Tagged With "Surviving to Thriving"
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter April 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 April 2020 http://www.survivingspirit.com/ http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-04-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_April_2020.pdf Hi Folks, Obviously we are all experiencing some very trying times and...
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter April 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 April 2020 http://www.survivingspirit.com/ http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-04-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_April_2020.pdf Hi Folks, Obviously we are all experiencing some very trying times and...
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter February 2020
Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php or http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-02-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_February_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] This coat design isn't just saving lives. It's launching new careers for homeless people – CNN...
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter January 2020
Hi Folks, The January 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 http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-01-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_January_2020.pdf Contents List : 1] Just Being Outside Can Improve Your Psychological Health, and Maybe Your Physical Health Too by Zoë...
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter March 2020
Hi Folks, The March 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. PDF - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-03The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_March_2020.pdf Thanks! Michael. Healing the Heart Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse &...
Blog Post
Toxic Childhood? 5 Spiritual Exercises to Heal the Soul [psychologytoday.com]
Laura's Note: Though most of author Peg Streep's work focuses on mother-daughter relationships, the ideas in the following article could work well for anyone. How to bolster and support recovery with simple steps. For the last two decades, I’ve turned my attention to the mother-daughter relationships in all of its iterations but with a specific focus on the damage done to a daughter when a mother is unloving, emotionally distant, self-involved, controlling. hypercritical, or dismissive. At a...
Blog Post
A Day At a Time
We are not strangers to unusual challenges in the addiction’s world. We have lived with chaos and unmanageability before and we have learned to use program principals to create calm in a storm. We have also learned to accept and even embrace challenges as part of our spiritual growth. And we have found that embracing those challenges has ultimately led to our being happier, stronger and more resilient people. This current moment in time however, is giving “practicing these principles in all...
Blog Post
Defining Resilience: Nature or Nurture? [thriveglobal.com]
By Ben Saravia, Thrive Global, August 5, 2019 We all know them, and history is littered with them. People, be they friends, family or colleagues, who seem so able to rise above whatever life may throw at them. Not only do they seem to take adversity in their stride, but when they are set back, they have an ability to quickly ‘bounce back’ – and may even grow from the event. Perhaps they are just lucky? Or is it a skill? How come they seem so resilient? The American Psychological Association...
Blog Post
Depression & Moving Past Your Past [hopetocope.com]
When your present life feels limited by things that happened in your childhood, it’s time to find the tools and techniques to help you thrive. For better or worse, things that happen to us in childhood can shape our reactions as adults—in ways we’re not always aware of. When Katie ended up unemployed last year, she got mired in beliefs she’d absorbed as a girl linking solvency to self-worth. “To be foolish with money, in my father’s eyes, was one of the greatest sins,” she says. “To not be...
Blog Post
3 Things to Know: Resilience [hogg.utexas.edu]
This is the fourth post in our “3 Things to Know” series, an explanation of concepts influencing community mental health and our grantmaking. Check out others in this series on Health Equity , Social Determinants of (Mental) Health , and Well-being . Resilience is critical to health and mental health interventions. So critical that major public health institutions have developed frameworks to provide clarity about its definition and its role as a key determinant for a person’s, and a...
Blog Post
Listen to These Uplifting Songs to Stay Optimistic and Positive Right Now (thriveglobal.com)
The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” streams through the speakers at Montefiore Nyack Hospital whenever a Covid-19 patient gets discharged, the New York Times recently reported. At other local hospitals, Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” serves as the celebratory track. Researchers have found many benefits of turning to music to reduce stress, boost our mood , and help us increase our resilience, so it comes as no surprise that so many people are turning to music during this emotional time.
Blog Post
Next "A Better Normal" community discussion series: April 7, 2020 — Tian Dayton
Therapist and author Dr. Tian Dayton, who first started writing about ACEs science more than 20 years ago, will address grief and maintaining emotional sobriety during COVID-19. Carey Sipp, Southeast community facilitator for ACEs Connection, will host this community conversation, and Alison Cebula, Northeastern regional community facilitator, will moderate.
Blog Post
you are one of the cool kids
We spend a great deal of our energy on fitting in. While insecurity and ego are sometimes part of this effort, it’s inappropriate to think of “fitting in” as a weakness or a crutch. The drive to connect is built into the essence of being human. Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk in his (one of the best I’ve read in the last five years) book, “The Body Keeps the Score,” says, “Our culture teaches us to focus on personal uniqueness, but at a deeper level, we barely exist as individual organisms. Our...
