most common in group setting)

Don’t: