negative self-view CPTSD

Victorian cliff twilight with blank canvas showing cracked marks and imperfect green circles on easel, rough driftwood arrangements, Bass Strait backdrop, representing CPTSD negative self-view, inner critic, shame, and gentle reframing in trauma recovery.

CPTSD Inner Critic: Flawed Canvas

This week the brush faces the inner critic: negative self-view, seeing only flaws in the art. Echoes of belittlement, shame layers, perfectionism driving OCD and eating control. A kinder reflection begins.

Written by: Blank Canvas

Published on: 31/03/2026

About

I’m Elara Thorne, a 35-year-old artist tucked away on the Victorian coast, gathering driftwood and watching Bass Strait storms roll through. Behind the pseudonym and the paint lies the long shadow of a childhood shaped by a combat veteran father’s anger, silence and neglect. This blog is my canvas for Complex PTSD – raw, disguised stories of hypervigilance, alcohol’s haze, depression’s grey wash, and the slow, stubborn return of colour. No confessions, just strokes towards something new.

© 2026 Strokes on a Blank Canvas