Posts by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen
DYING FOR SEX EPISODE 1 “GOOD VALUE DIET SODA:” Value of Saying “No More”
Molly’s scared to feel. In Dying for Sex Episode 1, childhood sexual abuse is the reason. But there’s more than being numb to her feelings. She can’t say no or put herself first. Not quite yet. She puts herself aside, caters to the needs of others, is scared of her feelings, and is terrified to…
Read MoreINTRODUCTION TO DYING FOR SEX: Scared to Feel After Sexual Abuse
Dying for Sex is certainly about sex. Yet, sex isn’t the heart of it. Dying for Sex is about being scared to feel after sexual abuse and how one dying woman finds her voice. Yes, Molly is scared to feel. But feelings aren’t all she has blocked. Along with them, she’s lost access to knowing…
Read MoreTHE BRUTALIST: Severe Trauma & Complicated Guilt
Why do so many people who’ve suffered severe trauma live with complicated guilt? Guilt that has nothing to do with anything they’ve actually done? Or, like László Tóth in Brady Corbet’s 2025 The Brutalist – guilt about lesser things that is blown way out of proportion? This irrational guilt is because trauma involves unfair blame,…
Read MoreNICKEL BOYS: Holding On to Your Self Even When Abused
How do you hold onto yourself amid threat, abuse, and constant attempts to make you feel “less than?” Elwood Curtis does, in RaMell Ross’s powerful, disturbing, and timely 2024 film, Nickel Boys. Abuse can tear a person down. Create hopelessness, despair, and resignation. Repeated abuse, with no way to protect yourself, makes it difficult for…
Read MoreTHE SUBSTANCE: A Sad Gory Story of a Woman’s Self-Hate
Elizabeth Sparkle, an aging yet beautiful actress, hates herself. That’s why The Substance is a sad, gory story of a woman’s self-hate. Self-loathing always stems from early trauma. And, both childhood trauma and self-hate are devastating. You never feel good enough, are vulnerable to feelings of rejection, and do everything you can to prove you’re…
Read MoreA REAL PAIN: To Numb or Not to Numb?
Numbing pain is not a conscious choice. It’s a common survival strategy, a self-protection from emotional overwhelm, during and after trauma. And, it is often passed down for generations. Take cousins Benji and Dave, for example, in Jesse Eisenberg’s film, A Real Pain. They both struggle with their feelings in very different ways, revealed in…
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