Survivor gift guide (10+ gift ideas for people with CPTSD) | Healing is the Best Revenge episode 19 transcript

Dec 13

Hi sweet friend, it’s Karina. Welcome to the 19th episode! I’ve been struggling; I went a week or so without my meds due to insurance issues. The flashbacks & nightmares were so much worse than usual. But! As of this afternoon, I have all my meds & I’m feeling a bit better. I was able to make a new mini-zine, about queer femme as a political identity, which felt really good. I’m also preparing to teach a webinar on Trauma-Informed Librarianship for 100+ librarians and library workers tomorrow, so just putting the finishing touches on my slides and such.

The lack of sunlight in the winter really gets to me. Especially here in Ithaca, where it’s gray, overcast & cloudy until spring. With that being said: I love the winter holidays: decorating my apartment, getting cozy, wearing cute knit sweaters, picking out gifts to exchange with my friends and family, and wrapping them up to put under my pink holiday tree is all such a source of joy and lightness for me. I celebrate winter solstice, which is also my Mormor’s birthday, as well as Christmas on the 24th. Let me know if or how you’re celebrating this winter!

So today, I thought we’d talk about gifts for survivors. I have a few of ideas of my own, then some gift ideas from fellow survivors in my community. They were generous enough to share what they would want or would gift another survivor.

1: Journals

Journaling is a great tool to help support you on your healing journey. Gifting a journal, whether it’s blank or guided, could be a lovely gift for a survivor. You could write a cute lil message inside the front and even give them some pretty pens with it, like the sets of pens that are colorful and have different compliments on them.

2: How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis

We all know trauma can make executive functioning and getting the work of life done so frickin unbelievably difficult. I love this short, accessible, book by KC Davis that emphasizes that mess isn’t moral and shares strategies for addressing all things executive functioning while living with anything that might impair that ability. This book seriously changed my life & I love giving it to friends who struggle with this stuff too.

3: Make them a playlist

My third idea is make them a playlist to listen to when they’re struggling or to help lift their spirits. You could also record a short audio message from yourself and include that in the playlist, like a mini pep talk. This is such a sweet and thoughtful gift.

4: Coloring books + colored pencils or markers

I know a lot of folks find coloring to be very calming, so why not give them a coloring book, potentially themed around something they love, I have a lot of cat ones and even a mid-century modern inspired coloring book, as well as something to color it with, like a set of colored pencils or markers.

5: Affirming stickers

I love stickers! Stickers with affirming messages are the best. I’ve seen a lot of cute ones on Etsy and sell a few designs myself. Some folks even make suncatcher affirmation stickers that you can safely stick on a window and it creates rainbows when direct sunlight passes through it. So cool!

6: Survivor Affirmation Self-Love Kit

My Survivor Self-Love Kit has received some great reviews about how supportive, helpful, and cute it is! It includes several zines of survivor affirmations, colorful prints, and affirming stickers. I have a handful of these left in my shop which I’ll link to in the show notes.

7: Community picks

Now, for the community picks. The ideas survivors in my community shared were:

Weighted blankets
Frozen eye patches
Face rollers
Sensory gifts
And two books: What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo and Who You Were Meant to Be. by Lindsay Gibson.

As always, I strive to keep these episodes short and sweet. I believe you, sweet friend, and I’ll talk to you soon!