Okay! So, after getting YOUR answers to my crowdsourcing question (thank you for the 100 responses on Facebook and Instagram !): "What do you want to see from me on social media?" the overwhelming #1 response was more nuggets of science, offered with the shared sense that I understand YOUR struggles, I see your suffering. And I do. Oh, you have no idea how much I do. So, with that in mind, here's a nugget of science about How Genes Respond to Trauma and Stress . Some genes, like the ones...

Oh Christine, I just dropped my 19 year old off at work and I decided to park and read some emails. I happened upon your post and here I am in tears in the parking lot. I only learned about ACEs two years ago during my recovery from colon cancer. I too am raising a son and 2 daughters and myself right now. So many A-ha moments came up while reading "Childhood Distupted: How your Biography becomes your Biology and how you can heal." And so much sadness comes up...for little Linda as well as...

You go Joyelle! I am SO proud of you! I am a survivor too and I’m doing similar work. My focus is on helping adult survivors of adverse childhood experiences, not necessarily parents, to acknowledge and transform their pain. I’m so excited to hear you are in that avenue and can’t wait to point people to your work. I can’t tell you how much this encourages me because I have received some push back from experts in this space since I don’t have the certifications or licenses on this topic. I’ve...

Please, if anyone can assist please share with me. I live in Chattanooga, Tn... My wish is to start an online share group with victims of childhood abuse. The avenues for this challenge are limited . Sex talk frightens the dickens out of folk.. The local newspaper, so far reluctant to help and worthless still is Craigs List. In 2011 I wrote and was published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press an article sharing my own abuse when a child. Dozens contacted. All stripes and horror stories of...

Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: One-Pager

So many people are struggling with unhealed, hidden wounds from toxic childhood stress. For some the pain is obvious. Others might look outwardly strong, capable, and in control. However, unhealed inner wounds cause needless suffering and can lead to a dizzying array of psychological, medical, and functional problems. This three-part blog discusses the road to recovery. Part I explained “The Principles of Healing.” This part explains why traditional treatments are not usually the best...

So many people are struggling with unhealed, hidden wounds from toxic childhood stress. For some, the pain is obvious. Others might look outwardly strong, capable, and in control. However, unhealed inner wounds cause needless suffering and can lead to a dizzying array of psychological, medical, and functional problems. Fortunately, there is hope for healing—even decades after traumatic wounding from ACEs occurs—enabling us to be 100% there for ourselves, our families, and others we work and...

Apply for a Scholarship In this new video PJI Director, Rachel Allen shares some exciting information regarding what you can expect at the upcoming Conference! Register for the Conference Conference Overview: The Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College, the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County, the Creating a Resilient Community Network and Title Sponsor, Orlando Health, are excited to invite you to register for the Third Annual Creating a Resilient Community (CRC): From Trauma...

Dysregulated stress is central to the ACEs/health outcomes link. The healing journey starts with regulating stress arousal that is stuck on too high or too low.

Please join us for our new series entitled: Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice. This monthly virtual Zoom series will feature conversations facilitated by Dr. Porter Jennings-McGarity, PhD/LCSW, PACEs Connection’s criminal justice consultant, with special guests to discuss the need for trauma-informed criminal justice system reform. Using a PACEs-science lens, this series will examine the relationship between trauma and the criminal justice system, what needs changing, and strategies being...

On Thursday, April 28, Donna Jackson Nakazawa, an award-winning science journalist, joins the podcast "History. Culture. Trauma." Jackson Nakazawa is the author of seven books, and an internationally-recognized speaker whose work explores the intersection of neuroscience, immunology, and human emotion. This podcast is our final episode to acknowledge April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Throughout the month, co-hosts Ingrid Cockhren, CEO of PACEs Connection, and Mathew Portell,...

Are you over 60 and successful despite your Adverse Childhood Experiences? Are you realizing that it’s truly now or never for your Soul’s original desire? Do you want to secure your Soul’s full incarnation before you leave this Earth? Are there family relationships you’d like to mend?

PACEs Connection is excited to roll out our summer 2023 *CRC* curriculum dates. Members who complete the CRC will qualify for a fall 2023 fellowship program.

[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the effects of abuse, and includes research articles on PACEs. Every month, she posts the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs, PCEs and PACEs. Thank you, Harise!! — Rafael Maravilla] Domestic Violence – Effects on Children Makris G, Eleftheriades A, Pervanidou P. Early Life Stress, Hormones, and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Horm Res...

(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...

I'm thrilled to announce that my book, Healing Emotional Eating for Trauma Survivors: Trauma-Informed Practices to Nurture a Peaceful Relationship with Your Emotions, Body, and Food is available. I'm honored that PACES member Donna Jackson Nakazawa, award-winning science journalist and author of seven books, wrote the foreword. Healing Emotional Eating for Trauma Survivors is the culmination of my nearly 40-year career as a clinical social worker and holistic psychotherapist specializing in...

The brain doesn’t fully develop until about the age of 25. This fact is sometimes quite surprising and eye opening to most adults. It can also be somewhat overwhelming for new parents and professionals who are interacting with babies and young children every day, to contemplate. It is essential to realize however, that the greatest time of development occurs in the years prior to kindergarten. And even more critical to understand is that by age three 85 percent of the core structures of the...

Christina Bethell, Ph.D, MBA, MPH, founder of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), principal author of the groundbreaking study on positive childhood experiences, and creator of the free Well Visit Planner, among other innovations. Two internationally-respected leaders and innovators in complementary aspects of early relational health and childhood and maternal health equity recently launched a partnership they believe will benefit everyone from newborn babies and...

Emotion has an enormous impact on imprinting memory in our brains. I had an experience when I was 6 years old that included emotion and I have the memory of it all of these many years later. It was a 6 year old birthday sleepover party. There were 7 girls invited that lived near each other and played together most days. A girl new to the neighborhood was invited only due to the requirement of the birthday girl’s mother. I was also invited. I lived a block away but did play with these girls...

This splinter story is an APOE metaphor, a term I have coined as "adverse pre-onset experiences" aka APOEs. This builds on the term for our knowledge that ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) influence risk for chronic illness. This is about how chronic illness starts for many of us within weeks or months of a stressful or traumatic event. And how we think, very normally, that this particular event is the cause...