Search Results for: kessler/2009/11/nerf-guns-–-what-are-we-afraid-of/2009/11/nerf-guns-–-what-are-we-afraid-of/2009/11/your-role-in-your-childs-development

Substance Abuse and the Teenage Mind

…who began at age 21 or older. (NCADD FAQ) Substance Use Impacts Teen Brain Development and Thinking The adolescent brain and body are still growing and developing. The influence of drugs and alcohol on brain chemistry can impact normal development in ways that research is still uncovering. Adolescents often feel more powerfully alive when doing something that engages them. Substance use enhances this new level of sensation. As emotions return to n…

Learn More

VIDEO: Dr. Allan Schore on How to Help Children Regulate Their Emotional States

…ow focusing more and more, we’re realizing — has more to do with emotional development, social development, more so than cognitive development, etc. And especially the ability to communicate emotional states to other human beings, so that they can be interactively regulated, and that ultimately in the first year of life the growing capacity of the child to be able to now regulate their own emotional states. In the first year, the emotional states…

Learn More

A Framework for Cultivating Integration

…eriences have affected us directly; and also by innately determined neural development processes, such as genes, epigenetic controls, and toxic exposures. In other words, neural connections are shaped by both experience and by constitution to create personality. “Personality” can be described as the proclivity to travel down certain developmental pathways that directly shape selfregulation and our emotional lives. How can one state of being, or st…

Learn More
trauma of racism

The Trauma of Racism

…left no doubt that early trauma, especially unresolved trauma, impacts the development of emotional regulation skills and distress tolerance. It can lead to “disrupted neurodevelopment and social, emotional and cognitive impairment.” ACEs have further been linked with all the leading causes of death, including illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and cancer, in addition to mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, sub…

Learn More

Deep Sadness Can Deepen Love

…ness is not only a fundamental part of our being human; it plays a primary role in our survival as well. Sadness is not the same as depression We often equate sadness with depression, thinking of depression as being an extreme state of sadness. Even though some of the same reactions occur in both (i.e. crying, lack of energy, grieving), these two emotional states are different from each other. Sadness is a healthy human emotion, a natural reaction…

Learn More

Fantasy Bond

…You’re using everyday routines as symbols of closeness. You’re playing out roles in your relationship. You’re using customs and conventional responses as substitutes for real closeness. Learn more about the signs of a fantasy bond Where do fantasy bonds originate? All children suffer emotional pain and anxiety in the process of growing up. In families where the parents are unable to provide the love and affection as well as the direction and guida…

Learn More

How is CPTSD Different from PTSD?

…mplex trauma, on the other hand, often develops during an earlier stage of development, over repeated incidents, involving a relationship that is supposed to be safe. The brain and nervous system adapt to expecting ongoing danger, often compromising the development of a healthy sense of self and the world. These adaptations then become deeply instilled in a person’s thinking, feeling and functioning. For example, you may develop constant hypervigi…

Learn More

The Hidden Powers of Gratitude

…. Better Sleep A good night’s sleep may be a few grateful thoughts away. In 2009, researchers discovered that gratitude predicted greater subjective sleep quality and sleep duration as well as less sleep latency and daytime dysfunction in those studied. The study was noted as being the first to show that a positive trait is related to good sleep quality above the effect of other personality traits. Thus, focusing on more positive thoughts of thing…

Learn More

Disorganized Attachment: How Disorganized Attachments Form & How They Can Be Healed

…ed trauma and loss in the parent’s own life that leaves him or her feeling afraid, which unintentionally scares the child. How is disorganized attachment expressed in children? Children are born with the instinct to seek care from adults; their survival depends on it. They are therefore highly motivated to form an adaptable strategy to get their needs met, even by a far from perfect or unsafe caretaker. A disorganized attachment results when there…

Learn More

The Destructive Ways We Self-Parent as Adults

…n our parents or parent-figures had a much more profound impact on us. The Role of the Fantasy Bond As an infant, our parents are literally our key to survival. Their ability, or lack there of, to provide us with a sense of safety, to be attuned to our needs, and to soothe us when we were distressed created the foundation of how we see ourselves, others, and how relationships operate. The strengths and weaknesses they possessed had a powerful effe…

Learn More