http://wellnesswarriortribe.net/

Wellness Warrior Tribe, Knoxville, TN (2026)

01/05/2026

🎉🎉🎉
This is a win for everyone still stuck in the trenches of domestic violence and for those who managed to press to the other side. I also honor the women who lost their lives. It is a hopeful moment when we matter enough to experience an umbrella of legal protection:

On New Year's Day, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to launch a public registry for repeat domestic violence offenders. Created under Savanna's Law, the registry is named after Savanna Puckett, a 22-year-old Robertson County sheriff's deputy who was killed by her ex-boyfriend James Jackson Conn in 2022.

It wasn't until after Puckett's death that investigators discovered Conn had a history of domestic violence and stalking -- information that, despite Puckett's own career in law enforcement, was not easily accessible before the tragedy. "Tennessee is number four in states where men kill women," said Verna Wyatt with Tennessee Voices for Victims. "So, we have a domestic violence epidemic."

Research supports the need for such a registry: domestic violence is overwhelmingly a crime of repeat offenders. Three-fifths of individuals convicted of domestic violence are rearrested within two years -- and 67% of this group are rearrested for another domestic violence offense. A British study found that 83% of male perpetrators had at least two recorded incidents of abuse over a six-year tracking period, with some offenders racking up dozens of incidents.

Tennessee's registry addresses this pattern by requiring offenders convicted at least twice to register with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The database includes names, photographs, dates of birth, and conviction information, while excluding home addresses and identification numbers. Offenders can remain on the registry from five to twenty years depending on their criminal history. "If there was a registry for such violent offenders, Savanna being involved with law enforcement would have checked it, and a tragedy could have been avoided," said Representative Sabi Kumar of Springfield, who sponsored the legislation on the House floor.

Advocates say the registry offers protection not just for individual victims, but for the public at large. "Victims always have a fear about their offender going back out and doing the same thing to someone else," said Wyatt. The brutality of Puckett's murder underscores the stakes: Conn shot her eight times, suffocated her dog, and set her house on fire before pleading guilty to first-degree murder.

Puckett's mother, Kim Dodson, who brought the idea of a registry to Representative Kumar after her daughter's murder, testified before lawmakers: "If she had known what we know now, she would more than likely have been here today. She had a good head on her shoulders and was loved by so many. She didn't deserve any of this. No one does." The law passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, with lawmakers emphasizing that the goal is prevention, not punishment -- giving people access to information that previously required digging through court records scattered across multiple jurisdictions.

Tennessee's registry is a test case for the nation. Similar efforts in Texas, New York, and Virginia failed in the face of opposition from victim rights groups who raised concerns about privacy, the risk that victims themselves could end up on the registry after being wrongly arrested, and the false sense of security a registry might create given that most abuse never results in conviction.

Tennessee's law was designed to address many of these concerns: it requires victim consent before an offender can be placed on the registry, excludes home addresses and identification numbers, applies only to repeat offenders with at least two convictions, and limits registration periods rather than imposing lifetime listing. Whether these safeguards prove sufficient remains to be seen, but Tennessee's victim advocacy community has largely embraced the law. "No one thing is going to work perfectly, everything has holes, but at least we're doing something," said Michelle Clayton of the Knoxville Family Justice Center.

(This is from a news article.)

12/18/2025

This is why healing is so important:

One of the most damaging myths we carry into relationships is the belief that real love should never hurt. That if someone truly cared, you would never feel triggered, disappointed, misunderstood, or wounded.

But intimacy does not work that way.

The closer two people get, the more likely it is that old fears surface. Not because love is failing, but because closeness removes the places we used to hide.

When someone gets close enough to matter, they also get close enough to touch the parts of you that were formed long before them. Your defenses. Your unmet needs. Your attachment wounds.

That does not mean the relationship is broken. It means it is real.

Hurt is not always a sign of harm. Sometimes it is a sign that something vulnerable has been exposed and is asking to be tended to, not avoided.

What separates healthy love from destructive love is not whether hurt happens. It is what happens after the hurt.

Is there accountability?
Is there curiosity instead of defensiveness?
Is there room for repair, reflection, and growth?

