Hi folks, I am a musician, writer and an advocate addressing the impact of trauma, abuse and mental health challenges & injuries. I believe there is Hope, Healing & Help for all of us who have been affected. My aim is to share resources and lessons I have learned of how trauma, abuse and the challenges of mental health have consequences for not only us as individuals but our families, friends, colleagues and society. I am not a doctor or a therapist - but I have the lived experience...

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...

Hey folks, Please take a listen. I talk, share resources & a song about the hurtful statement too many trauma & abuse survivors hear & the impact of trauma & abuse upon the mind, body & spirit. Just Get Over It - Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKKraLrAwKo&t=2s “Get over it” is a cruel phrase. It means, “Not only do I not care about how you feel, if you were smarter, you wouldn’t care either.” “ Just get over it” places all of...

Hi Folks, The June Surviving Spirit Newsletter – sharing Hope and Healing Resources for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is posted at the website – http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php It can be read online or Subscribe via – http://ml.survivingspirit.com/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20220613164651/ or this – http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2022-06-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_June_2022.pdf To sign up for an e-mail copy, sign up @ Website via Contact Us or...

“ Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch.” - Debasish Mridha The Impact of Trauma Upon Our Lives - Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx1k_oEZ4oc&t=15s 1] How Artists Can Turn Childhood Pain into Creativity - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_artists_can_turn_childhood_pain_into_creativity Some performers are able to transform childhood trauma into intense creativity, suggests a new study. Whether their success was in...

Due to brain plasticity the brain is always adapting. Sometimes negatively, other times positively and most of the time just changed. In situations of extended abuse (years) the brain will adapt to survive the abusive trauma. In many cases the brain stays in a survival mode. Is there a testing/treatment to change the brsin from defensive survivalism back to open growth? Surviving is good but thriving is better. I am certain that these changes have been observed and I hope that treatments...

Hello Bill, I'm a firm believer in thriving and by way of example is my life and what I am doing...I also share numerous examples of thriving in the monthly Surviving Spirit Newsletter - all issues are archived at the website. http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php Also mindful that one person's thriving is not for someone else, we are all different and our traumas/abuse experiences vary. With the newsletter and these You Tube clips and all of the resources shared within them,...

Podcast - Songs of Life, Love, Loss & Hope - Set 1 - Healing Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health Injuries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sOd1-EvpRI “Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch.” - Debasish Mridha 1] Songs For The Keys To Your Life 2] The 9:30 Train 3] The Silence That Separates Us 4] By My Side Michael Skinner Music - https://www.mskinnermusic.com/ “Music has the power to heal, transform and inspire and we have the power through deep listening to increase our...

I am aware of some testing/treatments like QEEG, fMRI and SPECT scans to look for functional anomalies in the brain. At some point I read about childhood/adolescent abusive trauma changing the way that the brain processes life. It had something to do with suppressing dopamine and/or seratonin and/or whatever in order to emotionally survive the event. However, when the trauma is revisited multiple times over years the suppression becomes more permanent. I'm looking for whoever or whatever the...

Songs of Life, Love, Loss & Hope - Set 2 - Healing Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health Injuries - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc0GLP91vWE&t=6s “A diagnosis is not a destiny” - Unknown “There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.” - Laurell K. Hamilton 1] Sorrow 2] Brush Away Your Tears 3] When Your Heart Follows A Lie 4] Joy “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.

Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran The Surviving Spirit Newsletter September 2022 [scroll down for newsletter links] Greetings folks, Well...here we are in September and it's dark at 7:10pm, some leaves are dropping, flowers gone by the wayside and nights are...

“ Hope is being able to see the light despite all the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu “ Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you - all of the expectations, all of the beliefs - and becoming who you are.” - Rachel Naomi Remen The latest Surviving Spirit Newsletter - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out - It can be read online via this & you can also subscribe -...

Hi Everyone! The good news is after seven years, with a five-year break (AKA stall-out), I have finally finished my new book and have titled it: It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD Although my book won't be available to the general public until its launch date on Feb 21 st , 2023, I am offering FREE advance reader copies to a limited amount of people this week. Below is a summary of what my book's about and how to qualify to get a free copy this week.

Fantastic. This looks really good. We need more " How to Heal " type books. This is what I teach. Also free.Fall 2022 LIVE Full Workshop https://www.youtube.com/playli...w4FsUo4FFrIVvyFtxpGA

The Surviving Spirit Newsletter May 2023 - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out. Hi folks, May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the Surgeon General's Report on Loneliness is quite timely: Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking: surgeon general by Amanda Seitz @ AP News The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors [NASMHP] is presenting these three Town Halls that tie in with the Surgeon General's Report: Cultivating a Culture of...

The latest Surviving Spirit Newsletter - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out - It can be read online via this & you can also subscribe - http://ml.survivingspirit.com/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20230724161930/ or this - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2023-07-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_July_2023.pdf “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran Contents List :...

(This is a review of what I believe is an important new resource for the PACEs [for positive and adverse childhood experiences] science movement. Opinions expressed are my own, and are shared as a parent, advocate, author, and longtime student of trauma, healing, and prevention. Thoughts are also shared through my lens as someone who believes, deeply, in the incredible importance of and value in building healthier, more compassionate communities to support and nurture pregnant and new...

A look back from a future in which racism is no more—inspiring us to start taking positive action today. "It's the year 2050… and racism has ended." Could this really be our future? If so, what has to happen now to achieve such a radical change? In How We Ended Racism , Justin Michael Williams and Shelly Tygielski reveal a path for real and lasting global impact—not just talking about it, studying it, or making small steps, but actually ending racism in one generation. Written for...

Music Monday - Jolene performance by Michelle Skinner & Michael Skinner Music has been a healing balm for my daughter and myself in helping to heal our respective traumas of life. And it's Fun!!! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVdlXxTdQYs

The latest Surviving Spirit Newsletter - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out - It can be read online via this & you can also subscribe - http://ml.survivingspirit.com/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20231212193838/ Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared...

Wishing you a New Year with Peace, Hope & Joy. Take care, Michael. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by4tWjowZVo

The latest Surviving Spirit Newsletter - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out - It can be read online via this & you can also subscribe - http://ml.survivingspirit.com/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20240227180514/ Newsletter Contents : 1] The Nordic Way to Stop Bullying by David Robson @ BBC News 2] People Who Had Unhappy Childhoods Usually Develop These Traits by Sinead Cafferty @ Bolde 3] Fighting for Recovery by Phyllis Vine – Beacon Press 4] How...

The latest Surviving Spirit Newsletter - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out - It can be read online via this & you can also subscribe - https://www.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2024-03-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_March_2024.pdf or this- http://ml.survivingspirit.com/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20240321202532/ The Surviving Spirit Newsletter March 2024 Newsletter Contents : 1] Can Music Heal Trauma? Exploring the Therapeutic Powers of Sound by...

To all of you, who, like me, love this website and want to see it and its communities flourish as we work to prevent and heal trauma; build resiliency: please know there is a move afoot by a small group of strategic partners to find a suitable host for PACEs Connection. More will be announced in the coming days. In the meantime, friends, we are figuring out email addresses and other communications logistics and opportunities. PEACE! Carey Sipp, former director of strategic partnerships ...

“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.” - Caroline Myss “But one thing for sure, if you do not address your trauma, it will undress you.” - Sharon Wise “We can't always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it.” - Unknown Michael Skinner trauma healing w/ Pat Deegan - - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-g_mw4F_2o&t=46s