What is trauma dumping, why do some people do it, and what can you do to stop friends (and ourselves) from oversharing difficult thoughts and emotions at inappropriate times? We answer your top trauma dumping questions and share more about how you can set healthy boundaries with friends who overshare

We’ve all experienced friendships where one person overshares. I know I’ve been guilty of it more than once in the past. Knowing where the boundaries lie between sharing your worries with friends and overburdening them with your troubles can be tough. For those experiencing trauma dumping first-hand from a friend, it can feel impossible to know when or even if you should speak out. After all, aren’t we all supposed to be encouraging each other to reach out when we’re worried or overwhelmed?

But friendship is supposed to be a two-way street. And no matter how much we care for our friends and family, we aren’t there to act as their personal therapists. So, what can we do when oversharing becomes overwhelming, and frequent trauma dumps start to take their toll on our mental health and emotional wellbeing?

What is trauma dumping?

The phrase trauma dumping (also called emotional dumping) is used to refer to when someone overshares typically difficult thoughts, emotions, stressful situations or traumatic experiences. This could happen frequently or at irregular intervals (though there is often a consistent pattern), and most often happens at a time that is considered inappropriate. For example, sharing intimate details of a bad breakup with a work colleague or oversharing details of a traumatic medical experience on social media without providing warnings or considering who may be reading and how it may affect them.

Over time, trauma dumping (whether with friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances or even on social media) can start to take its toll and negatively affect everyone involved. For some, this can lead to compassion fatigue, stress, burnout, and may even feel like experiencing second-hand trauma.

What’s the difference between trauma dumping and venting?

While on the surface, venting and trauma dumping can sound a little similar, they have significant differences. When you open up to someone to vent about something that is bothering you, it’s typical to wait for an opportune time. You may wait until they ask how you are, ensure that the conversation is balanced and you’re asking about how they are feeling too.

Venting typically happens in a way that is respectful of the listener’s time, feelings, and personal situation. You wouldn’t necessarily vent to a friend who’s clearly overwhelmed and needing to share themselves, you’d wait for a more appropriate time. Someone who is venting may also be open to receiving feedback, comments, or possible solutions to help with their situation.

Someone who is trauma dumping typically won’t set or listen to boundaries around the other person’s time, feelings, or needs, instead focusing on releasing their own is

Quick and Healthy Teriyaki Salmon Rice Bowl

Tender chunks of teriyaki glazed salmon over a bed of fluffy rice topped with a sweet chili mayo, and you can add whatever toppings you want! These Quick and Healthy teriyaki salmon rice bowls will be your new favorite dinner!

Our daughter is really trying to learn to like fish and I’m secretly trying to as well. I rarely tell our kids that I don’t like something because I don’t want to hold them back, but seeing as how some seafood is hard for me to gag down, well it’s pretty obvious how I feel about it. The other day I was checking out Oshen Salmon and trying to decide if I should give it a whirl when the image of teriyaki salmon burst into my mind.

If ever you don’t like something, put a sauce on it.

And the funny thing is, I’m actually really starting to love salmon!!

So, friends, yay or nay to more salmon recipes?

I’ve mentioned before that I am not a sushi lover. Cade loves it, but I just can’t get behind it. If you’re like me, then this bowl is a great compromise! It has a lot of the signature sushi flavors (rice, salmon, a sweet chili mayo, sesame seeds, cucumber), but without the fish being raw and no seaweed. Winning! Though you can add seaweed on the side if you’re into that sort of thing! 🤢

When all is said and done, this salmon rice bowl is perfect for lunch or dinner and hey, maybe it will even sway you into the world of seafood like it is for me. Kind of, I’m still not behind oysters!

What is a Salmon Rice Bowl?

We love rice bowls in our family! Have you tried our cilantro lime chicken burrito bowl?? Or our Read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m writing this from Santa Fe, where the weather is slightly warmer than Ohio and the sunshine is lovely. (I’m choosing to ignore the fact that snow is in the forecast here tomorrow.) Nothing makes me appreciate the awesomeness of living somewhere with four glorious seasons as much as a sunny day in winter.

We had dinner at La Boca last night and plan to check out Clafoutis and El Nido as well. Thanks for the great recommendations, friends. La Boca is a long-time favorite, but the other two are new to me.

ON THE BLOG this week: Green Chile Carnitas are the perfect combination of two of my favorite savory things. It’s tough to find a combo that beats pork and green chile in my mind. Carnitas are cooked until melt in your mouth tender; then roasted at high temperature until the edges caramelize.

Oh, my sweet HEAVEN. Cornbread waffles piled high with BBQ pulled pork and tangy coleslaw are something you need to taste to really understand their greatness.

Tangy, sweet Honey Lime Jalapeno Vinaigrette delivers a hint of lingering heat that few can resist. It’s perfect on salads or drizzled over street tacos or burrito bowls.

