What is resilience, and how can you build it? In The Resilience Workbook , Dr. Glenn Schiraldi—author of The Self-Esteem Workbook —offers invaluable insight and outlines essential skills to help you bounce back from setbacks and cultivate a growth mindset. Why do some people sail through life’s storms, while others are knocked down? Resilience is the key. Resilience is the ability to recover from difficult experiences, such as death of loved one, job loss, serious illness, terrorist attacks,...

Hello my musical friends. A cover tune to share, a favorite of mine, a song of acceptance, for me, it asks the question, will you take me for who I am? For those who have encountered rough times in life, acceptance is not always part of the landscape. Take care, Michael. Live Performance of "If I Were A Carpenter" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLJzSKBvb2U

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/2019-12-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_December_2019.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. Contents List: 1] A neuroscientist's advice for combating stress this holiday season by Dr. Patrick K. Porter 2] Peer...

Although not the first to propose that we all have an interior assembly of sub personalities, or "parts," which make up an internal family system (IFS), Richard Schwartz presents the IFS model in an extremely accessible way. He describes how, when the self is threatened by trauma, overwhelm, fright, and so on, these "parts" focus on protecting us from harm. I read this book last year; I found Schwartz's discussion of how we can cultivate compassion for our own seemingly negative traits--say,...

I first heard about Eugene Gendlin while reading Peter Levine's Waking the Tiger . Gendlin, a psychologist, originated the term "felt sense," which refers to the awareness of our internal, bodily experiences. Like Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, and other somatic pioneers, Gendlin promotes emotional self healing by learning to listen to your body in an accepting way. As Gendlin writes: "You have a bodily orienting sense. You know who you are and how you came to be in this room, reading this...

I was checking out some new reading material on Amazon when I stumbled on a book review of Emotional Sobriety , in which the reviewer included author Tian Dayton's definition of codependency: "Codependency, I feel, is fear-based and is a predictable set of qualities and behaviors that grow out of feeling anxious and therefore hypervigilant in our intimate relationships. It is also reflective of an incomplete process of individuation....Though codependency seems to be about caretaking or...

John Sharp is a psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School. In his book Insight Cure , Sharp includes ACEs science in his exploration of how traumatic events from childhood may turn into what he calls a "false truth" (such as "I am unlovable") that then turns into a maladaptation that can plague an individual for life. His book outlines an 8-step program to help readers shine the light of awareness on these false truths that so many of us harbor based on early childhood...

In my last post, I highlighted a book Vincent Felitti mentioned at the CAMFT conference in Orange County. In the same talk, Dr. Felitti also recommended a form of therapeutic writing developed by James Pennebaker to help individuals uncover painful emotions and heal trauma. Pennebaker's book Opening Up by Writing It Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain details the why and how. The Pennebaker method has been referenced elsewhere on ACEs Connection; I thought...

From Amazon: A practical, integrated approach for therapists working with people (both adults and children) who have been impacted by developmental trauma and attachment difficulties Kathy L. Kain and Stephen J. Terrell draw on fifty years of their combined clinical and teaching experience to provide this clear road map for understanding the complexities of early trauma and its related symptoms. Experts in the physiology of trauma, the authors present an introduction to their innovative...

On March 27th, Dr. Rick Hanson's new book, Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness will be released. Written with Forrest Hanson, it promises to "show you how to develop twelve vital inner strengths hardwired into your own nervous system. Then no matter what life throws at you, you’ll be able to feel less stressed, pursue opportunities with confidence, and stay calm and centered in the face of adversity. This practical guide is full of concrete suggestions,...

The work-life balance narrative gets turned on its head in this selection of new books hand-picked by the Mindful Editors. THE MIND OF THE LEADER How to Lead Yourself, Your People, and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter (Harvard Business Review Press) ATTITUDES OF GRATITUDE How to Give and Receive Joy Every Day of Your Life M.J. Ryan and Mark Nepo (Conari Press) TRANSFORMING JUSTICE, LAWYERS, AND THE PRACTICE OF LAW Marjorie A. Silver (Carolina...

Announcing the publication of a new book, Healing Justice: Holistic Self-Care for Change Makers , published this month by Oxford University Press. Here's a brief description: "In the context of global oppression, intergenerational trauma, burnout, and public services retrenchment, this book offers a framework, critical inquiries, case studies, and practices for social workers, counselors, activists, and other helping professionals. Drawing from the East-West modalities of mindfulness and...