Or is pain dismissed, minimized, or turned back on you?

Healthy relationships do not demand perfection. They demand responsibility. They do not promise you will never be hurt. They promise you will not be left alone in it.

Real safety is not found in never being triggered. It is found in knowing that when rupture happens, repair is possible. That you can speak honestly without being punished. That your pain will be met with care instead of contempt.

Conflict does not mean abandonment. It means an opportunity to understand each other more deeply.

Love is not proven by avoiding discomfort. It is proven by the willingness to stay present through it. To listen. To take responsibility. To grow. To choose repair over retreat.

That is what makes a relationship healing. Not the absence of pain, but the presence of safety when pain arises.

Unknown Author

08/22/2025

Disorganized Attachment – Childhood Formation

Do you feel like your emotions are on a constant rollercoaster, swinging between wanting closeness and pushing people away, even when you don’t want to?

You might resonate with a disorganized attachment style. This often forms in childhood when caregivers are unpredictable, frightening, or abusive. Children experience both the desire for comfort and fear of the caregiver, creating a confusing and unstable internal world.

🛑 Deepest Fear:

Being trapped in unsafe or unpredictable relationships, while longing for connection

❗ Common Misunderstanding by Others:

People often see them as confused, hot and cold, overreacting, or inconsistent, when in reality they are
navigating intense internal conflict

💡 What it feels like:

• Intense swings between seeking closeness and withdrawing

• Feeling unsafe even in loving relationships

• Hypervigilance constantly scanning for potential threats

• Emotional chaos even when there is no apparent danger

• Difficulty trusting themselves or others

• Feeling trapped on a rollercoaster they cannot get off

• Nervous system often on alert

• Deep longing simply to feel safe, secure, and at peace

⚠️ Childhood Examples That Can Lead to Disorganized Attachment:

• Experiencing abuse (physical, emotional, sexual)

• Witnessing domestic violence or parental abuse

• Caregivers who are frightening, unpredictable, or mentally unstable

• Parents emotionally unavailable due to depression, anxiety, or trauma

• Mixed messages: sometimes nurturing, sometimes punitive or neglectful

• Inconsistent boundaries

• Neglect of basic emotional needs, e.g., comfort, attention, validation

• Punished for normal behaviors, minor rebellion, or expressing frustration

• Hypervigilance develops as survival instinct

💔 Challenges in Relationships and Common
Triggers:

• Intense swings between wanting closeness and pushing partners away

• Fear and suspicion of emotional intimacy

• Hypervigilance leading to stress and overreaction

• Difficulty trusting partners’ intentions

• Feeling emotionally on edge even with supportive people

• Triggers: conflict, unpredictability, or perceived emotional unavailability

• Even simple gestures, like “How are you?” when sincerity is doubted, can feel threatening

🌱 Long-term Echoes into Adulthood:

• Trouble maintaining stable relationships

• Difficulty self-soothing and regulating emotions

• High sensitivity to perceived threats, abandonment, or rejection

• Nervous system remains hyper-alert

• If unhealed, chronic stress can lead to physical and mental health issues, including inflammation, digestive problems, insomnia, high blood pressure, anxiety, and weakened immunity

💡 The Good News and Hope:

Healing is possible. With intentional support, you can gradually develop secure attachment patterns, calm your nervous system, and experience the peace and safety you have always longed for.

Curious about your attachment style? https://www.attachmentproject.com/attachment-style-quiz/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMVt41jbGNrAxGhoWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeabsDRDBp48yKhE2VFibP0qH6ryO1JA97XbmswRRkJzIyifh8omlMK8Vmnio_aem_TMcHVpXzLxZICjqpnE9xEQ

08/20/2025

I saw this earlier and it truly sums up much of why we do what we do. ❤️

08/19/2025

Avoidant Attachment – Childhood Formation

Do you tend to pull away from emotional closeness, value independence, and feel safest when you can keep space between yourself and others?

You might resonate with an avoidant attachment style.

This often forms in childhood when caregivers are consistently emotionally unavailable, dismissive, overly critical, or are fear based driven.

