Blog

Going through the hard part of healing, the messy middle, is demonstrated in what we see in nature as the winter turning to spring. At first, it looks muddy, gray, or lifeless. The frost, the layers of snow, the piles of dead leafs, the smell of decay and dirt is not always pleasant. You may even find yourself wading through the puddles of muddy water, muddy paths on your favorite hike, and slippery river banks as the water is running into the rivers and the river water is all cloudy and...

Sue Jones, founder of yogaHOPE, shares insights into the ways in which we can address the consequences of trauma and ACES in folks, even those who may never come forward seeking help for a specific kind of trauma.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, “There goes the neighborhood” was both a popular punch line and a reflection of real-life unease. Many white homeowners felt fearful when the first minority family moved in down the block, convinced that it meant the area—and the value of their property—would quickly deteriorate. Today, plenty of minorities are in the middle class (or beyond); such a demographic shift no longer signifies socioeconomic decline. So, aside from pure prejudice, there’s no clear reason why...

In 1928, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the father of modern neuroscience, proclaimed that the brains of adult humans never make new neurons. “Once development was ended,” he wrote, “the founts of growth and regeneration ... dried up irrevocably. In the adult centers the nerve paths are something fixed, ended and immutable. Everything must die, nothing may be regenerated.” Ninety years later, it’s still unclear if his statement is true. For decades, scientists believed that neurogenesis—the...

The flu descended on Connie Gabaldon like a fog, she recalled, clouding her mind and compromising her judgment. It progressed to chest and back pain, the aches perhaps made worse by a fall the 66-year-old had while riding the bus in Santa Fe, N.M. Gabaldon is homeless. When she went to the emergency room in late January, doctors told her she also had pneumonia, a sinus infection and the flu. For the general population, the flu represents a serious health concern. But for the homeless — who...

The news cycle is flooded every day with more and more challenging issues facing our nation. In particular, two topics that I care deeply about have been taking center stage as of late: gender-based violence and climate change. Over the last year, the #MeToo movement captured the country’s attention—making space, at last, for the stories of hundreds of sexual abuse survivors, transforming hundreds of celebrities into activists. And with unprecedented hurricanes, wildfires, an eroding...

Over a melting ice cream sundae on our first date away from our new son, my partner and I talked about what we’d be doing if we were still drinking. A cozylooking bar across the street might have suited our purposes. Yet years of partying had shown us that abstinence was necessary for him and best for me. So, ice cream it was. Popular parenting culture doesn’t have much room for sober sorts like us. Jokey messages on coffee mugs and T-shirts reinforce the notion that the best cure for the...

Kevin Zeich had three and a half years to go on his prison sentence, but his doctors told him he had less than half that long to live. Nearly blind, battling cancer and virtually unable to eat, he requested “compassionate release,” a special provision for inmates who are very sick or old. His warden approved the request, but officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons turned him down, saying his “life expectancy is currently indeterminate.” Congress created compassionate release as a way to...

What makes an event traumatic? Historically, trauma was believed to be a result of going to war and reserved for soldiers who presented with a collection of symptoms labeled as PTSD . However, using a diagnosis to help us understand the phenomenon of trauma is misleading, as many people experience trauma and post-traumatic stress without meeting criteria for a psychological disorder. Current events have opened the door to a broader conversation about trauma and how many of us are exposed to...

Thirty-three minutes into his conversation with Patricia Ravitz, Dr. Felitti speaks about the prevention of adverse childhood experiences through a new kind of parenting education. Yes!!! Take a listen. http://www.acesconnection.com/clip/dr-vincent-felitti-speaks-with-patricia-ravitz-lmft-about-the-adverse-childhood-experiences-study Thank you, Dr. Felitti! Visit advancingparenting.org to read about what we do, why we do it, and our plans for the future.

I'm based in London where the ACEs movement is starting to take off. We have been encouraged by the James Redford film "Resilience" which is being widely shown in the UK. Can anyone suggest how we can watch Oprah's 60 minute show in the UK? All good wishes for your great work.

For all of our progress in understanding and treating mental illness, it continues to be a subject of misapprehension, prejudice, and stigmatization. The reason for that may be not its strangeness but its familiarity. Very few individuals or families are not touched by at least some aspects of mental dysfunction, some periods of the discouragement, disconnect or anxiety that, on a deeper and more chronic level characterizes the mind state of the mentally ill. And beyond individual experience...