Blog

By Nicole Spector, NBC News, February 18, 2020 The English language has a proliferation of hyphenated compound words revolving around “self”. There’s “self-confidence,” “self-reliance,” “self-consciousness,” “self-indulgence” and “self-control” to name but a few — all of which deliver a fairly straightforward meaning. Then we have “self-care” — a term that is decidedly broader and seemingly everywhere you look, especially if you’re looking on social media. You’ll find over 23.4 million...

I apologize for the short notice but want to let you know that this A Better Normal event, scheduled for Tuesday, 11/10/20, with special guest, @Sarah Peyton , is canceled. We hope to host this event at a future date. For now, please find more about Sarah Peyton, her most recent book, Your Resonant Self: Guided Meditations and Exercise to Engage Your Brain’s Capacity for Healing , her website and access to free guided meditations all below: Peyton’s book: Y our Resonant Self...

For people who were abused and neglected in childhood, one of the cruelest ways the damage shows up is in romantic relationships. Too many of us go through life either alone, or in relationships where we’re not loved, not safe, and not happy. It doesn’t have to be that way. If you have Childhood PTSD and you’re wondering why you keep attracting people who are either dysfunctional, unavailable or abusive -- you’re going to want to read this... READ FULL BLOG POST or.. WATCH THE VIDEO ON...

English: The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB) and the California Department of Social Service, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s (CDSS/OCAP) , Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative , ACEs Connection , and the Yolo County Children’s Alliance have co-created a newly developed resource, “Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic” in both English and Spanish. This material is intended for Californian families experiencing the severe...

By Michele Chabin, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 3, 2020 Peyton Barsel was 9 years old when her father, Alex Barsel, died of a heart attack at the age of 42. The shock and grief were like a tsunami that threatened to drown her family. “My mom is an incredible woman and parent, but when you are 40 and suddenly lose your life partner, that’s a lot to grapple with, especially with a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old,” said Peyton, now 18. “She did the best she could, but for quite a while I...

Resiliency can help us overcome the life-altering effects of adverse childhood experiences or repeated trauma in adulthood. It can also speed up healing and give us the strength to conquer our traumatic histories. In this article, we shall explore together the definitions of complex trauma, resiliency, and how resiliency can help treat complex traumatic stress disorder.

My clients aren’t running around town wearing “I’m a trauma survivor” t-shirts. Of course they aren’t. Who wants to announce that bad things happened to them? No one! And yet, unfortunately, many live with the aftereffects of trauma every day and don’t know it. Trauma is what happens to your nervous system after you’ve felt unsafe and scared, and powerless to escape or protect yourself. If a person can’t eventually resolve that sense of danger, that person’s nervous system is likely to...

PLAYING FOR KEEPS The upside of downtime The latest documentary feature film from KPJR FILMS rolls into virtual festivals nationwide. Consider the official definition of play: engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. And yet hard science and deep wisdom tell us that play is neither silly nor impractical. The desire to engage in enjoyable experiences for their own sake is hard-wired into the brains of all mammals, and humans are no exception.

By Hyeouk Chris Hahm, Kirsten Fleming, and Cindy H. Liu on November 2, 2020 for the Public Health Post Millennials and Generation Z will comprise larger and larger percentages of the workforce in the coming years. Thus, societal functioning will depend on how they emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. As the world continues to struggle with Covid-19, the mental health of young adults has been extremely important. With the early months of the pandemic leading to the rapid closure of schools and...

On awakening, bless this day, for it is already full of unseen good which your blessings will call forth; for to bless is to acknowledge the unlimited good that is embedded in the very texture of the universe and awaiting each and all. On meeting and talking to people, bless them in their health, their work, their joy, their relationships to God, themselves, and others. Bless them in their abundance, their finances…bless them in every conceivable way, for such blessings not only sow seeds of...

Join us on Friday November 6, 2020 from noon to 1:00 PST as we come together and join Satya Chandragiri MD, Bonnie O’Hern RN, Denise Proudfoot RN, & Michael Polacek RN for a discussion around the tender issue of suicide. Together we will discuss ways people and providers can support each other and encourage communities to take action to support one another around suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and the layers of culture and structural barriers to care. A special emphasis will be...

English: The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB) and the California Department of Social Service, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s (CDSS/OCAP) , Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative , ACEs Connection , and the Yolo County Children’s Alliance have co-created a newly developed resource, “Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic” in both English and Spanish. This material is intended for Californian families experiencing the severe...