Children learn that expressing vulnerability or relying on others doesn’t feel safe, so they develop self-reliance as a survival strategy.

🛑 Deepest Fear:

Being engulfed or smothered emotionally, losing your identity or independence, and failing to be enough

❗ Common Misunderstanding by Others:

People often see avoidants as cold, distant, or uninterested, when in reality they are protecting themselves from emotional overwhelm

💡 What it feels like:

• Pulling away when intimacy is offered even when it damages the connection

• Difficulty identifying and expressing emotions or asking for support

• Feeling safest when in control of personal space, may feel controlled when shared space is desired

• Struggling to let people in without fear of losing autonomy, or fear of being emotionally manipulated

• Hyper-awareness of potential emotional demands from others, often leads to false assumptions

• Longing for connection, but instinctively avoiding vulnerability

⚠️ Childhood Examples That Can Lead to Avoidant Attachment:

• Caregivers who were emotionally unavailable, dismissive, or constantly busy

• Caregivers who minimized or ignored the child’s emotional needs... "toughen up, get over it"

• Parents who imposed unrealistic expectations for independence, e.g., “You need to handle it yourself”

• Caregivers who responded with criticism, frustration, or overwhelm when the child expressed vulnerability

• Parents frequently away due to work or other responsibilities, or present but emotionally absent

• Mixed messages: sometimes affectionate, sometimes rejecting

💔 Challenges in Relationships and Common Triggers:

• Avoiding emotional intimacy or withdrawal when closeness is offered

• Difficulty expressing needs or acknowledging feelings and being overwhelmed by others emotions

• Feeling suffocated when partners want emotional closeness

• Triggers: requests for vulnerability, dependency, accountability, or extended time together

• Observer perspective: often perceived as “distant” or “cold,” even though they want connection

🌱 Long-term Echoes into Adulthood:

• Trouble forming deep, consistent relationships

• Patterns of emotional self-reliance at the expense of closeness

• Difficulty trusting partners’ intentions

• Chronic stress from suppressing emotions or avoiding vulnerability

• Health consequences: anxiety, chronic stress, insomnia, digestive problems, weakened immunity

💡 The Good News and Hope:

Healing is possible. With intentional support, you can develop secure attachment patterns, feel safe with intimacy, and experience balanced independence without fear.

📝 Curious about your attachment style?
Take this quiz:https://www.attachmentproject.com/attachment-style-quiz/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMRoaZjbGNrAxGhoWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeabsDRDBp48yKhE2VFibP0qH6ryO1JA97XbmswRRkJzIyifh8omlMK8Vmnio_aem_TMcHVpXzLxZICjqpnE9xEQ

08/15/2025

Anxious Attachment – Childhood Formation

Do you find yourself overthinking relationships, seeking constant reassurance, and fearing abandonment even when there is no clear reason?

You might resonate with an anxious attachment style.

This often forms in childhood when caregivers are inconsistent, emotionally unavailable, or over-involved in ways that are confusing. Children learn to heighten attention to caregivers’ cues and become hyper-aware of potential rejection.

🛑 Deepest Fear:
Being abandoned or unloved, and feeling emotionally unworthy

❗ Common Misunderstanding by Others:
People often see them as clingy or needy, when in reality they are responding to an ingrained survival instinct to maintain connection

💡 What it feels like:

• Heightened anxiety about others’ feelings or intentions

• Quick to notice signs of distance, whether real or imagined

• Overthinking or over-interpreting what is said—or not said

• Difficulty being reassured even when care is clearly expressed

• Strong desire to connect deeply and feel secure

• Hypervigilance to emotional cues, often assuming the worst

• Letting people in quickly, sometimes over-disclosing

⚠️ Childhood Examples That Can Lead to Anxious Attachment:

• Caregivers inconsistently available, affectionate, or emotionally responsive

• Mixed messages: “I love you” sometimes, withholding attention at other times

• Caregivers who pressured the child to “just smile, be happy” or “get over it” when upset

