Tagged With "Complex PTSD"
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ACEs Validated My Teaching Experience
When I first heard about the CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study , it felt like a light bulb had actually gone on. Finally, FINALLY, someone was validating what I saw every single day teaching in East Oakland. For eight years, I taught at an elementary school in the most violent part of Oakland , the part that the police called the “Killing Zone.” The kids in my class had seen friends, neighbors, and family members shot or stabbed, and routinely hid in bathrooms and closets when gang fights...
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Books by Category
The following books have been recommended by ACEs Connection members. Categories (see below) Brain and Neurology Child Abuse Child and Human Development Children’s Books Depression Domestic Violence Foster Care Grief Law Enforcement and...
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How (My Story of) Trauma/ACEs Unexpectedly Snuck Its Way Into My Memoir
Long before I heard of ACEs or the phrase “childhood adversity,” I started to write a book; my first. Now, hot off the press, my memoir isn’t the book I set out to write. But who am I kidding? It’s exactly the book that had to be written. It finally gnawed at me, dared me, to excavate for truth. My book was supposed to be about walking the Camino de Santiago Compostela in 2013. After I’d hiked nearly 1000 kms of trails across Spain, I told my family and friends that I would write a book...
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Information about my PTSD book
PTSD Is a National epidemic effecting about 8% of the population at any one time. That is about 26 million Americans, almost the size of the state of Texas. The following is information about who I am and what my book is about: I have my Masters in Counseling. The ideas in the book "Unlocking the Puzzle of PTSD. A Holistic Guide to Restoring Inner Peace" are easy and effective methods I used for 25 years as a licensed therapist specializing in trauma. These ideas are to help people to...
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Interview with Jason Lee, author of Living with the Dragon: Healing 15000 days of Abuse and Shame
Jason Lee is an author based out of Coquitlam BC. He’s also a mental health advocate and speaker at events across Canada. His book Living with the Dragon, Healing 15 000 Days of Abuse and Shame has received praise from counselors and comes highly recommended as a resource particularly for men in recovery from depression, anxiety and anger stemming from childhood abuse and trauma. In this interview, we talk about how his book is changing the way people are viewing mental health, depression...
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Irritable Hearts: A PTSD Love Story by Mac McClelland
I wrote an essay / blog post about this book recently. You can find it at http://www.ptsdmusical.com/blog/women-children-last-mac-mcclelland-s-irritable-hearts-ptsd-love-story/ - I also refer to David Morris's somewhat similar memoir, The Evil...
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It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle [WAMC.org]
In It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle , Mark Wolynn, director of the Family Constellation Institute and creator of the Core Language Approach, shows how the traumas of our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents can live in our anxious words, fears, behaviors and unexplained physical symptoms—what scientists are now calling inherited family trauma, or “secondary PTSD.” Even if the person who suffered the original trauma has...
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It's Not You, It's What Happened to You: Complex Trauma and Treatment, by Dr. Christine Courtois
From Amazon book page: With It’s Not You, It’s What Happened to You: Complex Trauma and Treatment , Dr. Christine Courtois has simplified her extensive and, until now, quite scholarly work geared toward understanding and developing...
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LOOK FOR ME Video Now on YouTube
Video of the first-ever performances of LOOK FOR ME, the musical about healing from trauma, is now available on YouTube. Look For Me was created to challenge one of the most pervasive myths about trauma and PTSD: that the damage done by traumatic experiences is a life sentence. The video now available is from performances of a 25-minute excerpt of the show presented at the New York New Works Theatre Festival in September, 2018. The excerpt captures the full storyline of the main character,...
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Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: Calming the Fear-Driven Brain Hardcover – April 21, 2014
Review “This is a truly groundbreaking book. Sebern Fisher combines a mastery of neurofeedback with a real knack for applying neuroscience to do nothing less than lay the groundwork for a new, powerful, mind-brain approach to the most...
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Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges
Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges is written by Steven Southwick, a Yale Medical School and Yale Child Study Center psychiatry professor who specializes in PTSD and resilience, and psychiatrist and...
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The implicit bias of, “Mental Illness” and “mentally ill”, a lexicon of hurt.
How can we heal from the implicit bias of “ Mental Illness ” and “ mentally ill ”? I hear these words and it sounds like fingernails scraping down the chalkboard. “ The stain of dehumanization colors the mind, body and spirit and it is not so easily washed away.” - Michael Skinner Recently I read a blog post at the ACEsConnection website, “Erasing My ACES” by Sirena Wheeler. It was posted on April, 19, 2020. It struck a chord with me, many in fact and it put me on a spiral down memory lane.