Sweet and juicy, loaded with fresh apples, and just the right hint of spices, this apple cobbler is a fall and winter dessert favorite that we enjoy throughout the entire year.

Roasted butternut squash with pasta is tossed with plenty of butter, garlic, sage, and red pepper for a flavorful take on this classic pasta dish.

With a rich ham flavor and a balanced combination of potatoes, leeks, and split peas, this slow cooker split pea soup is a very pleasant surprise.

Fresh greens, spicy red onions, crunchy walnuts, chewy sweet raisins and cranberries, salty Parmesan, and roasted Acorn squash come together with a tangy sweet maple vinaigrette in this winter squash salad.

Tender pears tossed with cinnamon sugar are topped with a buttery brown sugar crisp topping to create this delicious pear crisp.

What I’m CRAVING: Have you he

Pursue a piece of history as you focus on the present and explore the outdoors with this thought-provoking pastime

A fantastically fun activity to indulge your curiosity and unleash your inner Indiana Jones, embrace the outdoors next time you’re at the coast, and spend some time scavenging for timeless treasures.

A snapshot of life, typically thousands of years old, fossils are often found in sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, limestone, and shale – or sometimes even slate. They are formed when sediment falls over the remains of organisms, as the layers build and compact over years, it forms solid rock that preserves them.

You can hunt for fossils at any time of year, but you’re most likely to be successful over the winter and spring months, due to more bracing weather eroding the rock formations around the coastline. And while you’re out breathing the fresh air, completely focusing on the task at hand, you can just ‘be’ in the present, and allow the stresses and pressures of normal life to leave you in peace for a short while.

Ready to try fossil hunting for yourself?

Things to look for:

• Focus on the details. See if patterns, marks, or regular lines in rocks catch your eye.

• Wet stones often highlight the marks of fossils better, so they’re easier to spot. So it can be helpful to watch for clusters of rocks by the water’s edge.

• You might not always find a ‘complete’ fossil – some might be partial, or the edge of one, so ensure you’re not overlooking these fascinating finds as well.

Some of the more common fossil types to spot are:

Ammonites

Probably what you instantly picture when you think of a ‘fossil’, ammonites are historic sea predators that resemble coiled snail shells. They were similar to squid creatures, and can often be found in Dorset.

Shark teeth

It’s reported that these are often found on the Essex coast, and some can be as large as your hand!

Sea urchins

These could be up to 450 million years old, and can range in size from similar to a Brussels sprout, right up to a grapefruit. They are some of the more common fossils, but can be hard to spot.

Gryphaea (Devil’s Toenails)

Originating from oysters, these fossils have a claw-like appearance, and are often found off the coast of Yorkshire.

We all struggle with body image from time to time. But what if your actual perception of how you (and things around you) look is being affected? We explain more about Alice in Wonderland syndrome, how it affects different people, and where you can find help to stop from falling down this rabbit hole

It can be hard to remember sometimes, but we each perceive the world in our own unique way. While some differences are more common – we’ve all heard of colour blindness – others can occur much less frequently.

Despite the whimsical name, Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AWS), also known as Todd’s syndrome, is a rare neurological disorder. First discovered in the 1950s by British psychiatrist Dr John Todd, and named because its symptoms resemble experiences that happened to Alice in Lewis Carroll’s famous novel, the syndrome can cause temporary changes in your visual perception, body image, and how you experience time. It can lead people to feel like they are physically larger or smaller than they really are, or that the furniture or room around them is shifting to become nearer or further away.

Mostly found in children, there’s still a lot we don’t know about this rare neurological disorder, why it happens, or what we can do to fix it. But, as with most wellbeing-related matters, with awareness comes some relief in itself.

How does AWS affect people?

Alice in Wonderland syndrome can affect your vision, hearing, and touch, as well as your perception of time – making you think it is passing faster or slower. Exactly how it can affect you varies from person to person, as well as episode to episode.

Typically, these episodes can last anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour, and common symptoms you may experience include:

• Migraines
• Size, perceptual, sound, or time distortion
• Loss of coordination or limb control

Some people also experience a feeling of disconnection from their body, thoughts, feelings, and/or environment, which can be unsettling.

While children and young adults are thought to experience it more often, some experts think that adults may actually experience AWS more than is reported. As we often see with mental health concerns, stigma could be playing a role here, causing people to not reach out due to worries about describing what they are seeing, and being afraid it might be mistaken for hallucinations, or dismissed completely.

What causes AWS?

The actual causes of Alice in Wonderland syndrome aren’t currently known. Some experts believe AWS may actually be an aura (an early sensory indication of a migraine), or a rare type of migraine in and of itself. Other researchers believe it could be caused by head trauma, infections, or unusual electrical activity in the brain affecting blood flow to the parts of your brain that process your environment and visual perceptions.

Other possible causes are thought to be stress, epilepsy, stroke, brain tumour, or cough medicine. Those with a family history of AWS or migraines&