Tagged With "toxic stress"
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Eighteenth Edition: Preventing ACEs | Healing Adversity | Promoting Resilience
Aligning Resources Across Georgia To Support Resiliency To Our Resilient Georgia Partners and Stakeholders: Mark your calendars for our Lunch and Learn taking place July 21st from 12 to 12:45. We launched Resilient Georgia Lunch and Learn series this year to provide a place for our regional coalition partners, peers, and stakeholders to share opportunities for partnership across the state. Next month will feature Sewn Arts . Sewn Arts is a nonprofit organization working throughout Georgia...
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Surviving medical school with depression (www.kevinmd.com) & note
Here are two excerpts from a powerful blog post on the KevindMd site which is written by an anonymous medical student. I recommend the entire blog post which can be found here . Cissy's note: If doctors to be, while in medical school are not treated well by the medical model they are being trained to perform in, how can we expect them to then treat patients with compassion and understanding? I think of this now not only as a trauma survivor, and a patient advocate, but as a mother to a...
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** NCTSN September 2021 Spotlight ** [mednet.ucla.edu]
While natural disasters can strike at any time with very little warning, families and communities can take steps to prepare in the event that a disaster does occur. With the devastation caused by ongoing events (hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, COVID-19) across the nation, this reaffirms the need for disaster preparedness. Our thoughts are with the families, children, and communities who have been affected by these disasters. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) has resources...
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ACEs, Sugar Addiction, and Weight Gain by Dr. Felitti & Dr. Alman
In many cases, sugar addiction (just like other forms of addiction) can be linked to ACEs. When adverse childhood experiences go unresolved, sugar is easily accessible and can provide a temporary pressure relief valve from toxic stress. Sometimes, this way of coping is unconscious because the sugar-eating habits are reinforced by the brain’s altered hardwiring that craves that next dopamine hit. Then, there's the weight gain...
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Executive Summary: Eisner Health's Journey Through Implementing Trauma Informed Care
Eisner Health's Journey Through Implementing Trauma Informed Care Since July 2020, ACEs Aware has awarded 185 grants totaling $45.1 million to organizations statewide to augment the state of California’s work on the ACEs Aware initiative. Origins Training & Consulting received one of these grants to tell the story of Eisner Health's journey in implementing a trauma-informed approach as written by @Lori Chelius . Executive Summary “When we take care of ourselves, that’s when we can...
Member
Hendrieka Fitzpatrick MD
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A Trauma-Informed Approach to Vaccine Hesitancy (Sign On Letter Attached In First Line)
Please sign onto and share this memo supporting using a trauma-informed approach to decreasing vaccine hesitancy! Many of the challenges we are facing with vaccine hesitancy can be better understood by looking at the issue through a trauma-informed lens. The following memo has been developed with input from many of the clinical and academic thought leaders from the trauma healing field to offer supportive guidance to the Administration. To successfully address this challenge, we need to...
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Re: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Vaccine Hesitancy (Sign On Letter Attached In First Line)
It is really challenging to understand the vociferous rejection of powerful, effective, well proven medical therapies like vaccines even when your children are thus made vulnerable and even when people around you are getting ill and even dying. This obviously not a logical, rational process. Medicine and public health are to be faulted for trying to motivate a change in these attitudes by just repeating established clinical data. This post has a cogent and interesting analysis which adds to...
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A Trauma Informed Approach to Vaccine Fear
PLEASE SIGN ON TO THIS MEMO TO SUPPORT OUTREACH ALONG THESE LINES TO THE ADMINISTRATION! If the goal is to impact meaningful change, it might prove helpful to view vaccine fear through a trauma informed-lens. There is an intentional shift from the use of the word “hesitancy” and instead using the more specific and appropriate term “fear”. We are more likely to change that which we better define and understand. The following memo has been developed with input from an interdisciplinary team of...
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Stress Busters Handout
We all have inner strengths and resilience that can help us deal with challenges and stress. To help us manage stress, PACEs Connection and ACEs Aware created a handout based on seven evidence-based stress busters , as described in the Roadmap for Resilience: The California Surgeon General’s Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences, Toxic Stress, and Health . These interventions can help reduce stress, improve health, and build resilience. Please share widely! The handout is available in the...
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Re: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Vaccine Hesitancy (Sign On Letter Attached In First Line)
It is really challenging to understand the vociferous rejection of powerful, effective, well proven medical therapies like vaccines even when your children are thus made vulnerable and even when people around you are getting ill and even dying. This obviously not a logical, rational process. Medicine and public health are to be faulted for trying to motivate a change in these attitudes by just repeating established clinical data. This post has a cogent and interesting analysis which adds to...
