YOU ARE NOT ALONE--Online Panel Discussion
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm Eastern Time
Zoom Webinar
$5 Donation Requested
Includes replay sent to attendees within 48 hrs.
“Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When it is ignored or invalidated the silent screams continue internally heard only by the one held captive. When someone enters the pain and hears the screams, healing can begin.”
– Danielle Bernock, Emerging With Wings: A True Story of Lies, Pain, and the LOVE that Heals (2015)
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) impacts individuals from diverse backgrounds and transcends socioeconomic status, ethnicity, identity and culture. Not only can this lead to a range of debilitating symptoms that impair one's daily functioning and quality of life, the stigma surrounding mental health issues can further exacerbate the challenges faced by those struggling with these conditions.
Since June is both PTSD Awareness Month and LGBTQIA+ Awareness Month, this webinar aims to bring awareness to these two vital aspects of identity and experience, recognizing the intersections and unique challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals living with PTSD. LGBTQ+ individuals are disproportionately affected by trauma due to experiences of rejection, violence, and discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. This compound trauma can exacerbate the symptoms of PTSD and CPTSD.
Through insightful discussions, personal narratives, and insights, YANA panelists will delve into the complexities of trauma within the LGBTQIA+ community, shedding light on the often overlooked nuances and disparities in mental health care. As the world continues to grapple with societal stigmas and systemic barriers, this webinar stands as a testament to the power of unity and understanding in driving meaningful change and fostering healing for all.
YANA panelists will share their own personal journey and provide resources and tools to help individuals reclaim their lives after trauma. We believe that sharing our personal stories of survival and holistic techniques can support you in the sacred process of reclaiming yourself in healing. You deserve to be respected and heard!
It can be a lonely journey, but You Are Not Alone.
The format of this event is a group panel that discusses and has conversations around different aspects of healing from trauma. We have anywhere between 4-9 people on the panel and are always open to anyone wanting to join the panel.
We set this event up as a Zoom webinar, not a meeting, to maintain anonymity of our attendees, so you will not be seen unless you request to be. There is a chat room, and you can ask questions and be invited to unmute yourself if you want. Your name will be displayed in the chat, so please feel free to change your name to protect your identity in any way that you see fit.
*** If you feel you are in crisis, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which offers free, 24/7 call, text and chat access to trained crisis counselors. Text or call 988 to be connected to a crisis center nearest to you. If you are in an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. OMA Center for Mind, Body, and Spirit does not offer crisis counseling or emergency services.***
It is critical that our efforts strengthen, so we can begin to heal these invisible wounds. They are crucial in promoting the healthy development of children and adults and healthy behaviors in families, schools and communities, thereby reducing the likelihood of trauma.
$5 Donation Requested. Your gift will be used to help us attain our goal of establishing a community and retreat center for the local community. Your generosity of any amount is greatly appreciated.
If you cannot afford a ticket, we offer scholarship assistance. Click for more information.
All registered attendees will receive a replay within 48 hrs of the original broadcast.
This panel conversation is part of OMA's Trauma Program. YOU ARE NOT ALONE is an OMA Webinar Series featuring a panel conversation on trauma and recovery—We are all connected on this journey of healing, of both self and humanity, from our own individual traumas as well as our collective traumas.
Panelists: Marilyn Carpenter, Deb Carter, Angela Failor, Callie Gropp, Gail Hunter, Laura Kustaborder, Mai Nguyen, Anna Smith, Leza Vivio.
Let’s all drop the pretense that we are either normal, or abnormal…
We are all in the same support group: ordinary people who must deal with the struggles that come with being human. We all carry this heavy weight—a trauma, whether from childhood abuse, childhood adverse experiences (ACE's),domestic violence, gaslighting, bullying, emotional/ verbal abuse and manipulation, medical trauma, and injury. We all at the same time struggle to meet our basic human needs for connection, community, acceptance, and validation among ones who share our culture and language, or not, for authenticity–the capacity to feel what we feel and to be in touch with our bodies and to express what we feel when we need to.
Fundamentally, that is the ultimate trauma, the disconnection from ourselves…
In this webinar series we believe that in the presence of compassion, healing is possible. Only with compassion can we bear our pain. In the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying the author says, whatever you do don’t shut off your pain. Accept your pain and remain vulnerable. –Mai Nguyen, Panelist