October 2018

When Army surgeon Rhonda Cornum regained consciousness after her helicopter crashed, she looked up to see five Iraqi soldiers pointing rifles at her. It was 1991 and her Black Hawk had been shot down over the Iraqi desert. Dazed from blood loss, with a busted knee and two broken arms, the then-36-year-old medic was subjected to a mock execution by her captors, sexually assaulted, and kept prisoner in a bunker for a week. Her crisis included textbook causes for post-traumatic stress—a...

The effects of trauma can be complex and far-reaching, and no two responses to trauma are exactly alike. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is generally defined as an overwhelming, life-altering experience that can cause ongoing pain and distress, and sometimes results in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). Because trauma response can be unique to each individual, self-care strategies for managing trauma...

  An ACE score is a tally of different types of abuse, neglect, and other hallmarks of a rough childhood. According to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, the rougher your childhood, the higher your score is likely to be, and the...

In the light of the #MeToo movement, we're taking a look at abusive behavior in the workplace — not just sexual harassment, but incidents that involve bosses who are aggressive and bully their employees. Karlyn Borysenko, organizational psychologist and author of the book " Zen Your Work, " has studied stressful and toxic workplaces, as well as worked in one herself. She would find herself driving home from work, screaming and crying, only to realize how much her job was hurting her after...

At a Montana school, a fifth-grader threatened to strike his teacher with a chair. In many schools, the child would be suspended, expelled, or arrested, leading to missed school, further alienation, and possibly a criminal record. But that’s not what happens here. But this student is in one of Montana’s 10 Wraparound program schools. So instead, the student and his teacher at this school that serves mostly Native American kids, met with Stephanie Iron Shooter, director of the Montana Office...

What happens when all people who spend time in a park—including people without homes—have equal say in how it is renovated? Or when the dignity of those living on the street is considered in urban design, down to the features of city trash cans? Creating inclusive, healthy places demonstrates that compassion is an undeniable community value. These examples are drawn from my participation in a study group during a visit to Copenhagen last summer. For the past year, I’ve served as a sounding...

For the past six months the Institute for People, Place, and Possibility (IP3), the organization that stewards Community Commons, has furiously worked behind the scenes to help launch Well Being Legacy , in partnership with Well Being Trust , Community Initiatives and T he Rippel Foundation/Rethink Health . Well Being Legacy, a new national initiative, has big ambitions to shape wellbeing for future generations. It seeks to lift up a living agenda that brings together the most promising...

Homelessness, neglect, malnutrition, or forced parent-child separation have long been known to cause toxic stress levels in childhood that harm developing brains and bodies. Two decades ago, the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and long-lasting health effects surfaced in a pivotal study. Now, clinicians and researchers are taking a deep dive into how the stress produced by these experiences influences lifelong changes in children's genetics and health, while developing tools...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include stressful and potentially traumatic events associated with higher risk of long-term behavioral problems and chronic illnesses. Whether parents’ ACE counts (an index of standard ACEs) confer intergenerational risk to their children’s behavioral health is unknown. In this study, we estimate the risk of child behavioral problems as a function of parent ACE counts. METHODS: We obtained retrospective information on 9 ACEs...

photo/ CCO Children, in what should be the safety of their homes, experience trauma, and it is ruining lives — and perhaps entire ethnic groups. Childhood trauma actually alters the structure of the brain — a result of consistent toxic stress — which is why it’s so difficult to heal an individual and help them attain a healthy life. Dr. Anthony Pico The science that was the springboard for making those linkages began with the now famous Adverse Childhood Experiences Study of over 17,000...

Parenting with ACEs is sharing inspiration, information, and expertise from our chat series in 3 formats. Parenting with ACEs: How It Feels & How We Heal Quote Collection (pdf version below as well) Quotes Database (pdf version below as well) Links to Chat Transcripts and before and after-the-chat blog posts. Thanks to everyone who showed up, who shared, and who is doing the important work that is our mission (prevent ACEs, heal trauma, build resilience). We know that work happens...

Brad Lohrey, sheriff of Sherman County in Oregon, likes to tell about an older man who summoned an ambulance about once a week, usually in the middle of the night. When the 911 calls ended abruptly, Lohrey asked his deputies if they knew why. “One of the deputies told me that he started stopping by the gentleman’s house before going off shift. The deputy told me that spending five minutes stopping and talking with the person caused the person to no longer need the ambulance. The gentleman...