Tagged With "Song of the Week"
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A song of acceptance
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
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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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Baylor College of Medicine students introduced to ACEs science
“I was one of those statistics that ACEs scientists and researchers talk about,” Dr. Gregory Williams, an administrator in the Baylor College of Medicine, told the school’s first-year class. Williams’ presentation about the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and his own experience as a trauma survivor, was organized by Dr. Reena Isaac of Texas Children’s Hospital for her class, "Hiding in Plain Sight: Understanding and Identifying Victims of Violence.” Williams regularly speaks...
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Best Selling Memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” tells an inspiring story of overcoming ACEs
In search of insight into the country’s stark cultural divides in preparation for a week of potentially difficult conversations in Kentucky where I’d be attending family reunion and 50-year high school reunion, I dove into “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” by J.D. Vance . Throughout this mesmerizing, painful, and hilarious memoir, I kept wondering if the author might know about the ACE study. The answer was found on page 226 when “ACEs” jumps out at me and...
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"Breaking the Silence" Warriors of HOPE Series Concludes This Sunday with a 2-Hour LIVE Worldwide Webcast Event!
The “Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams” radio program will be featuring a SPECIAL LIVE 2-HOUR WORLDWIDE WEBCAST this Sunday evening, May 10 th from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM Central Time. This event will be a special conclusion to their WARRIORS OF HOPE series featuring all the guest from the entire series together for one life-changing webcast. The guests are some of the most sought after authors, experts and speakers on the various topics of trauma, abuse, and resilience in the...
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Garbage Bag Suitcase-Available Now!
Plagued and embarrassed by my name, made worse by a nomadic childhood that made it impossible to build lasting relationships, I developed tough skin at an early age. Along the way I learned to deal with disappointment, push through discomfort,...
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Healing Developmental Trauma
Last week I posted an article about the Harvard study on happiness, which found that strong social connections are the primary driver of happiness. No surprise there. What struck me, however, is how these findings relate to ACEs. I had just finished reading Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship , which addresses this very issue. From the back cover: “Although it may seem that people suffer from an endless number...
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Hope Rising: How the Science of HOPE Can Change Your Life to be published Nov. 27, 2018
What if we all lived in a culture of hope? What if we all worked in a culture of hope? What if everyone dealing with childhood trauma, challenges and difficulties found a place where hope was so high that it invaded their lives as they soon as they arrived? What if our families had a culture of hope? What if every marriage had high hope?
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How Bibliotherapy Can Help Students Open Up About Their Mental Health (kqed.org)
Mental health concerns, like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, can affect a student’s ability to concentrate, form friendships and thrive in the classroom. Educators and school counselors often provide Social and Emotional Learning programs (SEL) in order to help these students, as well as school-based therapeutic support groups. However, even in these forums, getting teenagers to speak about their problems can be challenging, especially when they feel like outsiders...
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Jennifer Burns is the Special Guest on "Breaking the Silence" Radio Program this Sunday!
Jennifer Burns will be the special guest on "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" this Sunday evening, March 15th at 8 pm Central Time. Jennifer will be sharing your personal story of trauma and pain during her childhood. Jennifer will also be sharing one of the things that helps her deal with her anxiety and stress is art. She creates beautiful works of art now and this has become a great therapy for her. "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" is heard each Sunday...
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Judging Me, by Mary Elizabeth Bullock
Last week I had the pleasure of attending Day 1 of the CAMFT "Advancing the Art and Science of Psychotherapy" conference in Orange County, where I got to hear Gabor Mate and Vincent Felitti weigh in on the impact of ACEs. What a singular experience to hear this dynamic duo on stage together! (My husband remarked that I was "lit up like a Christmas tree" when I got home that night.) While discussing the meaning of "resilience," Dr. Felitti recommended the book Judging Me, by Mary Elizabeth...
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Michigan Trauma Informed Education
We are working with PESI, a leader in professional development, to offer a full day training in trauma informed education. This content follows the content of our book on Supporting and Educating Traumatized Students. We will be in Michigan April 19, (Sterling Heights) 20, (LIvonia) and 21 (Ann Arbor) See the attached brochure If this goes well they will continue to offer this next year. Hope to see you there
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Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much
We have all experienced those times when there is just not enough time to get everything done. We probably have experienced a time when we did not have enough money to pay all our bills and meet all our wants. We have probably all been on an extreme...
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The wealthy suffer from an ‘empathy gap’ with the poor that is feeding a rise in inequality
Hey everyone, I'm sharing this article here because it reminded me of some great books I read recently in my Masters of Public Health program. I'll be posting the books throughout the week, so stay tuned! Wealth and income inequality have many causes,...
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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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After the conference...
After hearing from so many brilliant minds at the ACEs conference this week, I ordered several more books to add to my already expansive library of Trauma Informed resources (I shop for books the way others shop for shoes). I'm very interested to hear from you, my colleagues, what you think are essential resources and how they have helped you, your clients, or your practice. Thank you!!!