• Punishment or frustration when the child expressed worry, fear, or sadness

• Parents who minimized or ignored emotional needs

• Children of caregivers who were anxious, depressed, or emotionally unstable

💔 Challenges in Relationships and Common Triggers:

• Difficulty trusting partners’ intentions

• Worrying that small signs of distance indicate rejection

• Overthinking or overanalyzing every word, gesture, or silence

• Seeking constant reassurance, which can feel overwhelming to others

• Observer perspective: perceived as “needy” or “clingy”

🌱 Long-term Echoes into Adulthood:

• Struggle with stability in relationships due to fear of abandonment

• Chronic stress and emotional fatigue from over-monitoring relationships

• Nervous system stays on alert, creating anxiety, digestive issues, sleep problems, or heightened inflammation

• Difficulty self-soothing without external reassurance

💡 The Good News and Hope:

With intentional support, you can develop secure attachment patterns, feel confident in relationships, and trust that love is consistent and safe.

https://www.attachmentproject.com/attachment-style-quiz/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMRoaZjbGNrAxGhoWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeabsDRDBp48yKhE2VFibP0qH6ryO1JA97XbmswRRkJzIyifh8omlMK8Vmnio_aem_TMcHVpXzLxZICjqpnE9xEQ

08/14/2025

Let's talk about what attachment style is and why understanding it can change your life.

Have you ever noticed why certain situations, relationships, or emotions trigger the same patterns over and over?

The way we relate to ourselves, others, and even God is shaped by our attachment style. It’s a reality we live in, formed early based on how our needs were met... or unmet, but often we don’t fully understand it.

Knowing your attachment style can change how you live, love, and heal.

Here’s a glimpse of what each attachment style can feel like and how it may be perceived by others:

Secure: You feel steady, capable of intimacy, and comfortable with both closeness and independence. You handle conflict with calm, and trust and connection come naturally.

Others often see you as balanced, reliable, and trustworthy, someone they can count on and feel safe with.

Anxious: You crave closeness but fear abandonment. You might overanalyze messages, worry if others care, or feel emotionally swept up in highs and lows.

Others may perceive you as needy, clingy, or sensitive, though they may also admire your openness and emotional depth.

Avoidant: You value independence and maintaining your sense of identity. You may pull away from closeness when it feels overwhelming, because vulnerability feels risky, but you also long for meaningful connection on your own terms.

Others may see you as distant, guarded, or self-sufficient. They may admire your independence but feel frustrated when you withdraw.

Disorganized: You want connection yet fear it at the same time. Internally, life can feel like a rollercoaster, full of emotional highs and lows, confusion, and unpredictability. You may swing between anxious and avoidant patterns, craving closeness one moment and withdrawing the next, whether or not you are in a relationship.

Others may perceive you as unpredictable, inconsistent, or confusing, though they may also notice your intensity, passion, and vulnerability.

Attachment patterns affect every single part of life.

They shape how we communicate, respond to stress, make decisions, set boundaries, parent, work, and even experience God’s presence.

They influence not just relationships, but our inner sense of safety, peace, and self worth.

The good news is these patterns do not have to define us!

Research in psychology and neuroscience, combined with spiritual insight, shows that with awareness, intentional practice, and guidance, we can move toward secure attachment.

At Wellness Warrior Tribe, the work we do naturally supports this growth helping people recognize their patterns, getting unstuck, healing nervous system responses, and stepping into more grounded, stable, and connected ways of being.

We have walked this journey ourselves, recognizing our patterns, facing the fears they created, and discovering the freedom and steadiness that come from healing attachment wounds.

And we know you can too. 🎉

Curious to see which attachment style shapes your life?

Take this free, trusted quiz to gain insight and start your journey toward secure, healthy connection:
👉 Attachment Style Quiz
https://www.attachmentproject.com/attachment-style-quiz/

Understanding your attachment style is more than knowledge. It is the first step to breaking old cycles, transforming relationships, and stepping into a life of emotional freedom, grounded peace, and connection with yourself and others.

It's one of the greatest and most empowering tools available to becoming whole! ❤️

08/14/2025

Part IV, Secure Attachment:

When the secure says: “I want a real relationship”
What they actually mean is:
“I want love that grows, challenges me, and allows both of us to thrive.”

