Acceptance
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Chapter 7: Research Findings on Healing from Trauma
Chapters One through Five included in depth discussions on the research of church trauma and how it is affecting the worth, the faith, the truth, and the ambition of so many within the Mormon Church. Chapter Six contained an analysis and discussion on how a path of healing might be sought and achieved. Chapter Seven will include how the research was obtained and organized. The hypothesis presented in Chapter One will be examined, along with the research findings. Conclusions will be drawn as to where the Church is now and where it seems to be heading. Ideas for future research will be offered. A complete bibliography of all the chapters…
- Acceptance, Anger, Depression, Effects of Trauma on the Family, Fear, Healing, Mental Illness, Self-Care, Shame
Chapter 6: Accepting the Reality of Trauma and Researched-Based Treatments
In chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, we explored the harmful causes and effects of church trauma. Now we will discuss how to heal and find meaningful beauty and rebirth post trauma. Accepting the Reality of Trauma With so much pain to deal with in regards to church trauma, it often feels very overwhelming and discouraging as victims try to begin piecing their lives together again. It can seem nearly impossible to make sense of it all. Yet, if there is one essential truth that must be grasped in overcoming trauma, it is that in order to heal, one must feel. With that, research shows that there has to…
- Abuser Loyalty, Acceptance, Anger, Church doctrine, Church Exodus, Codependency, Cultural Behavior, Danna Hartline's articles, Depression, Discrimination, Dissociation, Dissonance, Effects of Trauma on the Family, Fear, Fellowship, LDS Women, Leadership, Mental Illness, Modesty, Mormon Culture, Organizational Behavior, Patriarchal Structure, Post Traumatic Church Syndrome, Self-Care, Self-trust, Sex, Shame, Suicide, Trauma vs. Offense, Unrighteous Dominion, Unsafe policies
Chapter 5: Four More Consequences of Church Trauma
Chapter 4 discussed four common effects of Church Trauma: cognitive dissonance, church exodus, dissociation, and abuser loyalty. This chapter addresses four more consequences of Church Trauma: loss of identity, mental disorder, family dysfunction, and shame. Loss of Identity Trauma messes with concept of self. After one is traumatized by the Church, victims often have no idea who they are anymore. The Mormon Church is not just a religion; it’s a lifestyle. Hence traumatization can cause a complete upheaval to a person’s construction of reality, including the self, other people, life, and the future. Few can appreciate the sheer terror religious trauma can create (Tarico, 2015). Many considerations must be examined—“Should…
- Acceptance, Anger, Danna Hartline's articles, Depression, Effects of Trauma on the Family, Empathy, Love, Mental Illness, Shame, Suicide
Waves of Grief
A few months ago, I shared a story of a tragic suicide. Sadly, as preoccupied and short-sighted humans, we often momentarily mourn over the loss of a passing associate but then maybe forget about those who are left behind and the long-lasting effect the death–and the causes of it–has on them. Below is a follow-up on the dear mother of the deceased: Christine Burton. She offers some important insights of one who has been left to suffer mostly alone: “It has now been six months since my son Michael’s tragic and untimely death. What has transpired during this time frame, has been mind altering, eye opening, and heart rending! The tsunami…
- Acceptance, Courage to Speak Up, Danna Hartline's articles, Depression, Dissociation, Dissonance, Effects of Trauma on the Family, Empathy, Examples of Courage, Fellowship, Healing, Lost Sheep, Love, Shame
The Pendulum Swing of Trauma–And How It Pertains to Religion
I have a very dear friend that I’ve known since college who is in an extremely hard situation. After being married to her husband for over two decades, she finally gained the courage to leave him. Over the course of many years, he locked her in closets, drugged her, convinced her she was masturbating in her sleep and tied her wrists to the bed, beat her, choked her until she passed out, dragged her by the hair out of the shower and across rooms, manipulated all of the people around him—including their children—to believe his every word, etc. He even had his church leaders completely won over and held high church positions throughout their…
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Stuck in Trauma?
Once upon a time there was a five-year-old girl named Stephanie. One day her mom took her to her Kindergarten registration. Stephanie’s new teacher was sitting just outside a room with a box of crayons and several sheets of blank paper. Stephanie’s mother smiled confidently when Stephanie was asked to choose her favorite color and write her name. The mother, who was sitting across the hall, thought proudly, “She can write all the names in our family!” But to her mother’s surprise, Stephanie just stood there. The teacher repeated the instructions, and again the child stood still, staring blankly at the box of crayons with her knees locked and her…
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It’s All About the Roots
In the spring, my kids call me the tree lady. This is probably because every spring, I am outside planting trees! I have joyfully planted over 100 saplings in the last several years. I have a friend who digs them out of her yard and brings them to me. I get so excited when I begin planting, in hopes of new growth and long life. But I have learned a few things over the years so I am a bit picky in my placement of them—the healthier the roots, the better the spot they land on my property. So to try to ensure wise placement, I give the trees a thorough…
- Abuser Loyalty, Acceptance, Codependency, Courage to Speak Up, Danna Hartline's articles, Healing, Self-Care
My Manifesto
Can we sit down and talk for just a moment? What I’m about to say may not rest well with you and it may not be your answer—and I certainly don’t think it’s the only way—but I need to be true to what my inner core is saying to me. The truth is, I’ve been thinking pretty deeply lately. I am at a crossroad in deciding what I want to do and where I want to go from here. You see, I started my work in church trauma because I desired to help traumatized members stay in the Church, if at all possible. I also wanted to help the Church…
- Acceptance, Danna Hartline's articles, Effects of Trauma on the Family, Mental Illness, Post Traumatic Church Syndrome, Self-Care, Trust the Lord
Church Trauma Is BAD–But It’s Not ALL BAD!
I was sitting in Relief Society (a women’s meeting in the Mormon Church) almost a year ago listening to a discussion on fellowship. It was all very encouraging and good. And yet, I could not fully buy into what I was hearing as they spoke of their overwhelming success. I wanted to—and I did to a point because I am aware of good that is happening in the Church. But in the same breath, I knew it was a little off to think that all is well in Zion and that everyone was as happy and thriving as well as seemed to be claimed. I mean, what about me? Did anyone…
- Acceptance, Anger, Danna Hartline's articles, Empathy, fellowshipping, Healing, lds culture, Love, Mormon Culture, welcoming
Mormons (and Post-Mormons) Have a Bullying Problem
Hold tight. This is raw and this is real. I am going to call it like I see it: Mormons have a bullying problem. Maybe it is just a war among us and not outside of us but having been on both sides of Mormonism, I am appalled and deeply saddened by what I see. Here’s how it goes: If you are a member, you are bullied by other members if you don’t fit the mold. If you don’t act right, dress right, believe right, look right, think right, worship right, talk right, parent right, gender right, associate right, say the name of the Church right, smell right, marry right,…