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The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook
Schiraldi, G. R. (2016). The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery and Growth . New York, McGraw-Hill. Clearly describes the nature and treatment of this complex disorder. Scores of self, group, and therapist-directed treatments clearly explained. Many skills taught. “The most valuable, user-friendly manual on PTSD I have ever seen. Must reading for victims, their families, and their therapists.” (Dr. George Everly, Executive Editor, International Journal of...
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The Resilience Workbook: Essential Skills to Recover from Stress, Trauma, and Adversity
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,...
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The Ten Books That Changed My Life - Healing ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and Building Resilience
Teri Wellbrock offers a list of those books that had a profound impact on her life and helped her create a life filled with tranquility and joy. While she may not have agreed with every word written, she did find powerful answers, delicious little tidbits, and inspirational guidance within each book.
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This veteran found a creative way to talk about his PTSD with his child. (upworthy.com)
Kastle created the children's book titled, "Why Is Dad So Mad?" to help explain to his 6-year-old daughter his struggles with PTSD. And when it was published, he read it to his daughter for the first time "There’s a section in the book where I describe the anger and things associated with PTSD as a fire inside my chest," he says. "After I first read the book to my daughter, I remember her saying, 'I'm sorry you have a fire in your chest now, Dad." According to the PTSD Foundation of America...
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Victim to Victory: Memoir
I wrote Victim to Victory, healing generational abuse from my bloodline, during a seven-year journey of being very sick. I am not a writer. I am a healer. In those years of losing my ability to walk and having my family abandon me I turned inward, asking why and how do I get out of this straight jacket. I did everything imaginable, but the pain was chronic and my will was losing strength. In my darkest hours, I would hear a voice during my meditations. I had nothing to lose, so I followed...
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Why I believe Gregory Williams, and his book, Shattered By The Darkness, will help save lives and revolutionize healthcare.
When you first hear about it, it sounds unlikely, fact that something that happened to someone in utero, at the age of two months, or four years, or any time in childhood, is what is killing them as an adult, or making them want to die, or making them want to hurt themselves or others. Yet the connection between childhood trauma and adult disease, mental illness, addiction, suicide, violence – most all of society’s ills – is as irrefutable as the myriad truths revealed about it in the...
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Relational Trauma Repair(RTR) THERAPIST'S GUIDE Revised Edition by Tian Dayton, PhD, TEP
From Amazon: This user friendly Therapists Guide contains step by step, experiential group exercises designed to teach clients about the impact of PTSD and relationship trauma while offering therapeutic, reparative experiences both on a personal and group level. The exercises also offer many structured moments for group members to connect in meaningful and supportive ways that develop group cohesion and teach intimacy skills. It is designed to make leading groups safe, is simple and...
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RESILIENCE: The Secret of CPTSD Recovery (First in a Series)
When we talk about a history childhood trauma, we talk a lot about the problems — the damage, the limitation on our lives, the sadness. But in reality, a lot of us are thriving despite abuse and neglect in the past. The word for this is resilient. Overcoming the effects of Childhood PTSD is not easy, and it’s not a road I’d choose for anyone. But if that’s the hand life dealt you, it is still possible for you to blossom into a life of depth and love and purpose. Resilience is often mentioned...
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Scilla Elworthy: A Business Plan for Peace (dailygood.org)
A distinguished activist for peace for over 30 years, Dr. Scilla Elworthy has met with scientists and nuclear weapons policy makers from all five nuclear powers. She founded the Oxford Research Group, Peace Direct, and co-founded 'Rising Women, Rising World' and FemmeQ, and was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. She is interviewed here about her latest book, "The Business Plan for Peace: Building a World without War." In it, she points out that while 1,686 billion dollars is...
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Shattered By The Darkness: Powerful book by a humble man on a mission to prevent what happened to him from happening to other children.
Gregory Williams, PhD, will help change the world by taking this book into medical schools and teaching physicians and nurses about the root cause of most adult illness: childhood trauma. I just read this book in one sitting, save one hot tea refill. I could not stop reading it. Even though there were some passages that evoked anxiety, I couldn’t stop reading it, as I so wanted to learn more about this remarkable man and how he earned a PhD, had a normal family life, and earned the respect...
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The Body Keeps The Score (Bessel van der Kolk, MD)
FINALLY IT IS HERE!!!!!! Got mine by Amazon yesterday and on my Nook after midnight on the 25th. Been reading it straight through!!! This is an awesome book to cut through all the stuff that will likely not work and it tells...
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The Books That Helped Me Transition from Trauma to Triumph: A Book Review Series – “Getting Past Your Past”
Naturally, I would at times experience panic attack symptoms, and would almost always cry. Sometimes slow tears cascading down my cheeks. Other times full-on ugly crying, requiring a pause in the action.
