Bessel starts this seven-minute film clip by describing how the diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was created to remind the Department of Veterans Administration in the USA to take care of war veterans. It was quite clear that a large of number of Vietnam veterans were traumatised by their war-time experiences. Big Think. [7’15”]
How Childhood Trauma Can Make You A Sick Adult | Big Think | Big Think
February 2, 2023 by
Dr. Vincent Felitti, the co-founder of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, details the connection between childhood trauma and negative health outcomes in adulthood. Big Think. [7’15”]
Psychiatry Must Stop Ignoring Trauma, with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
February 2, 2023 by
Acclaimed psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk explores his field’s long, complex, and stubborn history with trauma. Dr. van der Kolk explains how psychiatry as a whole avoided progress, often misdiagnosing trauma as hysteria or, in the case of shell-shocked soldiers, malingering. The experiences of abused women and children were more or less ignored for a century. They’re still being ignored in ways, he says. Psychiatry is still too focused on abstract diagnoses and not cognisant enough of the traumatic experiences that lead to them. Big Think. [4’03”]
The Repair of Early Trauma: A Bottom Up Approach
February 2, 2023 by
Told to us through the voices of children, this unique animation teaches us that by putting together the seven-piece jigsaw puzzle of ‘Developmental Trauma’, we can understand how a child’s adverse childhood experiences have shaped their emotional world and outward behaviour. Once we understand this, we can then work with a child to help them with their developmental trauma using an innovative therapeutic approach called the ‘Neuro-Sequential Model of Therapeutics’. This model recovers and repairs each part of a child’s brain in a specific, phased and effective order. Beacon House. 8 October 2017. [11’16”]
Step Inside the Circle: Fritzi Horstman
February 2, 2023 by
‘Unaddressed childhood trauma changes how we respond to the world and when triggered, we make choices that sometimes have devastating consequences including domestic violence, addiction, murder and prison. I, too, would have been incarcerated had I not had the privilege and support system I lucked into. Let’s shift the paradigm of how we incarcerate, isolate and dehumanize the most traumatized members of our society.’ Fritzi Horstman, Compassion Prison Project. 22 June 2020. [6’51”]
Voices in my Head: Eleanor Longden
February 2, 2023 by
To all appearances, Eleanor Longden was just like every other student, heading to college full of promise and without a care in the world. That was until the voices in her head started talking. Initially innocuous, these internal narrators became increasingly antagonistic and dictatorial, turning her life into a living nightmare. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalized, drugged, Longden was discarded by a system that didn’t know how to help her. Longden tells the moving tale of her years-long journey back to mental health, and makes the case that it was through learning to listen to her voices that she was able to survive. [14’18”]
Voices of Recovery: Pat Deegan
February 2, 2023 by
Dr. Patricia E. Deegan is an independent consultant specializing in research and education about mental health recovery and the empowerment of mental health consumers. She is an activist in the disability rights movement and creator of CommonGround, a web-based application that helps consumers prepare for visits with mental health practitioners in order to better advocate for their treatment and recovery. She is an Adjunct Professor at Dartmouth College School of Medicine and Boston University, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Services. Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. 1 May 2015. [5’27”]
This could be why you’re depressed or anxious | Johann Hari
February 2, 2023 by
In a moving talk, journalist Johann Hari shares fresh insights on the causes of depression and anxiety from experts around the world — as well as some exciting emerging solutions. “If you’re depressed or anxious, you’re not weak and you’re not crazy — you’re a human being with unmet needs,” Hari says. TED. [20’31”]
Why I train grandmothers to treat depression: Dixon Chibanda
February 2, 2023 by
Dixon Chibanda is one of 12 psychiatrists in Zimbabwe—for a population of more than 16 million. Realizing that his country would never be able to scale traditional methods of treating those with mental health issues, Chibanda helped to develop a beautiful solution powered by a limitless resource: grandmothers. In this extraordinary, inspirational talk, learn more about the friendship bench program, which trains grandmothers in evidence-based talk therapy and brings care, and hope, to those in need. TED talk, 8 March 2018. [12’24”]
Johann Hari on uncovering the real causes of depression, from his new book
February 2, 2023 by
Benjamin Ramm talks to Johann Hari about depression and its unexpected solutions. openDemocracy. [24’34”]
What Does the Recovery Model Look Like Today: Mark Ragins
February 2, 2023 by
Dr. Mark Ragins, a leading figure in mental health recovery, emphasises three key features of recovery-based care: 1. Is the service person-centered rather than illness-centered? 2. Recovery programmes move from being professional driven to being client-driven. 3. Is the programme really strengths-based rather than deficits-based? NAMILosAngeles. 9 April 2021. [4’32]
Pat Deegan: ‘Loneliness: a call to generosity’
February 2, 2023 by
Here’s some wise words from one of my favourite people working in the mental health recovery field, Pat Deegan. This blog first appeared on Pat’s CommonGround website on 27 February 2011. Pat also reads the blog post to a slideshow. The post has appeared twice on Recovery Stories, in 2013 and 2014.
‘Like many people, I experienced periods of intense loneliness during my recovery after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Over time, I learned that my loneliness was a call for me to be more generous and to give of myself. Here’s what I mean:
Loneliness and being alone are two different things. In my early recovery, being alone was an important self-care strategy for me.
At that time, being around people and being involved in the complexities of relationships was too much for me. I liked living in a single room in a boarding house. Closing my door, listening to music, and shutting people out helped me relax and feel safe.
Over time I learned that isolating for too long was not good and that I had to venture out into the world of people every few hours. In effect, I learned the right balance of being around people and being in my room.
New Articles Posted on Website
February 1, 2023 by
Over the past year, I’ve been writing new articles for Wired In, as well modifying some of the old articles. I’ve also made pdf documents for each article. I hope you will find some of the articles of value and enjoy reading them. Please feel free to download the pdf documents and pass around to other people.
There are now seven articles in this section that relate to the research that my colleagues (students, ex-students, people in recovery) and I conducted when I was running the grassroots initiative Wired In. There are also nine other articles relating to various topics.
Here are eight new articles:
Factors That Facilitate Addiction Recovery
Recovery is something done by the person with the substance use problem, not by a treatment practitioner or anyone else. Whilst there are a multitude of pathways to recovery, there are a number of key factors that facilitate recovery from serious substance use problems. (9,545 words)
