March 2020

ACEs Connection is fueled by a small diverse workforce . Due to the needs of the worldwide ACEs movement , we are strategically located in various regions across the country. Because of this, we are a virtual workforce. Here at ACEs Connection, we are pros at working from home. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, I know that many of you are transitioning from brick and mortar businesses, offices and cubicles to home offices. Working from home under normal circumstances requires adjustment and focus.

The ACEs Connection site contains a wealth of information. Sometimes we say it is the Library of Congress or the Wikipedia of the ACEs Science movement. And the home page of ACEsConnection.com is just “the tip of the ACE-berg” because there is so much behind the home page for this “community of communities” (we now have more than 400 different geographic and interest-based communities .) With the thought in mind that there is so much going on on our site, we’ve decided to help break it down...

By Odessa Stork, The Hofstra Chronicle, March 30, 2020 When I was a senior in high school, one of my classmates died by suicide just a few months before graduation. I remember walking to school with my best friend the day after it happened. As we made our way along the overpass, I looked down at all the cars speeding on through. “Shouldn’t everyone, just, like, stop?” I thought to myself. I was 16 and it was the first time that my world had been seriously turned upside down, so in my brain,...

photo credit: chuttersnap/unsplash.com By Alice M. Kenny (pseudonym) (The article below is an excerpt from my new book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids . I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) The emotions adult children of parents with mental illness experience are a mixed bag. Sometimes a jumble. Guilt, loss, grief, and resentment are among the emotions that persist or bubble to the surface in adulthood. Some feel...

For all the uncertainty wrought by the coronavirus, one thing is certain: across the country, every day and night, our frontline healthcare workers are navigating the challenges of this moment with courage and compassion. As many of us are being asked to serve the public health by stepping back — staying home, sheltering in place, and otherwise minimizing our contact with the outside world — you are stepping forward. You — nurses, doctors, EMTs, hospice workers, community health workers,...

We’ve all had our lives changed. While the world begins to reboot into this new reality, it is really really critical to set good mental habits instead of unhealthy ones. As a psychiatrist now sheltering in place in Massachusetts, I’ve been putting out short (5 minute) videos every day related to what is most relevant right now. For each topic, I first start with a little science of what is going on (e.g. how anxiety + social contagion= panic) and then give simple tips that you can start...

The author is a dear friend, he sent this to me last weekend and I think it is well worth the time to read it. Sending very best wishes to all of you. This is something I wrote last weekend: 1. “I discovered that I’m stronger than I thought I was.” 2. “I changed my priorities about what is important in life.” 3. “I established a new path for my life.” These three statements are part of a larger scale measuring Posttraumatic Growth. The media loves to talk about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder...

Excerpt from the founders of Embrace Race about the webinar tomorrow night from 8:30-9:30 pm ET (5:30-6:30 pm PST): Please go here, to register (free ) and to the E mbrace Race site for more about the organization.

There’s denial, which we say a lot of early on: This virus won’t affect us. There’s anger: You’re making me stay home and taking away my activities. There’s bargaining: Okay, if I social distance for two weeks everything will be better, right? There’s sadness: I don’t know when this will end. And finally there’s Acceptance. This is happening; I have to figure out how to proceed. Acceptance, as you might imagine, is where the power lies. We find control in acceptance. I can wash my hands. I can

NASW sponsored Webinar: Thursday, March 26, 12 - 1:30 EST Illness and pandemics can produce far-reaching mental health effects. This webinar examines who in the community is most at-risk for worsening mental health in the wake of illness, isolation, quarantine, and instability and how to help them cope. It also considers what types of mental health responses should be mobilized in order to meet needs. Presenter: Karen Zilberstein, LICSW , Clinical Director of the Northampton, Massachusetts...

By Elizabeth Hlavinka, MedPage Today, March 17, 2020 COVID-19 coronavirus cases appeared to be less severe in children than adults, although infants and toddlers were more susceptible to the virus than older kids, according to a study done in Wuhan, China. Among 2,143 pediatric cases of suspected or laboratory-confirmed coronavirus, most were mild (50.9%) or moderate (38.8%), and 5.9% were severe or critical (versus 18.5% for adults), reported Yuanyuan Dong, MPH, of Shanghai Jiao Tong...

By Shaili Jain, Mind Body Green, March 23, 2020 Amid the coronavirus pandemic, people everywhere are adjusting to a new normal. As we're all experiencing, the stress of these adjustments certainly differ from our regular day-to-day stress. And for those living with trauma, there's a very real possibility their symptoms could get worse under the current circumstances. With standard ways to cope unavailable (like going to the gym, meeting up with friends, or going to a concert) this can be a...