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The Books That Helped Me Transition from Trauma to Triumph: A Book Review Series – “Getting Past Your Past”
Naturally, I would at times experience panic attack symptoms, and would almost always cry. Sometimes slow tears cascading down my cheeks. Other times full-on ugly crying, requiring a pause in the action.
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The Books That Helped Me Transition from Trauma to Triumph: A Book Review Series - "The Power of Now"
The author takes us on a journey into a deep place within us, a place where the truth is known "within every cell of (our) body"; beyond the masks we wear, the criticisms we've cloaked ourselves in, our over-thinker personas, fueled by the old doubts we've absorbed into our beings.
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The Books That Helped Me Transition from Trauma to Triumph: A Book Review Series - "The Power of Now"
The author takes us on a journey into a deep place within us, a place where the truth is known "within every cell of (our) body"; beyond the masks we wear, the criticisms we've cloaked ourselves in, our over-thinker personas, fueled by the old doubts we've absorbed into our beings.
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The Crappy Childhood Fairy on Amee Quiriconi's ONE BROKEN MOM Podcast
The other day I was the guest on Amee Quiriconi’s podcast ONE BROKEN MOM, which is focused on parenting, kids and the effects of trauma on how we manage it all. It was so fun talking with a fellow traveler, helping to get the word out about how we heal from Childhood PTSD. You can check out One Broken Mom here. You can take my online course, “ Healing Childhood PTSD” here .
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The Healing Place Podcast - Sarah Peyton: Your Resonant Self
Sarah Peyton, Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication and neuroscience educator, integrates brain science and the use of resonant language to heal trauma. She brings together depth work and self-compassion that integrate relational neuroscience with the transformative potential of language. She teaches and lectures internationally, and is the author of the book 'Your Resonant Self: Guided Meditations and Exercises to Engage Your Brain’s Capacity for Healing.
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The Healing Place Podcast - Shenandoah Chefalo: Garbage Bag Suitcase
What a delightful conversation Teri Wellbrock engaged in with the passionate and compassionate Shenandoah Chefalo, author of "Garbage Bag Suitcase: A Memoir" and faculty member of The Center for Trauma Resilient Communities. They dove into the depths of: the healing work of Crossnore and The Center for Trauma Resilient Communities; growing up in the foster care system; trauma-brain; 3 proven resilience-building factors; compassion approaches; and why they dislike tomatoes!
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Re: Adversity Needn’t Thwart or Define You. Here’s How to Cope. [nytimes.com]
hI I am a independent researcher and have just finished my evidence base research of alleviating workplace PTSD, depression ,anxiety/depression in 10 hours. I would like to get these results published with you, how do I do this? Regards Beverley Searle
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Re: Mad Matters: A Critical Reader in Canadian Mad Studies by LeFrançois, et al. (2013)
Hi Steve, Totally agree with everything you said. If psychiatrists were to make the real changes necessary in the DSM it would have major ramifications on other sectors of society like the legal system and the military; it would ignite lawsuits and force the VA to give out benefits, money it doesn't want to spend. That's why the military gave Martin Seligman a $34 million dollar no-bid contract to implement his pathetic "positive thinking" model. A soldier sees his buddy blown up and he's...
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Re: Mad Matters: A Critical Reader in Canadian Mad Studies by LeFrançois, et al. (2013)
Yes, there are states/communities that claim to be trauma-informed but are not practicing it. They have documents up on their websites touting how trauma-informed they are and then when it comes down to a consumer’s experience they just retraumatize sufferers over and over again. There are no words for this great disappointment. And then people wonder why people with mental health challenges don’t seek treatment. The challenge with the trauma-informed movement is to change people’s hearts, a...
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Re: Resilience and Mental Health: Challenges Across the Lifespan by Southwick, et al. (2011)
Book review: The concept of resilience emerged about 40 years ago when psychologists considered the differing life trajectories of children exposed to similar traumatic life events and asked why some developed psychosocial pathology and some did not. It has since expanded to describe the adaptive responses to trauma across the human life span that usually maintain function but that can fail and result in conditions such as post–traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [ source ] Brown, LM. (2013).
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Re: This veteran found a creative way to talk about his PTSD with his child. (upworthy.com)
Thanks Cissy! Such a powerful book for families and in the article, Seth shared that his wife (also a veteran) wrote a book "Why Is Mom So Mad?". Staggering to know 1 out of 3 troops returning home develop PTSD, and less than 40% seek help... We (society) must do more to help those suffering heal.