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My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard
I’ve just finished reading the third volume of My Struggle, by Karl Ove Knausgaard, a Norwegian whose six-volume memoir recounts in minute detail his traumatic experiences as a child and later as a husband and father of four. The fourth volume...
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New documentary focuses on trauma faced by first-responders (sandiegouniontribune.com)
“Keeping the Peace,” a new documentary that recently premiered at the University of San Diego, brings to light the trauma often faced by first responders and encourages police officers, firefighters and others in the field to seek counseling when dealing with emotional issues. They’ve lost colleagues to suicide, had people die in their arms, seen horrifying injuries and had to tell family members about a loved one’s death. It takes a toll on law enforcement officers, firefighters and other...
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Playing for Their Lives: The Global El Sistema Movement for Social Change Through Music (ssir.org)
In the world’s happiest country, we encountered one of the world’s most challenging Sistema environments. The United Nations World Happiness Report has ranked Denmark the happiest nation on earth, using internationally agreed-upon measures—of wealth, health, social welfare, generosity, and freedom—to rate happiness in 150 countries . Just outside of Aarhus, the Gellerup district is the largest housing project and the poorest neighborhood in Denmark. Fully 88 percent of its population is...
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Singing My Song
My dream is to create a space which feels safe, yet empowering; offering a hand to hold along the road of recovery.
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Teri Wellbrock on "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" Radio Show
This Sunday (November 17th) at 8 pm CST, Terri Wellbrock will be the special guest on "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" Radio Program. The program will spotlight the entire hour on Teri and her wonderful work with Hope for Healing. To listen in on this exciting and informative program simply hit this link: https://bbsradio.com/breakingthesilence or download the BBS Radio app. After the LIVE radio program on Sunday evening then the program is released to over 115 podcast...
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The Books That Helped Me Transition from Trauma to Triumph: A Book Review Series - "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life"
Learning to find my gifts within my chaos has changed everything. Everything.
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The First Body-Positive Children’s Book Just Came Out, and It’s Exactly What the World Needs Now (msn.com)
Chances are, if you’ve taken a stroll through the children’s-book section of bookstores or libraries recently, you’ve seen a lot of bright colors and catchy titles. You saw some good lessons on friendship and manners, some lively adventure stories and some cute animals. You also saw a lot of pictures of straight-size white girls. While children’s literature now features far more diverse stories than it did even a couple of years ago, there is still one movement that hasn’t gotten a foothold...
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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: Your Survival Instinct Is Killing You: Retrain Your Brain to Conquer Fear and Build Resilience
Thanks so much for the write-up, Jill. I'm glad that you found relief. The book sounds like a very useful read. Someone else also recommended it today. I'm reading a book now that's really blowing my mind, but I'll save the details until next week.
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Re: Nadine Burke Harris debuts "The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity" in Philadelphia
I'm picking up my on-hold copy at the library this week! Can't wait to read it.
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Free viewing of "How Many ACEs Are You Holding?"
I was asked to offer a free viewing of our new documentary video on the topic of ACEs. Due to my limited knowledge of technology it took a minute to get this set up. Now we can announce: View “How Many ACEs Are You Holding?” for FREE! Use code ACES-FREE on October 13th, 2020 to see the entire video free . Use this link to view. Coupon will only work on the Vimeo rental page for How Many Aces are You Holding? , not the subscription page. This post will appear on the homepage of our website...
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Whole People Watch Weekend on ACEs Connection (Dec. 11th - 13th)
The Transform Trauma with ACEs Sciences FREE Film Festival continues this weekend. Please join us to watch parts 1, 2, and 3 of the PBS Whole People series at your convenience, on ACEs Connection, by clicking play on the videos below: Whole People | 101 | Childhood Trauma | Episode 1 (27 min) Preview: Whole People | 102 | Healing Communities | Preview | Episode 2 Whole People | 102 |Healing Communities Episode 2 (27 min) Whole People | 103 |A New Response | Episode 3 (27 min) This is one of...
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Season's Greetings
Season's Greetings Folks, Whatever your faith, belief system, ethnicity, identity may be, I am wishing everyone peace and joy. I am grateful that our paths have crossed. I will share a song of "Joy". I don't have much to offer, but as a musician I do have the gifts of music to share. An older song of mine & video, but the sentiment remains the same. Stay safe & Take care, Michael. "Joy" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by4tWjowZVo
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10-Year old Author, Jayomi Douglas, to be SPECIAL GUEST on this Sunday's "Breaking the Silence" Radio Program!
A 10-year author, Jayomi Douglas, will be the special guest on this week's "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" radio program. Jayomi Douglas is a 10 year-old-born in Livingston NJ and she started school at 2 ½ years old. She currently attends Charter School, Easton Arts Academy in Easton, PA. She excels in all subjects but her strongest subject has always been Reading. Her mom who is a college graduate and former teacher helps enhance her writing skills by encouraging her to...
