Wellness Warrior Tribe, Knoxville, TN (2026)

Feelings of sadness, worry, and fear can leave you stuck in survival mode, but it's possible to get unstuck, become the truest version of yourself, and move forward in purpose.

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.)

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

08/14/2025

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! ❤️

08/13/2025

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. ❤️

Address

Knoxville, TN
37921

Telephone

+18654718727

Website

http://wellnesswarriortribe.net/

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