What an adolescent’s coming out taught me about queerness, healing religious trauma, and the opposing feelings of joy and grief that can surface during Pride Month.

Even after deconstructing harmful theology, many survivors still feel inherently “bad.” This post explores how the doctrine of original sin wires in shame—and how to begin healing from it.

High control religion often teaches that suffering is either your fault—or somehow makes you more holy. In this post, I share how those beliefs shaped my own story and how they show up in therapy with religious trauma survivors. If pain has ever felt like something you deserved, you're not alone—and you're not beyond healing.