To someone with a secure attachment style, connection feels alive and present, like a deep current beneath still water. Emotions are felt fully, but they do not overwhelm. They can stay present in intensity without being swept away, and they can hold space for their partner without losing themselves.

Conflict does not feel like a threat; it is an invitation. They can face difficult conversations head-on, speak their truth without fear, and receive feedback without defensiveness. Their steadiness becomes a harbor, a place where their partner can land even in the stormiest moments.

To someone on the outside, secure love feels different from anxious urgency, avoidant distance, or disorganized chaos. It is a room full of light and air, yet with weight and gravity. It is warmth and steadiness. You feel your voice matter, your presence welcomed, and your heart safe to open.

Even in the hardest moments, they move with patience and courage. Their strength is quiet but unshakable, their love expansive but grounded, like the calm of a stream that flows steadily, shaping everything around it without force. They were created to love fully, to weather storms without breaking, and to build a connection that can grow deeper, stronger, and more beautiful over time.

The good news... we can all heal to a secure attachment! ❤️

08/13/2025

Part III, Disorganized Attachment:

Disorganized attachment is wanting closeness and fearing it at the same time.
It is craving love but bracing for the moment it disappears.
It is reaching out while pulling back.

To someone with a disorganized attachment style, connection can feel like walking through a minefield. Every step toward intimacy feels risky. Every moment of safety feels temporary. They have often lived in cycles where the same person who offered love also caused pain, leaving them unsure whether closeness will bring comfort or harm.

They may cling tightly in moments of fear, desperate to keep the connection alive, and then push away when vulnerability feels too raw. It is not because they do not care, but because caring deeply has always been tangled with the fear of loss.

They often test the relationship without even realizing it, wondering if the other person will stay through the storm. They want to believe love can be steady, but the idea of true safety can feel foreign, almost unreal.

When they say they want love, what they mean is they want a place where their whole self can exist without fear. They long for a connection that will not punish their need for reassurance, that will not disappear when they are at their most human.

The soul was created for love that quiets chaos. For presence that stays, even when emotions run deep. For a bond that does not require self-protection at the cost of intimacy. That kind of love can exist. And when met with patience, compassion, and the kind of steadiness that reflects how we were designed to be loved, healing begins to take root.

It does not happen overnight. It happens slowly, in moments of being seen and not abandoned. It happens when love shows up consistently enough to disprove the fears that have been carried for years.

It happens one breath at a time.

08/10/2025

Part II, Avodiant Attachment:

When the avoidant says: “I just want an easy relationship.”
What they actually mean is:
“I want a relationship that doesn’t trigger my attachment wounds.”

To someone with an avoidant attachment style, easy doesn’t mean healthy communication, mutual respect, and steady emotional connection. It means emotionally unchallenging.

It means a relationship that feels safe because it stays just out of reach.
One that doesn’t require them to examine their emotional patterns, open up about their needs, or confront uncomfortable truths about themselves.

It means being with someone who doesn’t ask for too much, who doesn’t get “too close,” who doesn’t have emotional expectations they feel incapable of meeting.

They want a relationship where they are free to disconnect the moment intimacy starts to feel suffocating.

A relationship that allows them to maintain their independence at all costs even if that means sacrificing depth, connection, and emotional reciprocity.
They want to feel the comfort of knowing someone is there for them, but without the responsibility of being emotionally available in return.

To the avoidant, vulnerability doesn’t just feel uncomfortable, it can feel dangerous.
It threatens the emotional distance they have worked so hard to protect.

So they chase relationships that feel “low pressure,” where they can pick and choose when they engage and when they retreat.
Where they are not required to emotionally invest beyond what feels safe.
Where they can seek validation, affection, or companionship on their terms without ever being fully seen or known.

They want someone who will not challenge them.
Who will not ask, “Where is this going?”
Who will not press them to talk about feelings or needs.
Someone who will not notice when they begin to detach and will not ask them to stay when they have emotionally checked out.