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Nourishing a Brain Wounded by Childhood Adversity
The right mix of nutrients revitalizes the brain that's been wounded by ACEs. Good nutrition can quickly improve mood and functioning in the present, while improving the potential to rewire disturbing memories imprinted in childhood.
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PACEs Champion Dr. Lourdes Valdez uses Reach Out and Read as one way to integrate practices based on PACEs science
Our interview for this profile took place over two continents, from the U.S. to Lima, Peru, where Lourdes Valdez, pediatrician in Butte County, California, for 23 years, was attending to family affairs after the death of her mother. Valdez grew up in Lima, and later earned her medical degree in Peru before moving to Iowa City, Iowa, in 1992 for her residency. She said her mother helped make her a resilient person. Although working full time as an economist and statistician, her mother made a...
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Need to fund your resilience initiative? Here’s how.
Chart is sample page from county-by-county funding allocated as part of ARPA. Information is available by clicking here. This is the first of several articles on the importance of any resilience-focused entity, including your PACEs Connection community, seeking out the people in your area allocating ARPA funding and asking for money. Organizations do not necessarily have to be 501 C-3 nonprofits to receive funding. Thanks to federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to states in April...
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Adverse Childhood Experiences, the Brain, and Exercise: How exercise strengthens the brain wounded by toxic childhood stress
Even small amounts of exercise can quickly and dramatically improve mood, brain health, brain function, and the ability to cope with stress, while preparing the brain to rewire the hidden wounds from childhood.
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Doc on a Mission: Helping Parents Break the Trauma Cycle
Scott Grant, MD., MPH joined us on the Less Stress in Life Podcast for a conversation on childhood trauma, how he approaches incorporating trauma-informed care into his practice, the transformational power of parenthood and his new Docs2Dads podcast. Dr. Grant is a Board-Certified pediatrician who works in primary care and hospital pediatrics in Southeast Michigan. Professionally, Dr. Grant is interested in learning how childhood adversity and toxic stress affect children into adulthood, and...
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Adverse Childhood Experiences, the Brain, and Sleep
Sufficient, good quality sleep strengthens the brain wounded by ACEs in many ways. Intelligent sleep strategies improve mood, brain (and medical) health, brain function, and the capacity to rewire negative neural pathways imprinted in childhood.
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Nightmares and ACEs: They No Longer Need Rule the Night
Recurring nightmares lead to much needless suffering for survivors of adverse childhood experiences—suffering that goes well beyond disturbed sleep. Five steps help take back the night.
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Resilient Guilford Network (NC) shares resources for talking with children about war in the Ukraine
In light of recent events, Resilient Guilford Network is sharing resources from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) in response to the war on Ukraine. Some are specific to military families, while others are more general resources. Please see the links below and let us know if you have questions and how we can help support your local efforts. Deep breaths as we start a new week together. We look forward to staying connected and are grateful for all you do. General Child...
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ACEs and the Resilient Brain
Beyond the main pillars of sleep, exercise, and nutrition, these six practices optimize brain health and functioning in the present, while preparing the brain to adaptively rewire the hidden wounds from toxic childhood stress.
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Research shows only a tiny percentage of physicians integrating PACEs science
Three relatively recent studies from different parts of the U.S. show that only a tiny percentage of physicians, medical school faculty and other healthcare providers are integrating practices and policies based on the science of positive and adverse childhood experiences (PACEs). Why it matters: For people in the PACEs community, the following is news that’s 20 years old: Adverse childhood experiences are common, preventable and linked to six out of the top ten leading causes of death in...
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Neuroplasticity, Imagery, and Adverse Childhood Experiences
The disturbing neural imprints from adverse childhood experiences need not be a life sentence. Imagery is an extremely helpful tool to modify the circuitry of the brain, utilizing the principle of neuroplasticity. Imagery strengthens and stabilizes the brain, while laying down alternative neural pathways.
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How Nature Helps Us Heal (greatergoodberkeley.edu)
A doctor explains why he prescribes time outside to his patients. I have been giving out old-school paper prescriptions for about two years now, where I prescribe non-pharmaceutical steps that have been proven to make people healthier. I had heard that nature can make people happier and healthier, but, embarrassingly, I envisioned it for more “outdoorsy” people like me, whatever that means. Also, I assumed it would offer just a slight bump in the happiness quotient. It took almost 150 years,...
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Emotional Intelligence and Healing Hidden Wounds
What is emotional intelligence? How does it help us cope in the present and heal the hidden wounds from childhood that continue to disturb us?
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Register now! Dr. Bruce Perry to discuss historical trauma and help launch new "Connecting Communities One Book at a Time" book study with his best-seller, "What Happened to You?"
