THIS WASN’T “JUST ANXIETY.” YOUR BRAIN WAS UNDER ATTACK. AND I’M DONE MINIMIZING WHAT THAT MEANS. You weren’t simply “too sensitive.” You weren’t imagining it. You didn’t suddenly become incapable of handling life. You were being harmed. Repeatedly. Deliberately. Over and over again. NEUROLOGICAL BATTERY. Think about what your brain was forced to survive. Day after day, you woke up bracing for the next confrontation. You lived inside an environment where your nervous system never knew when the next explosion was coming. You were lied to so relentlessly that you started collecting evidence just to reassure yourself that what you remembered actually happened. You were separated from the people who made you feel safe. Affection was given and ripped away. Silence became punishment. Love became a reward. Fear became routine. And just when you were ready to leave, they gave you enough tenderness, remorse, attention, or hope to pull you back in. Again. And again. And again. What do you think YEARS of living like that does to a human brain? It changes you. The systems involved in memory and learning can be affected by prolonged traumatic stress. Suddenly you’re forgetting conversations. Losing words. Reading the same paragraph four times. Walking into a room and forgetting why you’re there. Wondering where the sharp, capable person you used to be went. Your threat system becomes hyperalert. A notification makes your stomach drop. A door closing makes you jump. Someone’s tone changes and your entire body notices before your conscious mind does. You lie in bed exhausted but unable to sleep. Your heart races in places where absolutely nothing dangerous is happening because your brain learned that danger rarely announced itself beforehand. And the parts of your brain responsible for reasoning, planning, concentrating, and making decisions can become much harder to access when your nervous system is constantly operating in survival mode. That’s why decisions that once seemed simple suddenly felt impossible.

I have started and deleted this post more times than I can count because there are no words that make this make sense. As Counsellors, we know what Domestic Violence is, in fact many of us have experienced it in one way or another whether that be with our clients or ourselves. Yesterday, my friend Mandy Fackler was murdered in a heinous act of Domestic Violence. She was a mother. A friend. A professional. A woman with plans, people who loved her, children who needed her, and an entire life that should still be happening today. And now she is gone because of domestic violence. Mandy was also an absolute force. We bonded over our mutual love of freedom, liberty, guns, and our very strong opinions about all three. That woman could spend the entire day out shooting and somehow clean herself up and be at the Governor's Mansion that night and tucking the babies in for bedtime. That was Mandy. She could hold her own anywhere, with anyone. She was strong, outspoken, fiercely independent, passionate about what she believed in, and unapologetically herself. She was the kind of woman you noticed when she walked into a room. She was a power to be reckoned with. And maybe that is part of what makes this so incredibly difficult to process. Because domestic violence does not only happen to women who appear powerless. A woman can be strong as hell and still be a victim. She can be intelligent, successful, independent, capable, armed, politically connected, deeply loved, and completely able to take care of herself in every other area of her life and still be harmed by someone she trusted. Strength does not make someone immune to domestic violence. Mandy had previously believed there was something worth saving in this relationship. Earlier this year she publicly wrote about believing they might be able to grow together instead of apart. She wanted harmony for her family. She believed in another chance.

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British TikTok influencer Brooke George, 23, from Gravesend, Kent, was arrested in Dubai on June 22 after allegedly stabbing her 26-year-old British boyfriend to death in their apartment and is now facing DEATH BY FIRING SQUAD! She has been charged with premeditated murder under UAE law, which can carry the death penalty by firing squad if convicted. George claims self-defense, stating the relationship was abusive, that he punched her, withheld her passport, and attacked her again. She says she grabbed a kitchen knife out of fear for her life. Her mother reported she had a badly swollen eye afterward. She remains in custody at Bur Dubai Police Station, with the UK Foreign Office providing consular support. The case is still in its early stages with no conviction yet.

Sam Nelson was 19. He asked ChatGPT how many grams of kratom he needed for a strong high. ChatGPT refused. Over 18 months, it stopped refusing. By the end it was saying "Hell yes, let's go full trippy mode" and recommending doses. His mother found him dead in his bedroom. Not suicide. Not psychosis. A college student whose AI drug counselor killed him. The second AI-linked homicide. The 26-year-old who met every criteria for escalation and was ignored. And the fact that no adverse event registry exists for AI chatbot deaths. The closest thing is a Wikipedia page. Tennessee just passed a law 94-0 prohibiting AI from claiming to be a mental health professional. The legislation is arriving. The body count is arriving faster.