Posts by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen
IT ENDS WITH US: Ways Traumatized Children (Then Adults) React
It Ends With Us is about ending the cycle of domestic violence. At least on the surface, it is. But, looking more deeply into Justin Baldoni’s film, we find different ways traumatized children (then adults) react. All these reactions, painfully and tragically played out by Lily, Ryle, and Atlas in It Ends With Us, lead…
Read MoreHIS THREE DAUGHTERS: Fear of Having More Loss = Disconnection
When you’ve already lost too much and live in fear of more loss, that can make you disconnect. This is where we find the three sisters in Azazel Jacobs‘s His Three Daughters. Disconnected. They each have a method of disconnection and each has her reasons. But disconnection is lonely and creates more loss, even if…
Read MoreINSIDE OUT 2: Fear Of Being Alone Triggers Old Trauma & Brings On Anxiety
An old trauma trigger – like the fear of being alone – brings on Anxiety. That’s what happens to Riley Anderson in Kelsey Mann’s Inside Out 2. So, it isn’t just the new emotions of puberty, with Anxiety now taking center stage and pushing away Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust into the “Back of…
Read MoreINSIDE OUT: Why Sadness Matters, Especially After Trauma
Sadness matters. Especially after trauma. Every feeling matters—all the time. Feelings are normal and human. We all have them. Yet, do you – Fight them? Hide them? Feel Shame about them? Want to crawl under a table if they show? Peter Doctor’s Inside Out isn’t just a children’s movie. It’s for everyone who struggles with…
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EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE
ALL AT ONCE
Breaking Out Of Someone Else’s Box
Who chooses what’s “right” for you? In the best of worlds, you do. But, if you’re afraid to trust your own voice, it can be very hard to believe that. Especially when there are people in your life, and other voices inside, who tell you they know the right answers. And, so, in Everything Everywhere…
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NOMADLAND
A Lonely Nomad’s Land of Loss
Loss can feel like a nowhere land of moving aimlessly from feeling to feeling, from place to place, inside your mind. Loss can make you feel like a lonely nomad. You’ve lost the home you know, with a person that you love. There is sadness, anger, and memories – as you grapple with the challenges…
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