Please join us on June 28 from 1:30-3:00 p.m. ET for a virtual conversation with best-selling author Bruce Perry. Ingrid Cockhren , CEO of PACEs Connection; Mathew Portell , PACEs Connections’ director of communities, and Perry, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, will engage in a conversation concerning historical trauma and Perry’s best-selling book " What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience and Healing, " which he co-authored with Oprah Winfrey. Please share this blog...
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June 15th CTIPP CAN Call - Toward an Integrated Science of PACEs
Are you interested in learning about new research that integrates the latest brain and social science? Then please join CTIPP’s next Community Action Network (CAN) call on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. PT: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/ 742183645 Meeting ID: 742 183 645 +19292056099,,742183645# US (New York) Q&A session after presentations REGISTER / ADD TO CALENDAR The conversation will explore the integrated science of positive and adverse...
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A Nurse-Led, Well-Being Promotion Using the Community Resiliency Model, Atlanta, 2020–2021 [ajph.aphapublications.org]
By Ingrid M. Duva, Jordan R. Murphy, and Linda Grabbe, Photo: Unsplash, American Journal of Public Health, June 9, 2022 Abstract The wrath of COVID-19 includes a co-occurring global mental health pandemic, raising the urgency for our health care sector to implement strategies supporting public mental health. In Georgia, a successful nurse-led response to this crisis capitalized on statewide organizations’ existing efforts to bolster well-being and reduce trauma. Partnerships were formed and...
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Underground Shame from Adverse Childhood Experiences: Understanding Prepares the Heart to Heal
New understanding of the brain provides hope for breaking the painful grip of shame that’s imprinted in childhood and continues to affect adults. Rewiring shame calls for more than the traditional left brain approaches.
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Taming Underground Shame from the Early Years: Healing Is As Much About the Heart As It Is About Logic
Deeply rooted shame from childhood adversities can lurk beneath conscious awareness, even after early memories are reworked. New understanding of the brain provides hope for breaking the painful grip of shame that’s imprinted in childhood. Traditional therapeutic strategies might not be the best starting point. This blog introduces the first of several healing strategies.
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Rewire Hidden Shame from Adverse Childhood Experiences
Deep-rooted shame resulting from adverse childhood experiences can weigh you down. These skills can help.
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3 More Ways to Rewire Shame from Adverse Childhood Experiences
These three cognitive countermeasures round out the skills for neutralizing shame imprinted in the first 18 years of life. They complement the right brain strategies described in recent articles.
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Moving Forward After Adverse Childhood Experiences: How to Move from Suffering to Flourishing
Once the suffering resulting from adverse childhood experiences is managed, we can turn toward creating a more satisfying life.
Pursuing the honorable life leads to self-respect and inner peace. Compassion for mistakes, understanding their reasons, and applying integrity skills starts us on the path to flourishing.
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How to Help Survivors of Extreme Climate Events (psychologytoday.com)
By Elaine Miller-Karas MSW, LCSW Building Resiliency to Trauma Psychology Today, September 30, 2022 Mental health can suffer after extreme climate events. KEY POINTS Mental health conditions exacerbated by natural disasters include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. After a disaster, the number of people needing assistance from the mental health systems strains or exceeds community capacity. There are simple strategies helpers can use to help survivors restore...
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Moving Forward After Adverse Childhood Experiences, Part 2: Harness the Liberating Power of Forgiveness
The well-timed choice to forgive deep injuries from childhood, though difficult, can greatly improve psychological wellbeing and free us to move ahead. Four keys to forgiveness lay the foundation for cultivating healing forgiveness skills.
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Decolonizing Healthcare Education and Practice (nonprofitquarterly.org)
Anna Tarazevich on pexels.com Author: To read Sonia Sarkar's article, please click here. In their new book, Inflamed , doctors Rupa Marya and Raj Patel explore how colonialism makes us sick while also shaping our core beliefs about how healthcare providers should make us better. For example, Lakota elders in the book describe the forces that led to widespread prevalence of diabetes in their communities: colonizers arrived and dammed a river that traditionally fertilized a rich river valley...
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Lightening the Load We Carry from Childhood: 10 Ways to Forgive the Unkindest Cuts
While the process of forgiving painful offenses from childhood can be very difficult, efforts to forgive bring great rewards. The process begins with acknowledging the pain, applying self-compassion, and taking even small and faltering steps to get the forgiveness ball rolling.
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Jeoff Gordon sees PACEs science, PACEs Connection playing a vital role in ‘relieving some of the most anguishing pain in our society.’
Note: PACEs Connection is in dire financial straits. We are asking for support, from you, our 57,586 members, to help cover the loss of foundation funding that was promised and did not come through. Pay and hours have been cut for our staff—most of us will be laid off for the month of December. Another grant will pick up in January, but we will still be underfunded. Since sounding the alarm this summer, we’ve raised about $26,000 . Thankfully, about 25% of new donors are making monthly...
