April 2020

Please remember to join us this Friday, April 17th at 11:30 AM (central) for the second in our self-care webinar series. The Change in Mind Institute is hosting a weekly webinar series on self-care. The series runs on Friday at 11:30 AM (central) and will be held every Friday at the same time through June 26 th . They will last 20-30 minutes and provide you with practical ideas and concrete practices for keeping yourself in top condition for meeting the unprecedented demands of the times.

first published by The Meadows 4/15/20 Our sense of loss during the current COVID-19 crisis can trigger hidden emotions from when we experienced a sense of loss before. Whatever early losses you have had in your life — whether they be your own divorce, your parents, or both, or the abandonment of one parent, a childhood or parental illness or death, financial upheaval, constant moving around, or growing up with parental addiction or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — they are likely to...

During a pandemic, understanding the female fear response is really helpful. Because sometimes, as women, our behaviors make us feel crazy. Even if we intellectually know that it’s okay to be in a heightened state of anxiety, the standard theory of fight and flight doesn’t quite explain the intensity of our emotions as we fold the laundry, wash the dishes, plan another meal, and then do it all again. And again ~while keeping things sterile for our families. Adapted to patriarchy, most women...

This is the final week to register or request a scholarshi p to attend the virtual Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing Conference on April 21st. This virtual event with cutting edge community resilience and trauma healing speakers Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg and Dr. Wendy Ellis will provide a platform to convene as a community to learn, connect, and envision a path forward together to transform our region into one of prevention, hope, healing and resilience for all. Conference...

Episode 2

“What are your signs of stress?” asked the leaders of a recent mindfulness webinar hosted by the Philadelphia ACE Task Force (PATF), held during the week that U.S. cases of COVID-19 neared half a million and more than sixty Philadelphians had died of the disease. Participants spilled their responses into the chat box: “headache…teeth grinding…can’t think clearly…nervous stomach…ruminating thoughts…muscle pain…itchiness…bad dreams.” [ At left: #TakeCarePHL during COVID-19 #StayHome #StaySafe.

How quickly the outside world has influenced our inner world and changed our thoughts, patterns, and triggers. Life is definitely coming in waves. We feel a sense of safety if we can be in a healthy home, fear and worry if we have to venture out for food, calm returns after we practice something that soothes and regulates us, and anxiety builds when we hear news and the impact the virus has on the whole world. We are beginning to expect and accept many unpredictable and unknown...

There is some confusion about the differences and similarities between PTSD and CPTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) sound alike but although they have some similar symptoms, they are completely different disorders. In this article, we shall examine together the differences and similarities of these two life-changing diagnoses. What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Post-traumatic stress disorder develops when a person experiences...

By K. Hecht, A. Hosack, & P. Berman I wonder if my plan worked? I’ll find out today. Since the first day he saw Claire on the bus, Craig had begun planning out each step of his campaign to win her as a romantic partner. His first step had been to watch her on the bus before approaching her. His second step had been to find out where she worked and intentionally “not meet” her on the bus. Today would be the day when he’d find out if his plan for increasing her interest in him had worked;...

By P. Berman K. Hecht & A. Hosack I need to make her anxious. I need her to wonder if I’m still interested in her. Craig had been thinking about his conversation with Claire as he continued his bus journey home. He was very attracted to her, but she hadn’t shown enough interest in him. He needed to observe for more and decide what his next step would be. He needed to develop his plan carefully. At this point, the only thing Craig knew about Claire, was that she got on to the bus two...

By Abby R. Rosenberg, JAMA Pediatrics, April 14, 2020 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is affecting our health care community in unprecedented ways. As a pediatric oncologist who studies resilience in the context of illness, I started thinking about what this pandemic means for our professional resilience a few weeks ago, when the first US patient with fatal COVID-19 died in my home city of Seattle, Washington. Promoting resilience among health care workers and organizations starts with...

For many years, mental health professionals and the general public alike have studied and applied symptoms of CPTSD as related to women. However, men react differently to the stressors that cause complex post-traumatic stress disorder and are often either shamed for complaining or are misdiagnosed. In this article, we shall examine how men express the symptoms of CPTSD and how our culture must change their attitudes toward male survivors.