Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

Bilateral Stimulation and the Brain | Why it Helps Us Heal

Science is still catching up to what many trauma survivors already know | movement heals.

People often describe bilateral stimulation as calming, focusing, even transformative. But how can something as simple as tapping your legs or watching lights move back and forth help untangle years of trauma?

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

Introversion · Intuition · Feeling · Judging

INFJ’s are the worlds rarest personality type.

INFJ’s are a very unique breed; with only about 1–2% of the population falling into this personality type. Their rarity is not just that they are a small fraction of the population — it is embodied in their complex and paradoxical nature.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

What is Complex PTSD?

If you’ve ever felt like you’re too much, too sensitive, or never quite safe in your own body | there may be a deeper reason why.

Complex PTSD is the result of ongoing, repeated emotional wounds; often in the very relationships where you were meant to feel safe and protected. It is formed slowly, over time, with chronic, relational trauma.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

Empaths Are an Energetic Magnet for Narcissists

Empaths and narcissists often find themselves in a magnetic, but ultimately harmful, dynamic due to their opposing energetic frequencies and psychological needs.

Empaths are highly attuned to others’ emotions. They feel deeply, are often nurturing, and instinctively want to help, heal, or understand.

Narcissists, contrarily, crave validation, control, and attention. They see relationships transactionally. Always seeking the next best conquest or prize, in an effort to increase external validation or superficial status approval.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

Our Innate Human Desire To Be Seen, To Be Heard

There is a quiet ache many of us carry | one that whispers through our loneliness, our burnout, our over-giving, and our silence. It is the simple, innate human desire to be seen and heard.

Being seen and heard is a foundational human desire because it directly connects to our need for safety, connection (belonging), and sense of worth.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

Reclaim Your Identity After Years of Survival Mode

There comes a moment — quiet but unmistakable — when the part of you who has been holding everything together begins to whisper |

I am so tired.

Not in the typical way. Not in the “I need a nap” way. But soul-tired. Worn from years of bracing, shape-shifting, silencing, and striving.

That moment is sacred. It is not a breakdown — it is the beginning of a humbling journey home to yourself.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

10 Characteristics of an Empath

An empath is a deeply thoughtful person who is highly sensitive to the energy, emotions, and feelings of others.

An empath is like a sponge, deeply absorbing another’s emotional experience, often embodying it as if it is their own.

As a result of their heightened sensitivity, empaths are known to be very compassionate, understanding and nurturing towards all other living creatures — including animals and the natural world.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

Widen Your Window of Tolerance

80% of communication is bottom-up (body→mind) and only 20% is top-down (mind→body)

We cannot talk or think our way into safety, because our autonomic nervous system is millions of years old. It is pre-verbal and does not respond to language. It responds to sensations.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

4 Types of Boundaries and How Boundary Setting Leads to Improved Health

Boundaries are vital to preserve physical, emotional and mental well-being in our relationships and in our daily lives.

The more you practice setting boundaries to protect your peace, the more comfortable it becomes. Boundary setting leads to a more empowered sense of being and an enhanced understanding of your self-worth.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

Listening to Our Bodies Innate Wisdom Facilitates Post-Traumatic Growth

Trauma is stored in the body. If we do not fully process our traumatic experiences; the body holds onto the memory in our nervous system, muscles and even at a cellular level.

We cope with traumatic experiences via natural, adaptive survival mechanisms.

Fight. Flight. Freeze. Fawn.

These subconscious mechanisms shield us from re-experiencing traumatic experiences, but can keep our body stuck in a survival loop. Post-traumatic growth, and trauma recovery, is possible, but takes practice, patience, understanding and self-compassion.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

Attachment Theory and How it Impacts Our Current Relationships

Attachment theory asserts that all humans develop an attachment style in infancy based on the way their primary caregiver responds when they are in distress.

Attachment theory has profound implications for understanding how each relationship is a dance of a multitude of factors | driven by our need for connection & rooted in a learned attachment style during infancy with our primary caregiver.

Each unique attachment style corresponds to a self-construct of how we internally see ourselves & the value we see in connection with others. This creates a self-fulfilling cycle of seeking out the familiar via partners that reinforce learned styles of attachment.

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Laura Stepnicka Laura Stepnicka

The Visceral Life of a Highly Sensitive Person

A highly sensitive person (HSP) is seen as an intuitive, empathetic, deep thinker; who is detailed & keenly aware of subtleties in their surroundings.

Highly sensitive people are drained from too much social stimuli. Large crowds, big gatherings & too much social activity can deplete a highly sensitive person.

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