For Destinee Ristau, childhood trauma didn’t simply depart invisible wounds—it will definitely impressed her to construct one thing comforting and delightful.
At present, she’s identified for her vibrant nostalgia room, a colourful area stuffed with posters, toys, and reminiscences from the ’90s and early 2000s.
However behind the enjoyable and playful decor is a deeper story of ache, loss, and emotional therapeutic.
The room has brilliant pink partitions, Britney Spears posters, Disney Princess bedding, classic lava lamps, and a well-loved Furby.
However every merchandise holds that means past its floor—it represents the sort of childhood Destinee says she by no means received to totally take pleasure in.
“The room wouldn’t exist with out the trauma. I used to be rising up in a tough scenario from the ages of 1 to 7, and I handled full chaos,” she solely tells PEOPLE. “My dad and mom separated. It was not an amicable separation.”
Early chaos and the roots of childhood trauma
Now 35, Destinee recollects that a lot of her formative years was unstable.
Her mom labored nights at a membership and slept through the day, leaving Destinee alone and unsupervised for lengthy stretches.
It wasn’t till her father stepped in that she discovered a safer dwelling. Issues received higher by the point she was six, however the lasting results of these early years by no means actually went away.
Faculty introduced its personal challenges, together with bullying. For a lot of her youth, she felt disconnected from the carefree experiences different children appeared to have.
The burden of her childhood trauma stayed together with her into maturity. However it wasn’t till her father handed away in 2017 that Destinee started to totally course of her ache.
That loss turned the spark for her therapeutic journey.
Grief led to emotional therapeutic by nostalgia
After her dad’s most cancers analysis and passing, Destinee knew she had an excessive amount of buried inside.
She turned to remedy and enrolled in school to review psychology. It helped her perceive her grief, but it surely additionally uncovered deeper ache.
Her therapeutic path wasn’t simple. One loss adopted one other.
“It become a continuing loop of grief… I’m making an attempt to heal myself, and everybody round me that I really like is dying. How are you going to heal when all this stuff preserve occurring to you?” she shared.
In the midst of that heartache, she started to ask herself what her youthful self really wanted.
“I began leaning into ‘What’s little Destinee making an attempt to inform me proper now? What does she want?’”
That query turned the start line for one thing sudden—a return to the previous.
She began shopping for issues that reminded her of childhood pleasure, even when she hadn’t skilled it the primary time.
The primary objects she purchased have been small: a lava lamp, an inflatable chair, and “The Princess Diaries” VHS tape.
Slowly, these purchases grew into a complete room.
She stuffed the area with mushy toys, catalogs from the early 2000s, and iconic girlhood trinkets she by no means received to maintain.
The room turned her sanctuary.
A nostalgia room stuffed with bodily media and luxury
As a result of most of her childhood belongings had been misplaced, Destinee started to seek out objects by thrift shops, eBay, and classic retailers.
Every bit of her nostalgia room was fastidiously chosen from posters to Polly Pockets.
Among the many most significant is a daybed in the midst of the room. It reminds her of when her father introduced her dwelling and gave her a Pocahontas mattress.
That and her Disney Princess TV and stuffed animals assist her really feel secure.
Her room can be stuffed with bodily media, like DVDs, CDs, and dozens of VHS tapes.
She says these tangible objects convey consolation in a world that usually feels too quick and digital.
She encourages others to do the identical: “You need to have a duplicate of your favourite film. You need to have bodily media. If you happen to watch Gilmore Women yearly, purchase the DVD set. You’ll be a lot happier.”
What began as a private retreat is now a shared expertise.
Destinee posts common movies of her nostalgia area on TikTok and Instagram, and the response has been overwhelming.
Folks message her saying her room helps calm their nervousness or brings again heat reminiscences from their very own previous. For some, watching her content material is a type of remedy.
Turning childhood trauma into inspiration for others
Although not everybody understands her undertaking, Destinee is pleased with her creation.
“To be cringy is to be free. It makes me glad. It makes so many individuals glad,” she stated.
Her message is obvious: therapeutic doesn’t must look typical. Generally, it seems to be like a lava lamp and a favourite childhood cartoon.
She continues to broaden her assortment and plans to design new themed areas, together with a “grandma kitchen” and a celestial room.
Whereas some might say she’s caught previously, Destinee believes her journey by childhood trauma is what introduced her right here—and that wanting again is a part of shifting ahead.
Most of all, she encourages folks to reconnect with the components of themselves they might have forgotten.
Her nostalgia room isn’t only for present. It’s an area the place she—and now others—can discover emotional therapeutic in colours, toys, and treasured reminiscences.
In a small manner, it helps her rewrite the story of a childhood that when felt misplaced.
Right here’s a fast tour of Destinee’s nostalgia room—an area born from childhood trauma that now brings consolation, shade, and therapeutic:
@nineties_babyy and i like sharing it with all of you!! 🥹💗✨️ #nostalgia #2000s #2000snostalgia #2000sthrowback #millennial #90s #90snostalgia #90sthrowback #nostalgic #y2k #innerchild ♬ Rush – Aly & AJ
Associated Posts:
Uncover extra from My Optimistic Outlooks
Subscribe to get the most recent posts despatched to your electronic mail.
