The Happy Complex

Why I’m creating a resource to bridge the gap between “healing” and “happy”

After a lifetime of living with cPTSD — and being completely fed up with fluffy “you got this!” mental health advice — I’m on a mission to share what I’ve learned, minus the hogwash. This is an honest acknowledgment that life is hard, and a breathing exercise isn’t going to fix your whole world.

Mental health resources can be overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time reaching out for help. You’re either bombarded with toxic positivity and oversimplified solutions — or thrown into dense clinical texts and memoirs that may not feel like you. Neither one feels digestible. And neither helps when what you’re really looking for is something real and applicable.

Through all my years of research, reflection, and trying to just function, I never found anything that bridged the gap between healing and happy. Eventually, I started to think maybe there wasn’t a bridge. Maybe if you weren’t born happy, you were just doomed to “cope” forever.

But what I know now is this:

When your challenges are complex, your answers will be, too.

So I’m here to create the resource I never found.

I’m not a therapist. I’m not licensed (unless you count my driver’s license). I’ve never worked in the mental health field.

So why should you care what I have to say?

It’s not my degree.

It’s my life.

After decades of reading, digging, experimenting, and living with the layered reality of cPTSD, I’ve developed a deep passion for understanding not just the cures, but the causes. I study the brain science, the psychology, the behavioral patterns, and the systemic issues that shape our mental health.

And I’m here to share that knowledge in a way that actually feels human.

So if you’ve ever felt stuck in the gap between thriving and surviving you’re in the right place.

Here, you’ll find honest reflections, trauma-informed tools, and a lot of learning in public. This is a space for nuance, curiosity, and messy progress.

Let’s talk about what it means to pursue complex joy when life’s been anything but simple.