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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...
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Justin Baldoni opens up about body dysmorphia and his struggles to be 'man enough' (upworthy.com)
Baldoni opens up about his body image issues in his new book, "Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity." In fact, he shares that he's spent much of his life suffering from body dysmorphia—a psychological disorder in which people have a distorted perception of a part of their body, where they see something different in the mirror than what other people see. Now he's 37, and though he thought he'd moved past those insecurities, he admits found himself anxious on the set of Jane the Virgin...
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Re: Early Trauma
I did go to Amazon to take a look at this book of Jo's. Everyone who has read it gives it high praise for the subject and the writing. I am only a public reader and member of PACE but have a few things I would love to mention to you Jo. If you have not started any therapy yet, this is always a good place to start. Therapists are savvy now about trauma in childhood and may be able to point you to some other therapies that haven't been utilized by you yet. Families Anonymous has a wonderful...
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Drop Everything and Pick Up this New Trauma Book Immediately—It's That Good
Yesterday I logged onto Goodreads, the website that tracks the books you and your friends are reading, and I noticed that an old college classmate had marked a book "to-read": What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing From Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo. "Ooh a new trauma book?" I thought, my interest piqued. Turns out this book was very new—the newest. It was released on the auspicious 2/2/22, mere days ago. I wondered if her story and insights would be boring since I've been spending at...
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Just Get Over It - Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood
Hey folks, Please take a listen. I talk, share resources & a song about the hurtful statement too many trauma & abuse survivors hear & the impact of trauma & abuse upon the mind, body & spirit. Just Get Over It - Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKKraLrAwKo&t=2s “Get over it” is a cruel phrase. It means, “Not only do I not care about how you feel, if you were smarter, you wouldn’t care either.” “ Just get over it” places all of...
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Book Study (free) The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing and Social Justice by Staci. K. Haines
The Trauma Research Foundation invites you to T he Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing and Social Justice by Staci K. Haines. Register HERE. The Politics of Trauma offers somatics with a social analysis. This book is for therapists and social activists who understand that trauma healing is not just for individuals—and that social chan ge is not just for movement builders. Just as health practitioners need to consider the societal factors underlying trau ma, so too must activists understand...
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💗 Get A FREE Copy of My NEW Book - It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD
Hi Everyone! The good news is after seven years, with a five-year break (AKA stall-out), I have finally finished my new book and have titled it: It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD Although my book won't be available to the general public until its launch date on Feb 21 st , 2023, I am offering FREE advance reader copies to a limited amount of people this week. Below is a summary of what my book's about and how to qualify to get a free copy this week.
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💗 Would You Like A FREE Copy of My NEW Book - It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD?
Hello, my trauma-informed colleagues, The good news is after seven years, with a five-year break (AKA stall-out), I have finally finished my new book and have titled it: It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD Although my book won't be available to the general public until its launch date on Feb 21 st , 2023, I am offering FREE advance reader copies to a limited amount of trauma-informed professionals this week. Below is a summary of what my book's about and...
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This Week on ‘History. Culture. Trauma.’ podcast: Getting to Root Cause with C-PTSD Expert and Author Mary Giuliani
"It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD", a new book by PACEs Connection member Mary Giuiliani, launches next week. For a preview of what the longtime student of ACEs science, now PACEs science, shares in her revealing “teaching memoir”, tune into our ‘History. Culture. Trauma.’ podcast for a lively conversation between Giuilani and hosts Ingrid Cockhren and Mathew Portell this Thursday at 1 p.m. PT. In the book—chock-full of quotes from top experts on the...
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Mad In America Song of the Week - Walk With Me by Michael Skinner
Hi folks, quite honored with this - Song of the Week - Walk With Me by Michael Skinner - Mad In America "I had a life as a husband, father, professional musician and owner of a successful music company. The childhood trauma I experienced came back to knock me down with complex PTSD and depression. The mistreatment and over-medication was the catalyst for me to write this song." https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/09/walk-with-me-michael-skinner/ Lyrics are also shared. Mad in America hosts...
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Re: Mad In America Song of the Week - Walk With Me by Michael Skinner
Those meds can do a number on the mind, body & spirit. & not making folks aware of the side effects is so damn wrong.
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Re: Mad In America Song of the Week - Walk With Me by Michael Skinner
I share your concern, Michael: Two weeks into my 'In-Hospital recovery' [from open=heart surgery], I reportedly had a 'PTSD Reaction' and was prescribed 'low dose Mellaril', in July 1991; regretably our US FDA had not listed a 'side-effect' that the Canadian 'equivalent agency had listed {"Prolongs the Qt heart rhythm"). I ended up going by ambulance from the 'teaching hospital' to 'Saint Elsewhere' to have my heart rate re-set.
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New Year's Thoughts and Song for 2024
Wishing you a New Year with Peace, Hope & Joy. Take care, Michael. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by4tWjowZVo