feeling safe in creative work & business — kening zhu

One of the reasons that we use “safe enough” throughout the book is that we, and many other people struggling with complex trauma and dissociation, will literally roll our eyes if one more professional talks about a “Safe Place.” Speaking for our system, the word safety is so loaded, and even in a state of recovery or wellness, safety is something

From somewhere (your parents, the culture, a religion) you internalised the notion that if you didn’t watch yourself like a hawk, disaster might strike. That if you were to cut yourself some slack and follow your own agenda, that might lead to your being abandoned, or humiliated, or overwhelmed by emotions, or financially ruined. The details differ

The problem is when security dominates our passage through life and leaves no room for taking risks. Reflection, risk and contribution—three pillars to a meaningful life. Perhaps we can better express it in an equation: Reflection + Risk = Contribution

Many of our contributors noted this sense of complete safety with their guide through healing as imperative, even if they didn’t experience total safety in other places in the world. Other contributors noticed that even if they have moments of feeling unsafe with a therapist, which sometimes happens on bad days or if they are transitioning into a s

Ask yourself, “What do I need to feel safe right now?”