"Without this kind of unconditional love, a person affected by addiction and mental illness with lifetime recovery implications, I would not be here today at age 73."
Of all 12 guests listed on 2019's TOP 10, eleven of them are ACES Connection members. What a testament to this amazing healing space.
CPTSD Foundation is proud and honored to help support survivors all types of trauma, by offering secret, safe, support groups on Facebook, where you can come and receive the support you deserve. A place where your voice is heard, your feelings validated, and where encouragement is always in abundant supply from others who know what it means to struggle in daily life as a survivor.
Are you a survivor of childhood sexual abuse that would like to share a skill, talent, offer a service, class or workshop and hold it at EmpowerSurvivors? EmpowerSurvivors is now scheduling classes for the 2020 season. If you have a skill or class idea and would like to offer it at EmpowerSurvivors we would love to hear from you! At EmpowerSurvivors we believe in supporting the work of other survivors and empowering people to have classes that they feel will help aid other su rvivors on...
Join the Family Trauma Institute on Wednesday, January 8, 2020, at 1 pm EST to discover how structural-strategic theory within the FST | Family Systems Trauma model enables you to quickly cut through the chaos of your traumatized family to discover the root causes of a child’s trauma.
By Rachel C. Allen and Judi Addelston, Orlando Sentinel, January 4, 2020 “Teenage time bombs: A generation in danger,” a series of South Florida Sun-Sentinel stories printed in the Orlando Sentinel between Dec. 15 and 19, might lead readers to fear our children. Today, thanks to the research of Vincent Felliti and Robert Anda, we have a pathway to resilience and healing from the violence we see in our communities. Felitti and Anda studied the relationship of health risk behavior and disease...
By Anahad O'Connor, The New York Times, January 4, 2020 On a recent Tuesday, the cafeteria at KairosPDX charter school in Portland, Ore., was buzzing as students lined up to taste two freshly made butternut squash recipes. On one side of the table was roasted butternut squash. On the other side, a creamy butternut squash soup. “This one is the best,” said Mari, a fifth grader, as she gulped soup from a small cup. “It’s super delicious. I want a big bowl of it to eat at home.” The students...
By Richard Thomason, Blue Shield of California Foundation, December 30, 2019 Domestic violence is a complex phenomenon that impacts families across generations. Victims can become perpetrators. Perpetrators are often victims. Family members who were never physically touched by violence are still deeply affected. Fear and shame can generate silence. These factors, and many others, allow the cycle to continue. A 2017 survey showed that 58% of Californians have been touched by domestic...
By Shannon Green, The Orlando Sentinel, January 3, 2020 Are you going to be OK, mom? Shibbon Winelle said those were among the final words uttered by her son, Bryce Gowdy, before he left their motel room and stood in front of a freight train. Bryce, who was 17, died of suicide a week before the Deerfield Beach football star was due to start classes at Georgia Tech on a scholarship Jan. 6. Bryce, his mom and his brothers were homeless again, and family members said he wrestled with his...
To ring in the New Year, I could quote statistics of how certain feelings benefit your cholesterol levels and pump up your immune system and extend your life by 2.3 years. We could discuss that science has proven that appreciation begets happiness and happiness is healthy. But you’ve already heard all that. So on the everyday shortcut wisdom front, what I really have found of value, if you want to have a life worth extending, is to love what you have, to appreciate the life you are living...
Have you heard, the year 2020 has been declared the Year of the Mother. Organizations and individuals from around the U.S. are invited to join the Year of the Mother movement. The official launch is 1/20/2020. On 1/20/20, you are invited to join the launch by posting your story and what you believe mothers need to be more supported using hashtag #yearofthemother Because we know that that a stable and supported mother can change everything... Learn more and get involved throughout the year...
By Dan Levin, The New York Times, December 28, 2019 Every month, Lila Edwards wakes up early for a two-hour road trip with a group of girls that ends with them walking single file through a metal detector. Inside an empty classroom, Lila eagerly and anxiously awaits Inmate 01740964. When the inmate, a woman serving a 40-year sentence for murder, walked in during a recent visit, Lila collapsed into her arms and didn’t let go for more than a minute. These monthly visits at a minimum security...
By Niraj Chokshi, The New York Times, December 30, 2019 The last two decades have brought both a sharp decline in automaking jobs in the United States and the rise of a deadly epidemic of opioid abuse. According to a new study, the two trends may well be related. The study, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that opioid deaths were about 85 percent higher among people of prime working age in counties where such factories remained open. The finding underscores the role that...
If we search the content of our hearts, we can locate several areas that can benefit from a dose of humility, which increases understanding of the necessity of gratitude. To consciously achieve success, it will require sacrificing your ego, pride, and sense of entitlement without relinquishing self-dignity. On the journey, individuals often encounter setbacks from poor decision-making skills, which alter their lifestyles, sense of security, and even general well-being. If you fall into this...
By Elissa S. Epel, The American Journal of Psychiatry, January 1, 2020 There has been growing scientific interest in telomere biology over the 35 years since its fundamental mechanisms were deciphered. Telomeres, the finely regulated protective caps at the tips of our chromosomes, play a critical role in aging, from yeast to humans. Telomeres are made of long, winding strands of repeat sequences of noncoding DNA, covered with protective proteins. Although their regulation and functions are...