Why do families sometimes protect abusers? Explore the psychology of denial, loyalty, and family systems and how these dynamics affect survivors of abuse.

Constant exposure to distressing news can affect our mental health. Learn why global events can create collective trauma and how to protect your wellbeing.

This sense of disconnection can be unsettling, especially when you can’t quite explain what’s wrong. On the surface, things may look fine. You’re functioning, You’re coping. But internally, something feels distant or muted.

For many young adults, climate change isn’t an abstract future problem. It’s a constant background presence. It shows up in news alerts, social media feeds, conversations about housing, family, finances, and the future. For some, it brings a steady hum of unease. For others, it becomes overwhelming.

There’s a kind of struggle that doesn’t look like struggle from the outside.

You get through the day. You show up. You’re functioning.

But inside, there’s… nothing.

We often hear advice like “You just need to move on” or “Just let it go.”

It’s well-meaning, but it misses something essential: healing isn’t about erasing the past, it’s about making peace with it.

Some of what we carry isn’t ours.

The anxiety, the guilt, the urge to keep everyone happy - they can all be echoes of the generations before us.

Many of us can look perfectly fine on the outside - we get up, go to work, keep friendships ticking over, even laugh and plan holidays.

Not all childhood wounds are visible. While physical abuse or neglect often leaves obvious scars, emotional neglect is quieter, subtler - and often invisible to everyone, including the person who experienced it.

Yet its impact can last a lifetime, shaping how we see ourselves, how we relate to others, and how we care for our own needs.

We've become masters at suppressing our negative emotions, donning a brave face, and soldiering on with our day. But in doing so, have we missed valuable lessons?

Essentially, post-traumatic growth is when someone not only survives a trauma but comes out stronger than they were before, with a greater understanding of who they are and how strong they are.

Parentification of a child happens when the child switches roles with their mum, dad, or both, to become the parent within the household at a young age.

We are hardwired to seek out human connection throughout our lives. At all stages of life, we seek out connectivity with others, and sometimes these relationships are healthy, while other times they are not. As infants, we seek out the care of others in order to survive physically, and as we grow older, we seek out connection with others in order to survive and thrive mentally and emotionally.