Comment
Re: you are one of the cool kids
There is much research showing that a sense of connection to others is crucial to well-being, maybe more important than just about any other factor. @Morgan Vien has posted to this group about that topic several times. And one common effect of childhood trauma is a sense of disconnect, which can and often does lead to self-isolation in adulthood. A finding that's emerged from studies on what helps children bounce back and thrive after trauma is that in many cases, a caring adult in that...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter July 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. FYI - The Surviving Spirit newsletter has been going out for many years. The idea behind the newsletter is to share news, resources and helpful information that could help any and all who have been impacted by the concerns of trauma, abuse or...
Blog Post
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.
Blog Post
Loving An Orchid: Understanding Child Abuse Trauma's Impact [psychologytoday.com]
By JoAnn Stevelos, Psychology Today, August 21, 2020 As a child, I was an orchid but lived like a dandelion. I have always prided myself on my resiliency, for surviving a long and painful childhood filled with abandonment, psychological, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse . Child abuse can do that to you—give you a false sense of self and what resiliency really looks like. Resiliency is not just surviving. This false narrative of resiliency can take years to undo. One approach is to try...
Blog Post
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.
Comment
Re: Surviving Spirit Newsletter August 2020
I appreciate having all these great resources in one place. Thanks!
Blog Post
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Bad things happen to good people. I know. My six-year-old son was murdered by a former student in his first grade classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School alongside 19 of his classmates and six educators. We read about those who die in countless natural disasters all over the world. Thousands of good people perished in the 9/11 attacks. The media shares headlines of brutality and destruction on a daily basis. The labeling of good versus evil has helped us to categorize unspeakable horror in...
Blog Post
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]...
Blog Post
"A Better Normal" Community Discussion: Suicide Awareness and Community Cafes
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...
Blog Post
PLAYING FOR KEEPS Festival Schedule + UCLA Health Equity Panel [kpjrfilms.co]
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.
Blog Post
Online Workshop Nov 30, Dec 7 & 14 - Reimagining Resilience - Using a Trauma Lens
For more information and to register - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/124637117975 Reimagining Resilience: Using a Trauma Lens helps adults build positive relationships with children who have experienced trauma. We will explore the impact of adverse experiences and the effect they have on developing brains and student behavior. The course gives teachers, parents, and other adults working closely with kids the skills they need to make sure that every child knows that they matter. An online...
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter November 2020
Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php or PDF - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-11-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_November_2020.pdf To sign up for an e-mail copy, please write to me @ mikeskinner@comcast.net or sign up @ Website via Contact Us. Thank you & take care, Michael. Newsletter Contents : 1] People Constantly Underestimate How Much They Benefit From Being Kind...
Blog Post
The Connection Between Emotional Flashbacks and the Inner Critic
It was Pete Walker, an M.A. in psychoanalysis, who first coined the phrase emotional flashback to describe the gut-wrenching experience of reliving the helplessness and dissociation caused by trauma. In his book, Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving , Walker describes many aspects of emotional flashbacks and how the inner critic holds people hostage. I shall be referencing this book throughout this work. In this piece, we shall examine how the inner critic and toxic shame create the...
Blog Post
Virtual Self-Care/Stress-Management Session for the Community
Hi Everyone, I just joined this incredible ACEs network. Pleasure to connect with you. I'm the Director of Outreach & Engagement at IsraAID, a humanitarian aid NGO. We respond to humanitarian crises worldwide, incl. refugee crises, natural disasters, and health epidemics like COVID19, and previously ebola. One of our key areas of expertise when we respond to crises is MHPSS. Since the onset of COVID19, we have designed a virtual stress-management/self-care session for professionals, and...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Your Healing Narrative: Write-to-Heal With Neural Re-Narrating
Happy 2021! 2020 was a year unlike any other. But it also brought home for many of us what matters most, including the importance of nurturing and harnessing the power of our nervous system and brain toward equanimity so that we can flourish even in the face of adversity. Your Healing Narrative: Write-to-Heal With Neural Re-Narrating i s my 2021 offering for individuals, parents, teachers, social workers, therapists, and health care professionals, to help ease a little bit of the anxiety,...
Blog Post
A Recipe for Raising Resilient Children - Skills and Factors that Contribute to Resiliency
Suffering is an expected part of this journey because resilience is a muscle that we strengthen over time and experiences. However, developing this muscle is most effective when encouraged by warm, loving, and responsive caregiving.
