October 2020

Clallam Resilience Project is facilitating a community project to create a tiny video series called "Take Care & Be Well." The series intends to share resilience skills that community members are already using, and help identify new ones. Videos can be found on the Clallam Resilience Project website or youtube channel . What resilience skills do you practice in everyday life?

There has never been a time when thinking clearly, and thinking for yourself, have been more important than they are right now. With Childhood PTSD, it’s all too common that we end up losing ourselves around other people -- especially people with strong personalities and strong opinions. It’s OK that people have strong opinions. But with us, We get around that and we often feel we have to go along with those opinions, or we go silent, even when we disagree, or we lose track of what we...

The good news? When you modify your daily routine in small ways, you can increase the neurotransmitter dopamine. One of the main effects of dopamine is boosting feelings of happiness and pleasure. [1] You hold the power to create your own happiness! Here’s how. What Is Dopamine? Dopamine is a “feel good” neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation. [1] Like all neurotransmitters, dopamine transmits messages between nerve cells in the brain and body. It works with another feel-good...

Hi Folks, The October edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-10-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_October_2020.pdf To sign up for an e-mail copy, please write to me @ mikeskinner@comcast.net or sign up @ Website via Contact Us, Thanks! Michael. Newsletter Contents : 1] Beauty 2 The Streetz: This woman is beautifying Skid Row one makeover at a time by Alicia Lee 2]...

Changemakers unite! Now is the time for a trauma-informed approach to healing and personal growth. The reinvention of the new normal starts with you!

COVID, ACES and Radical Self-Care Dr. LateshIa Woodley, LPC, NCC & Alexis Kelly, MPA COVID Thursday, March 13, 2020, I woke up thinking I love my life, I have the best job in the world, I get to wake up every day and strive to make a difference in the lives of students and families. Little did I know that a few hours later my life, the lives of my family, and the lives of the families that I serve would forever be changed due to the COVID pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, I was leading...

By Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News, October 7, 2020 Older adults are especially vulnerable physically during the coronavirus pandemic. But they’re also notably resilient psychologically, calling upon a lifetime of experience and perspective to help them through difficult times. New research calls attention to this little-remarked-upon resilience as well as significant challenges for older adults as the pandemic stretches on. It shows that many seniors have changed behaviors — reaching out...

The fear and stress families are experiencing during COVID-19 offers the chance to build lifelong resilience in children and teens. To assist you during this challenging time, the American Academy of Pediatrics is offering this free online-exclusive chapter from Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg’s book, Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings, 4 th edition . The special bonus chapter includes expanded information about building resilience during this pandemic, including...

By Hope Reese, The New York Times, October 7, 2020 Laurie Santos, a psychology professor at Yale University and host of The Happiness Lab podcast, is a leading expert in positive psychology, a relatively young field. Since she began teaching “ The Science of Well-Being ” in 2018, it has become the most popular course in Yale’s history, with nearly a quarter of students enrolling. The class, now online for free, applies what Dr. Santos calls a “preventative medicine approach” to mental health...

By Emma Seppälä, Christina Bradley, and Michael R. Goldstein, Harvard Business Review, September 29, 2020 When U.S. Marine Corp Officer Jake D.’s vehicle drove over an explosive device in Afghanistan, he looked down to see his legs almost completely severed below the knee. At that moment, he remembered a breathing exercise he had learned in a book for young officers. Thanks to that exercise, he was able to stay calm enough to check on his men, give orders to call for help, tourniquet his own...

My brain still isn't totally back to the Ivy League straight-A standard I was used to. Maybe it never will be. But you know what? I no longer care about that old way. This brain, this miraculous body, it's the house of an Inner Artist who knows how to move from what is into the most delicious version of what might be. I don't believe this makes me special. I believe we all have that inner creative compass, chomping at the bit to lead us home.

The magnificent fall foliage displayed during the month of October reminds me of transition and forward momentum. Ideally, as humans, we grow and change along with the seasons to find meaning and purpose in life and flourish. Unfortunately, the progression of our lives isn't always smooth and people aren't always kind. There are essential life skills that we can learn, however, that can help us grow through struggle and choose love in our thoughtful responses. We have had varied reactions to...