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The coronavirus pandemic has taken a serious toll on the mental health struggles of Americans, particularly young adults. According to a recent survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out of more than 5,000 respondents who were contacted in late June, 25.5 percent of adults between the ages of 18-24 reported having “seriously considered suicide” due to the pandemic. By comparison, 10.7 percent of all respondents reported having suicidal ideations. “Mental health...

Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-08-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_August_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.

The Trauma Resource Institute invites you to a virtual screening August 22, 2020 | With panel discussion to follow. About the Film From Mr. Allen's website, "In 1953, my grandfather, Nathaniel Allen, was murdered on the Sampit River in the historic Lowcountry town Georgetown, SC...This documentary short film exposes the truth about his death and delves into the reality of intergenerational trauma due to racial injustices/tragedies. Open Wounds continues the conversation of...

I strive to make sure when I talk about resilience, I don't just focus on the personal but the societal responsibility. During this time, I have even more deeply recognized that my personal skills and resilience can be overwhelmed by "surge capacity" [a term from a recently shared article "Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted — It’s Why You Feel Awful"]. As this article states: "I want people to be proud of themselves for being resilient. I just don’t want it to be the only option." Its...

Now we were in a pandemic, and I’m a science journalist who has written about infectious disease and medical research for nearly a decade. I was on fire, cranking out stories , explaining epidemiological concepts in my social networks, trying to help everyone around me make sense of the frightening circumstances of a pandemic and the anxiety surrounding the virus . I knew it wouldn’t last. It never does. But even knowing I would eventually crash, I didn’t appreciate how hard the crash would...

Even though this is me as a toddler, I can’t even get close to imagining how much pain was going on in my little brain. I feel shivers up my back and a big hole in my heart.

GREAT resources for the classroom and for workshops: Lesson Plan, Discussion Guide that includes exploring Childhood Trauma as a Social Justice Issue & and 20-page document that explores the science of childhood trauma and the healing process.

Exploring Prenatal Substance Exposure, Trauma, and Toxic Stress Supporting Families to Build Hope and Resilience This 2-day Conference is designed to introduce and enhance the clinical care professional’s understanding and comprehension of the impact of in-utero exposure to substances, trauma and toxic stress on neurodevelopment, sensory needs, and attachment with children. You will recognize behaviors, emotions and thinking that are a result of prenatal exposure and understand how to...

“Children can often feel alone and isolated and when they can relate to characters in a book, it helps them feel less alone,” Sarah Cloud, Director of Social Work at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said.

By Brittany Schock, Richland Source, August 20, 2020 "When someone comes up with a medication that cures racism, I'll admit it's a health crisis." That comment was left on the Richland Source Facebook page, under a report stating Mansfield City Council had just voted 5-4 against declaring racism a public health crisis. "If you're racist, you don't need a pill." In some ways, this statement is true. Racism is defined as "a belief that some races are superior to others, used to devise and...

By Dale Mezzacappa, Chalkbeat Philadelphia, August 18, 2020 Philadelphia’s high school admissions process has long been the subject of controversy because of the stark underrepresentation of Black and Latino students at the city’s top public schools. Past administrations have attempted to make changes, only to be stymied by backlash from mostly white families who say the magnet schools keep them in the city. But with the country’s racial reckoning and a pandemic halting standardized tests,...

By Naja H. Rod, Jessica Bengtsson, Esben Budtz-Jorgensen, et al., The Lancet, August 15, 2020 Summary Background Childhood is a sensitive period with rapid brain development and physiological growth, and adverse events in childhood might interfere with these processes and have long-lasting effects on health. In this study, we aimed to describe trajectories of adverse childhood experiences and relate these to overall and cause-specific mortality in early adult life. Methods For this...