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As young people, many of us aren't aware of what a healthy relationship should look like. I grew up with a single mother who showed me nothing short of unconditional love, but I never got the chance to witness a healthy male role model to shape my expectations for a boyfriend. When I began dating, I was looking for love anywhere I could get it. I found someone who I believed was thoughtful, caring, and truly appreciative of who I was as a person. He was amazing for the first year. We went on...

(partially excerpted from The Soulful Journey of Recovery Nov. 2019) O ne of the problematic issues for adult children is that some if not much of their mourning dates from a time and place in their childhood. Many of them feel too old to let themselves exhibit the kind of grief they actually feel. Some have parents who are now sober with whom they have vastly improved relationships. They don’t want to jeopardize their relationship today by releasing their pain, but it still needs to be felt...

By Somini Sengupta and Weiyi Cai, The New York Times, August 6, 2019 BANGALORE, India — Countries that are home to one-fourth of Earth’s population face an increasingly urgent risk: The prospect of running out of water. From India to Iran to Botswana, 17 countries around the world are currently under extremely high water stress, meaning they are using almost all the water they have, according to new World Resources Institute data published Tuesday. Many are arid countries to begin with; some...

By Dominic Fracassa, San Francisco Chronicle, August 6, 2019 Challenging the construction of new Navigation Centers in California got significantly harder last week, after lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom quietly passed legislation intended to speed up creation of the service-rich homeless shelters statewide. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill in December to require cities to approve new Navigation Centers, as long as they comply with local zoning laws, building codes...

By Jared Keller, Pacific Standard, August 5, 2019 The El Paso, Texas, mass shooting that left 20 dead on Saturday may actually spell the end for one of white nationalism's greatest resources: the online radicalization of potential domestic terrorists. Almost immediately before he opened fire at a Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall, the 21-year-old shooter posted a crazed, hate-filled manifesto to the online message board 8chan that's become "a megaphone for mass shooters, and a recruiting...

By Erin P. Hambrick, Thomas W. Brawner, and Bruce D. Perry, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, August 6, 2019 Early-life stress (ELS) poses risks for developmental and mental health problems throughout the lifespan. More research is needed regarding how specific ELS experiences influence specific aspects of neurodevelopment. We examined the association between ELS, defined as severe adversity (e.g., domestic violence, caregiver drug use) and severe relational poverty (e.g., caregiver...

By Sarah Sloat, Inverse, July 21, 2019 Michele Koppes, Ph.D., is a geographer and associate professor at the University of British Columbia, where she’s spent the last 20 years watching massive glaciers melt away as a result of the climate crisis. She, like many people who follow the news about global warming and its effects, is aware of climate change anxiety, the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness about the fate of our planet. Koppes’ work at the intersection of climate science,...

But if we want to prevent shootings, asking about motive will just get you a useless answer to the wrong question. If you use the lens of the science of adverse childhood experiences, the answer reveals itself, and usually pretty quickly.

By P. Berman, A. Hosack & K. Hecht I will do this for Davy and Claire. I will stay away from them and sell drugs for the gang. He had only had about two minutes, but he had been learning enough from Manuel to know what a good husband and father would do; he would stay away from Claire and Davy. Larry would keep pretending he was done with Claire. He would keep his burning desire to see her and Davy a deep secret so the gang would have no interest in them. Selling drugs would give him the...

The primary solution to reducing the number of ‘mass shootings‘ and ‘hate crimes’ and ‘gun violence’ that occur in our country is not another policy or law. The solution lies in getting to and addressing the root issues that are driving people to conduct these horrific crimes. I believe the emphasis must be placed on prevention and healing at the deepest, personal level…. getting to the root of the problem at hand. By getting to the “heart” of the issue!

An ACEs Connection webinar will offer helpful self-regulation tools to those rocked by recent shootings in Gilroy, CA, El Paso, TX , and Dayton, OH. The Building Resilient Communities webinar is offered by ACEs Connection this Thursday, August 9, at 10:00 AM PDT / 1 :00 PM E D and will last approximately 1 hour. Elaine Miller-Karas will teach her Community Resilienc y Mode l. Find registration details below. This webinar is free and open to the public. It serves professionals and community...

Outreach is easier with a NoHitZone Care Package! Do you wish your pediatrician office or local hospital was a NoHitZone? We can help you reach out to your pediatrician, local children's hospital, church, daycare, or government office! A care package helps you pitch the idea of a NoHitZone and includes: Information on NoHitZones Overview of the research on spanking Information on Helper Cards for Parents 5 sample Helper Cards StopSpanking Magnet (for file cabinets, cars, refrigerator) Salina...