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Re: Thank You For Your Service (2 minutes - CreativeChaos)
War trauma may be the trigger and not the primary cause. Some years ago I was on a government committee to look into why there was so much PTSD in Gulf War 1 when there were only 170 hours of ground combat, GW1 being all aerial bombardment. I remembered from my days as an Army doctor how the Army was a wonderful metaphor for a supportive family, especially if you didn't have one. GW1 was also the first time an all-volunteer Army was put in the field, the Draft having been discontinued. There...
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Re: Thank You For Your Service (2 minutes - CreativeChaos)
I completely agree with this important point and think it's unfortunate that you didn't have the opportunity to finish the study at that time.
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Re: Behind Bars, Mentally Ill Inmates Are Often Punished For Their Symptoms (npr.org)
I have just finished a world first PTSD study, IA would like to publish the results on your platform Regards Beverley Searle M.P.H.C. B. Soc. Sc. (hons)
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter June 2020
Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php 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 Surviving Spirit Newsletter June 2020 http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-06-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_June_2020.pdf Newsletter Contents : 1] I desperately miss human touch. Science may explain why. By...
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Surviving Spirit Newsletter August 2020
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.
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Redefining Trauma: Understanding and Coping with a Cortisoaked Brain
I am honored to introduce my newly published book, which aims to help people understand the normal impacts of intense or ongoing stress. The book uses metaphor to help understand our complex brains, and to have some distance while considering some potentially emotional and challenging topics. The word "trauma" has become so widely used, that some may not understand all that it implies. By focusing more on what's happening in the brain, hopefully we will pass less judgment on others and...
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New book I just published
I wanted to update everyone that I have now published my new book. It is called Unlocking the Puzzle of PTSD. A Holistic Guide to Restoring Inner Peace. Unlocking the Puzzle of PTSD is a unique and comprehensive Holistic manual and workbook to understand and treat PTSD. The book is for health professionals as well as for lay people interested in the subject. It includes information about PTSD, Complex PTSD and trauma from a Holistic (mind, body, spirit) perspective. It presents easy to use...
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Excerpts from my book Unlocking the Puzzle of PTSD.
Hello everyone, The following is copyrighted material from my book Unlocking the Puzzle of PTSD: A Holistic Guide to Restoring Inner Peace. It is available on Amazon . Some tools from Chapter 8. Don’t overdrive your headlights: When you are driving and it is dark outside you will only see a few feet ahead. Then as soon as you have gone as far at the lights shine, you will see farther ahead. So, take your time emotionally and only go as far as you can see at that time. Reminding yourself...
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Surviving Spirit Newsletter October 2020
Hi Folks, The October edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-10-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_October_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. Newsletter Contents : 1] Beauty 2 The Streetz: This woman is beautifying Skid Row one makeover at a time by Alicia Lee 2]...
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Re: Excerpts from my book Unlocking the Puzzle of PTSD.
All the best to you in this worthy endeavor. Would like to share your book info in a Surviving Spirit Newsletter. Take care. http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php
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Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) Pod cast 10-22-20
Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) Pod cast https://www.blogtalkradio.com/naasca/2020/10/22/stop-child-abuse-now-scan--2513 "Tonight's special guest is Michael Skinner , a returning NAASCA family member from New Hampshire. Michael is an award-winning advocate survivor. Michael's non-profit, ' The Surviving Spirit ', offers a monthly newsletter addressing the issues of trauma, abuse and mental health concerns, public speaking and his music. He notes that these cover a wide variety of issues."We want...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter December 2020
Healing the Heart 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 December 2020 Hi Folks, Hoping this finds you well and safe. Wow, coming to the end of a very challenging year...I do hope that 2021 brings forth healing and hope for all of us. Life can be hard, a pandemic...
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The Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Workbook (Dr. Glenn Schiraldi)
A new guide for healing the hidden wounds from ACEs The Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Workbook Glenn R. Schiraldi, Ph.D. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2021, 232 pages Practical, powerful skills for healing the hidden wounds of childhood trauma “ Dr. Glenn Schiraldi is one of the world’s most trusted experts on stress and resilience. His Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Wor kbook is the most complete, accessible, and evidence-based healing resource available.
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List of Books, Therapies & Resources for Healing Chronic Illness and Other Effects of Trauma (Free PDF)
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.
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Healing the Hidden Wounds from Childhood: The Promise of Healing, Part III (by Glenn R. Schiraldi, Ph.D., Lt. Col., USAR, Ret.)
So many people are struggling with unhealed, hidden wounds from toxic childhood stress. For some, the pain is obvious. Others might look outwardly strong, capable, and in control. However, unhealed inner wounds cause needless suffering and can lead to a dizzying array of psychological, medical, and functional problems. Fortunately, there is hope for healing—even decades after traumatic wounding from ACEs occurs—enabling us to be 100% there for ourselves, our families, and others we work and...