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Success in life depends on a lot of things: talent and practice, for sure, and perhaps something called grit, a combination of perseverance and consistent interests over long periods of time. Grit, in fact, has gotten a lot more attention than the other two lately. But a new study suggests the role of grit, in academic achievement at least, might be overstated. In fairness to Angela Duckworth , the University of Pennsylvania psychologist behind the grit concept, she and her colleagues never...

If you've seen the documentary Paper Tigers , you may remember the stress target -- or color wheel -- in Lincoln High School Principal Jim Sporleder's office. Now you can have one, too! The steering group members of the Yolo Resilience Network in Yolo County, CA, (you can find them on the Yolo County ACEs Connection group) realized the needed to have some tools that they could give to local educators for whom they did presentations about ACEs and trauma-informed practices. "We'd see people...

An article in the Huffington Post carried the title listed above. I read a lot of advice from the advice gurus. To them, it seems so simple. Your mind can will itself to accomplish what you need to accomplish by employing platitudes like "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". "Overcome your fear of failure and fear of what others think." "Be resilient." "Get out there and do it." News flash. It was not that easy for me, and the data suggests its not that easy for others.

The Sealaska Heritage Institute, sponsor for Dr. Vincent Felitti's visit to Juneau, Alaska from February 8 -10, 2016, has posted his lecture. The Lifelong Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences from Sealaska Heritage Institute on Vimeo .

I recently signed up for GovLoop's newsletters and have really appreciated their range of topics and writings. Below is a segment from a human resources article called " TIPS FOR HANDLING DIFFICULT PEOPLE: PART 1 ", which touches on how to be trauma-informed in the workplace without using the methodology or terminology usually seen in the field. Interesting stuff! Tip #2: Dont Give Negative Feedback According to Eddy, the cycle of high conflict thinking maintains and escalates with three...

In 2001, when Dr. Alison Stuebe was pregnant with her first child, breast-feeding was a personal challenge that soon morphed into a professional research interest. Her son Noah was 3 months old when she began her residency in maternal-fetal medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Determined to nurse him for a year, she arrived at the hospital carrying a breast pump and, through sheer determination, more than met her goal. Noah was 2 before he was weaned. In the years since, with...

In Los Angeles County, one in every three young people released from a juvenile camp or other placement are arrested again within a year. And even if a kid manages not to return to juvenile hall or camp, the re-entry process can be difficult, and the young person often faces it without any help. Smith Chan, 22, felt constantly on the defensive for a long time after he was released from an LA County juvenile camp in late 2011. The camps confine juveniles and provide treatment, care and...

"How to Talk to Kids about Drugs (and How Not To)" From their own experiences, young adults in recovery share what we should and shouldn't say to young people who may be using drugs or alcohol. "One of the worst things you can do is add anxiety to that situation... pass judgement..." This video is part of a series about substance use disorder among youth and how we can help prevent or treat it when it occurs."How to Talk to Kids about Drugs (and How Not To)" [See the video at ...

The Baltimore health system put Robert Peace back together after a car crash shattered his pelvis. Then it nearly killed him, he says. A painful bone infection that developed after surgery and a lack of follow-up care landed him in the operating room five more times, kept him homebound for a year and left him with joint damage and a severe limp. "It's really hard for me to trust what doctors say," Peace said, adding that there was little after-hospital care to try to control the infection.

[Photo by Ivan Aleksić ] This audio story, from NPR's Latino USA, focuses on a Milwaukee social worker who works in child welfare. [Listen to the story at http://www.npr.org/2016/02/12/466559630/the-stress-of-social-work]

This audio story, from NPR's Latino USA, describes Wisconsin's efforts in integrating trauma-informed, resilience-building practices based on ACEs research. It focuses on Wisconsin First Lady Tonette Walker's Fostering Futures Initiative. [Listen to the story at http://www.npr.org/2016/02/12/466559599/fostering-relationships-for-public-health]

Being a highly sensitive person (HSP) comes with gifts such as greater empathy and some challenges. For instance, HSPs tend to get overwhelmed by their environments. Were bothered by everything from big crowds to bright lights. (In an earlier piece we shared five ways to navigate this overwhelm.) HSPs also are keenly aware of their shortcomings, and theyre especially critical of themselves, said Jean Fitzpatrick , LP, a psychotherapist who specializes in working with HSPs. They usually put a...