Tagged With "Protective Factors"

When I first started therapy, every time I heard the words "inner child" I wanted to puke. First of all, the only memories I have from my childhood aren't really memories. They are home videos. I have no idea how I felt as a child, and I certainly didn't care to do so. I wanted to put all of that in the past. After all, could my so-called "inner child" really play that big of a role in my life today? Well, as it turns out, she does. Sometimes, my inner child takes over, and I become an...

Once the healing power of laughter was on the medical map, researchers began to systematically explore its stress-reducing, health-promoting, pain-relieving potential. Laughter has now been shown to decrease stress levels and improve mood in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, to decrease hostility in patients in mental hospitals, and to lower heart rate and blood pressure and enhance mood and performance in generally healthy IT professionals. In numerous experiments, people with every...

Many people use the phrase CPTSD to stand for PTSD from complex trauma. To me, C-PTSD means cancer and PTSD. I have cancer and I’m a trauma survivor. I’m a survivor with cancer but not yet a cancer survivor. Will I be a survivor squared?

Why I hid ACES from my medical records in order to receive equal treatment.

To pave the way for a truly strengths-based approach to full healing and recovery for both service users and burned out staff, we must educate them on (1) the central role of primal body responses to trauma (past and present), and (2) the early development of adaptive thoughts and behaviors in response to traumatic experience.

Donna Jackson Nakazawa was a featured guest in an online conversation about coping with COVID held on Twitter recently. It was hosted by KPJR Films . Donna was asked about "effective 'go-to' survival techniques" for parents and her Twitter thread response is comforting, centering, and compassionate. Her words are consolidated and shared, with her permission, below: Donna Jackson Nakazawa is a science journalist and the author of six books, including “ The Angel and the Assassin: The Tiny...

Jessie: I LOVE this post and relate to so much from the ear infections, to the anaphylaxis in college to we still don't know what, to the health challenges, divorce, and the cancer, and high ACEs, and to the HEALING! There is healing and high ACEs are a risk factor but not a death sentence. Also, a 50-year old baby doll is exactly how I feel and look right now. Anyhow, THANK YOU for sharing this and reminding me and others to focus in on the healing and the opportunities as well as honoring...

There is much research showing that a sense of connection to others is crucial to well-being, maybe more important than just about any other factor. @Morgan Vien has posted to this group about that topic several times. And one common effect of childhood trauma is a sense of disconnect, which can and often does lead to self-isolation in adulthood. A finding that's emerged from studies on what helps children bounce back and thrive after trauma is that in many cases, a caring adult in that...

Unbecoming an Armadillo By: Victoria F. Burns, PhD, LSW Victoriafrances49@gmail.com Instagram: @betesandbites “When you are traumatized, you are basically in a permanent defensive mode” — Gabor Mate I’m sitting across from Meg on her charcoal grey love seat. My forearms are resting on a velvety mustard-yellow throw cushion and I’m holding crescent shaped pulsers in each hand. Meg’s my psychologist; a rare gem who specializes in chronic illness and trauma. Every two weeks, we spend an hour...

"A CEs Connection is the curator of incredible hope, healing and possibility. Parents are not the bad guys. Most of us are just kids with ACEs who grew up..." Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz Last Friday, @Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz joined our A Better Normal series to discuss poverty circles and programs. Rebecca is the Director of Learning Centers as Essdack, as well as a poverty consultant, and we met online, via Twitter (her handle is @pOVERty’s Edge. Rebecca is a brilliant speaker, gifted writer, and...

Local Sebastopol non-profit Peacetown is spreading joy and community engagement through the Family Village's project called Peace Bags. Every week for 13 weeks a different local organization "sponsors" a week by providing printed resources and an activity that supports community connection, family engagement, and some fun. The bags are distributed for FREE in collaboration with a local toy store. I happen to come across a conversation on one of the posts I made regarding Peace Bags. The post...

Art and Trauma: Creativity As a Resiliency & Healing Factor I have long believed that all of the creative arts are healing. I was drawn to music because it made me feel good, first just listening, then learning to play the drums and then performing in rock bands. Later in life, learning the guitar and singing along with songwriting. Sadly, trauma disconnects so many of us from our creative outlets...finding the ways to reconnect with our creative selves goes a long ways in healing the...

Art and Trauma: Creativity As a Resiliency & Healing Factor I have long believed that all of the creative arts are healing. I was drawn to music because it made me feel good, first just listening, then learning to play the drums and then performing in rock bands. Later in life, learning the guitar and singing along with songwriting. Sadly, trauma disconnects so many of us from our creative outlets...finding the ways to reconnect with our creative selves goes a long ways in healing the...

It was Pete Walker, an M.A. in psychoanalysis, who first coined the phrase emotional flashback to describe the gut-wrenching experience of reliving the helplessness and dissociation caused by trauma. In his book, Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving , Walker describes many aspects of emotional flashbacks and how the inner critic holds people hostage. I shall be referencing this book throughout this work. In this piece, we shall examine how the inner critic and toxic shame create the...

These are the books, therapies and resources I wish I'd known about when I was a family doctor and when I first started getting sick with what would turn out to be a disabling chronic illness. This compilation includes the most helpful resources I’ve found over the past 20 years of learning about the science of adversity, why it's not psychological and how to heal the effects of trauma.

Whether working from home or not, many people are feeling burned out during the coronavirus pandemic. A new survey found that nearly 90% of respondents in more than 40 countries felt that their work lives were getting worse during the pandemic. And more than 60% felt that they were experiencing burnout often or very often. In 2019, the World Health Organization brought some attention to the issue by defining burnout as a syndrome associated with chronic stress at work that goes unmanaged.

“The most important thing you can do with your children is play with them!” said Dr. Bruce Perry, noted child psychiatrist and author. He was answering the question, “How do we prepare our children to go back to school next fall?” Perry, a brain expert specializing in how children are impacted by trauma, gave a presentation on his neuro-sequential model of brain development to more than 800 people at an Austin Ed Fund event Monday evening. The co-author, with Oprah Winfrey, of the new book...

By Katherine Ellison, The Washington Post, July 31, 2021 Remember the lines from that old folk song? “If living were a thing that money could buy “You know the rich would live and the poor would die.” Sadly, research shows there’s little “if” about it. On average, poor people live less healthy lives and are more than three times as likely to die prematurely as the rich. That’s true for many well-documented reasons, including less healthy diets with too much processed food, polluted...

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.

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 April 2022 Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter - sharing Hope and Healing Resources for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is posted online -...

“ 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...

Hawai'i Gov. David Ige signed legislation to establish the state's first Office of Wellness & Resilience. Senate Bill 2482 (SD1 HD1 CD1, relating to wellness) was signed into law by Ige on July 12, 2022. It will now be known as Act 291 . The Senate version of the bill was introduced by state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz and supported by the state Departments of Health and Human Services, as well as more than 30 Hawai‘i child and family-serving organizations who provided testimony around the...

Innovative research to support community initiatives

After providing evidence-based prevention programs in K12 schools for nearly 20 years through disordered eating prevention and Resilient Schools initiatives, Sharpen is offering a free 30 day Stress Buster program for individuals ages 14 and up.

Staying Sane During The Holidays 11/14/2022 Staying Sane During The Holidays EmpowerSurvivors is a 501(C)(3). All Rights Reserved. © 2022 www.EmpowerSurvivors.net ****Trigger Warning ***** Holidays can be a hard time for survivors of childhood sexual trauma and abuse. For many, it may mean reminders of past childhood abuse or knowing that the person that perpetrated them will be gathered alongside family members. This may leave you feeling a sense of loss and thoughts of why, why would my...