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter January 2021
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 January 2021 “ May 2021 bring everyone Joy - Peace - Hope - Love - Good Health - Renewed Faith - Inclusiveness - Empathy - Understanding - Kindness - Acceptance - in a Safer World. May we spend more time &...
Blog Post
Join us for Choose Love Awareness Month for Hope, Healing, and Connection
As we are all living under the mandate of social distancing we find almost everyone struggling with the ethos of our current stressful environment. As human beings, we were created to connect with one another. Our brains have mirror neurons that help us socialize and communicate by reading the expressions of others. The famous evolutionist Charles Darwin concluded that it would be those who were most ‘sympathetic’ to each other, in other words generous, altruistic, and compassionate, that...
Blog Post
Hope, Healing & Help - The Surviving Spirit Newsletter February 2021
“ Our fingerprints don't fade from the lives we touch.” - Judy Blume Hope, healing & help for trauma, abuse & mental health. The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php & here's the PDF - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2021-02-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_February_2021.pdf “ Our brains developed along with music and singing as a survival mechanism.” - Tania De Jong To sign up for...
Blog Post
4 Ways The Pandemic Can Grow Your Character And Career (thriveglobal.com)
The pandemic has created a lot of heartbreak, fear and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the workforce. On top of our personal woes, many employees have grappled with fears of loved ones and themselves contracting Covid-19, not to mention the isolation and burnout of remote working and helping children with schoolwork. Although many of us have endured a lot of stress and mental health challenges, there’s good news on the horizon, known as post-traumatic growth (PTG)—the benefits...
Blog Post
How to Feel More Connected and Less Lonely Right Now (thriveglobal.com)
After nearly a year of living through the coronavirus pandemic, many of us have dealt with bouts of loneliness . The feeling stems from all sorts of places: you might be lonely because you’re spending time in actual isolation , or you might be lonely because you’re feeling disconnected from yourself and your pre-pandemic life. Whatever the cause, feeling lonely can be deeply unsettling, with negative consequences for our mental health. And while we can’t always control the circumstances that...
Blog Post
Heal the Forest for the Tree
“ Trauma always happens within a context, and so does healing. To understand the impact of trauma means being acutely sensitive to the environment—to the conditions under which people grew up, to how they live today, and to the journeys they have taken along the way .” Creating an environment that exudes calm, safety, and compassion is a goal of trauma-informed systems. It is a profound paradigm shift in knowledge, perspective, attitudes and skills that continues to deepen and unfold over...
Blog Post
"How to talk policy and influence people": a Law and Justice interview with Dr Stephen Porges
In this "How to talk policy and influence people" interview with Dr Stephen Porges, the developer of polyvagal theory, we discuss the vagus nerve, the evolutionary development of the mammalian autonomic nervous system and the human social engagement system. We discuss the importance of a felt sense of safety in the presence of other people, which starts with our experiences with our primary care-giver in infancy. We talk about common symptoms due to our bodies being in a chronic state of...
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter March 2021
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 latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php or here's the PDF -...
Blog Post
What is Possible?
What is Possible? By Scarlett Lewis I love reading stories about victory! It seems we all have had something in our lives to overcome, to some degree, and learning and growing from the struggle can benefit others. Courage and perseverance are two of the most powerful ways that can be taught to get through and grow from difficulties, and sometimes the best way is by example. However, one thing is for certain -- we need each other. It has been fascinating to me to witness how we rise to the...
Blog Post
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter April 2021
Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php Once again I've tried to create a mix of articles, videos, music, books, podcasts, resources, etc, that offer Hope, Healing & Help. As the saying goes, “ Take what you like and leave the rest. ” or here's the PDF - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2021-04-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_April_2021.pdf To sign up for an e-mail copy, please...
Comment
Re: The Surviving Spirit Newsletter April 2021
Hello Mary, Aah yes, the power of synchronicity. & you are welcome for the newsletter...I am always grateful when someone takes the time to read it-thank you. Take care, Michael
Comment
Re: The Surviving Spirit Newsletter April 2021
Hi Michael, I just finished a comment on a Blog and this popped up in my Alerts. It is Exactly what I was needing tonight. And if anyone does not know about the power of synchronicity, the being there when the lesson is desired and needed, it can be a very powerful lesson I am going to read the newsletter and Thank You Michael MM
Member
Jennifer Applewhite
Member
Carmella Doby
Member