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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Care for the Soul
Strengthening the wounded soul can improve psychological and physical wellbeing and help to complete the recovery process. Although ACEs, understandably, can numb feelings, including spiritual feelings, once healing has progressed, spiritual feelings can often be successfully cultivated.
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Finding Joy After Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse childhood experiences understandably can numb feelings, including feelings of joy, happiness, and pleasure.
Making time to be joyful rewires the wounded brain. Once healing has progressed, the capacity for joy can usually be expanded through the repeated application of proven joy strategies.
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Bouncing Forward After Adverse Childhood Experiences
Once the healing of hidden wounds from adverse childhood experiences has sufficiently progressed, attention can turn to developing a richly satisfying future. Your innate inner strengths, experiences, and acquired skills will help rewire your brain for a brighter future.
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Exploring the Connection Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Diabetes
Life is hard. None of us makes it through unscathed. Unfortunately, though, some of us have a much tougher journey on this planet than others. Most distressingly of all, children and babies are by no means immune from the wounds that this world all too often inflicts. Indeed, for many children, trauma is not a future threat but a present reality. And these adverse childhood experiences (ACE) can have a devastating long-term impact across all domains of a child’s life. This includes...
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North Carolina moves closer to creating nation's first ACEs-informed courts system
(l-r) Judge J. Corpening; Ben David, district attorney, New Hanover County; Chief Justice Paul Newby; Judge Andrew Heath, executive director, Administrative Office of the Courts of the Chief Justice's ACEs Informed Courts Task Force. David and Heath serve as Task Force co-chairs . “There is not any more important work going on in the State of North Carolina,” said Ben David, District Attorney for New Hanover County and co-chair of the Chief Justice’s ACEs-Informed Task Force . The Task force...
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The Campaign on Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice 2022 Trauma-Informed Policy Development Highlights. Join Wednesday's CAN Call for analysis!
By Whitney Marris, Trauma Therapist and CTIPP's Director of Practice & System Transformation 2022 marked a successful advocacy year for the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice’s (CTIPP) network. Federal and state leaders proposed and supported legislation to prevent and address trauma and create more long-term health, equity, and resilience in more significant numbers than in past years. There is no doubt that the continued commitment and efforts of advocates around the...
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A Promising Treatment for Hidden Wounds from ACEs
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is an emerging trauma therapy for the hidden wounds resulting from Adverse Childhood Experiences. Research to date shows ART for traumatized adults is quick, effective, safe, and well-tolerated. Consistent with new understanding of the brain and body-centered treatment approaches, ART primarily targets trauma images and associated physical and emotional sensations, creatively and efficiently using eye movements and strategies from other trauma treatments.
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How much would the NAS poverty reduction packages reduce referrals to CPS and foster care placements? Would they reduce racial disproportionality in child welfare? (nasonline.org).
Because of a collaboration with Columbia University and UW-Madison, we have answers to these questions. By Peter Peter Pecora, Casey Family Programs, March 17, 2023 - Overview The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently released a “ roadmap ” to reduce child poverty by as much as half through the implementation of a series of social policy packages. The aim of this study was to simulate the reductions in Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement and foster care placements that are...
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Register Now for Inaugural Statewide Summit: Leveraging North Carolina’s Assets to Prevent Childhood Trauma — Virtually & In Raleigh April 27-28!
Information from Summit Brochure and registration site available here . North Carolina’s first Statewide Trauma Summit – a virtual and in-person summit – will beheld Thursday and Friday, April 27-28, in Raleigh, at The McKimmon Conference and Training Center, Summit leaders announced recently. “Momentum is growing in NC for building trauma-informed systems that strengthen resilience and weed out systemic and often intergenerational sources of child trauma. To advance this work, it is...
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Drug Addiction and ACEs: A Journey Through the Gates of Hell to Redemption
Attachment disruptions and other hidden wounds from ACEs can render one more vulnerable to drug addiction. Genuine, mature love from others, and for oneself, can change the course of one's life. A recent book highlights the path from childhood trauma to addiction to recovery.
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How to Disarm Shame Mindfully: A Counterintuitive Approach
Shame-based memories imprint primarily in the non-verbal right brain, largely beneath conscious awareness. When our usual attempts to cope with the inner turmoil of shame fail, mindfulness can help. Bringing the various aspects of a disturbing memory to awareness gives the brain a chance to change the memory.
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How The Physician Shortage Is Impacting Children With ACEs
All children need a secure, safe, and stable environment as they grow up. Young kids must have the care and support they need to aid in their development. But children with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are especially prone to struggling as they age if they don’t have stability. While stability and support can come from a child’s housing situation and those who raise them, they also need quality care from the doctors in their lives. A lack of secure, safe, and stable healthcare for...