When they say, “I just want an easy relationship,” what they often mean is:

“I want a connection that does not demand growth.
I want love without intimacy, affection without accountability, and presence without pressure.
I want a relationship where I do not have to face myself, where I can remain untouched by the vulnerability real love requires.”

But deep down, the soul was designed for connection.
Even those who keep their distance carry a longing for a safe and steady love that sees them fully and does not turn away.

The “easy” relationship they seek might feel comfortable, but it can also keep them from the kind of deep, lasting bond they were created to experience, one where love is both safe and transformative.

And sometimes, the “easy” relationship they are looking for is not love at all, it is an escape from the refining process that turns love into something real.

If you have an avoidant attachment style, the good news is you can grow into a secure attachment. ❤️

08/07/2025

Part I, Anxious Attachment:

When the anxious attachment says: “I just want to feel loved.”

What they actually mean is:
“I want to know that I matter to you, that I’m not just a passing thought.”

For someone with an anxious attachment style, love is often a source of intensity. They feel deeply, like the depths of the ocean deep, because they’ve learned to measure their worth based on the love they receive.

When that love feels uncertain or inconsistent, it shakes the core of their foundation. They need to know they are wanted, that they are enough, that they won’t be abandoned.

When they say, “I just want to feel loved,” they mean:

“I want to feel secure in your love... knowing you’re not going anywhere.”

“I want you to show me that I matter, that I’m important to you.”

“I need to feel that the bond between us is strong and unshakable.”

“I want to know that I’m not being left behind, that you’ll stay when things get tough.”

“I need to know that I am enough. Just as I am.”

The anxiety comes from the fear of being abandoned or forgotten. It’s a heavy burden.

It’s not about demanding love; it’s about desperately trying to feel it, to see it, to make sure it’s real and that it won’t disappear when things get hard.

They want to be held, not just physically, but emotionally, so they can feel the comfort of knowing they are loved in a way that is constant, unwavering.

They want reassurance, even though they may fear asking for it, because reassurance soothes their nerves and reminds them that they are seen.

But love, to them, feels fragile, like it can slip through their fingers at any moment. They don’t want to be too much or make others feel burdened by their need for closeness, but they still yearn for it.

When they say, “I just want to feel loved,” what they are really saying is:

“I want to feel cherished, not overlooked.”

“I need to know that love is steady, even when things feel uncertain.”

“I want emotional intimacy that feels safe, not like it could disappear with the next fight or disagreement.”

“I want love that stays, that doesn’t pull back when I show up with all my feelings.”

They are not seeking to be perfect or always be okay.
They just need the assurance that someone will stay even when the emotions get overwhelming.

They need to know that they can be loved through the mess, through the anxiety, without feeling like it’s too much or a burden.

But in their deepest heart, they want more than that.
They want a love that is steady.

Steady love not driven by fear, not based on “performing” for affection.

They want a connection where closeness is safe, where they can be vulnerable without fear of rejection, and where they can feel valued without question.

True love isn’t just reassurance.
It’s the kind of love that says, “I see you, all of you, and I choose you... every part, every feeling, every high and every low.”

Real love is constant, not because it’s always perfect, but because it’s real.

It’s love that doesn’t run away when feelings get intense. It’s love that remains, even when emotions are heavy. It’s the kind of love that assures them they are enough—not because of what they do or give—but simply because of who they are.

When they say, “I just want to feel loved,” what they really mean is:

“I want love that doesn’t falter, that stays strong and secure even in the toughest times.”

“I want a bond where I’m not second-guessing how you feel about me.”

“I want to trust that you will be here, not just in the easy moments, but in the hard ones too.”

Love for them is about feeling safe in someone’s presence, not just the absence of distance, but the active choice to stay close. It’s about knowing that they are loved for who they are, even in their messiest, most anxious moments.

The amazing news is if you have an anxious attachment, you can grow to a secure attachment! ❤️

01/30/2025

This is why we do the work. We were unwilling to allow the echoes of pain to continue. We are proof that broken things can mend, become whole, and change an entire generation.

We've created new echoes for generations to come, so can you. ❤️

Wellness Warrior Tribe

01/05/2026

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