August 2018

When a sick kid steps into the pediatrician’s office, it could be for just about anything: an ear infection, a twisted ankle or an upset stomach. And sometimes, behind all those outward symptoms, there is something deeper that needs attention. Pediatricians and family doctors have long served a crucial but largely undefined role in American mental health care, diagnosing and treating depression and anxiety in addition to everyday physical injuries and common diseases. But amid rising concern...

Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series of articles stemming from an opioid summit held recently in Morristown to discuss solutions to the ongoing opioid epidemic. The focus on solutions at the Addiction Summit in Morristown hearkened back to keynote speaker Dr. Vanch Shaw, who initiated the word trauma in his discussion about the neurology and biology of addiction. The nearly five-hour summit began at 9 a.m. with Shaw, continued with discussions of its impact on the local community...

Poor sleep can kill your social life. UC Berkeley researchers have found that sleep-deprived people feel lonelier and less inclined to engage with others, avoiding close contact in much the same way as people with social anxiety. Worse still, that alienating vibe makes sleep-deprived individuals more socially unattractive to others. Moreover, even well-rested people feel lonely after just a brief encounter with a sleep-deprived person, triggering a viral contagion of social isolation. [For...

Abstract Marijuana is one of the most widely used substances during pregnancy in the United States. Emerging data on the ability of cannabinoids to cross the placenta and affect the development of the fetus raise concerns about both pregnancy outcomes and long-term consequences for the infant or child. Social media is used to tout the use of marijuana for severe nausea associated with pregnancy. Concerns have also been raised about marijuana use by breastfeeding mothers. With this clinical...

When students from Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas—where eight students and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting on May 18—went back to school last week, their school looked different from the last time they saw it. Metal detectors and a security vestibule made of bulletproof glass greeted them at the front doors, and every classroom now also contained a “panic button” to trigger an alarm system. Students also passed more police officers in the hallways than before. The...

The Marshall Project When 15-year-old Luis Cruz joined the Latin Kings in 1991, he was a child by almost any measure: He couldn’t legally drive, drop out of school or buy a beer. But was he still a child a few years later when — just months after he turned 18 — he murdered two people on the orders of gang leaders? Earlier this year, a federal judge in Connecticut said yes . The judge decided that a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that forbade mandatory sentences of life without parole for...

To create conditions for community wellbeing we must look back – at continuing, historic influences – and forward – to the major forces that shape current and future priorities. The Visualizing Wellbeing series explores the state of wellbeing in the United States through a collection of data visualizations. Each week we will explore one vital condition that comprise our framework for community wellbeing , developed in partnership through the Well Being Legacy Initiative . Basic Needs for...

Cissy's Note: This post below with an offer for some free tickets to see Wrestling Ghosts was shared in the Parenting with ACE s community, thanks to @Charlotte Graham! However, I know many care about parents, parenting with ACEs who are on the main page so I'm sharing here as well with my review of this movie. I saw it last week and IT IS SO POWERFUL!!!! This documentary is so honest, raw, real, and powerful. It made me sad, hopeful, heartbroken, and encouraged all at the same...

Self-care is the sum of things you do for your emotional and physical wellbeing. Getting enough sleep, brushing your teeth, and eating well are classic examples of good physical self-care. How to take good care of yourself emotionally may be harder to see from the outside. Your ability to view your inner world with compassion and curiosity is one sign. Noticing your emotions and thoughts with gentle awareness is another inward sign of emotional self-care. Knowing how to find and turn to...

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 August 2018 Hi folks, Hard to believe that we are at the end of August, I swear the older I get, the faster time flies by, even when I have purposely slowed down my life, at least I think I have. Oh well, as they...

Allie Armbruster had a charmed childhood, but she almost lost it all to drugs, including heroin. Now 32, she's sober and studying to be a lawyer to help change the system from the inside. Her road out wasn't easy. For Allie Armbruster, 32, the road to law school was as rocky as they come. The application process alone took guts. "These are law schools, and the goal is to learn and uphold the law," she told 11Alive's Jennifer Leslie . "I've spent the last 10 years of my life breaking the law.

Tulane child psychiatry professor Dr. Stacy Drury will receive the 2018 Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in October at the AACAP’s 65th Annual Meeting in Seattle. Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano.