A Portrait of Trauma

Dear Wellness Readers:

Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes and no one is immune from experiencing the life-changing effects trauma causes – even for the President of the United States. According to Dr. Lance Dodes, retired Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, “[Donald] Trump became the same sadistic tyrannical and cruel person his father was.” Does early childhood trauma give Trump an excuse for being a psychopath (a term that is now interchangeable with sociopath)? There is no simple answer to this question.

Mary Stout, author of the book, The Sociopath Next Door, says “Imagine – if you can – not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern for the well-being of strangers, friends, or even family members. Imagine no struggles with shame, not a single one in your whole life, no matter what kind of selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral action you had taken…”

Trump is the son of an abusive father and a neglectful mother contributing to living his life “…driven by an insatiable narcissistic hunger to be loved, accepted, admired, praised … and the need to dominate.” Other than dominate, don’t we all need and want these same things? We do but usually not at the expense of others.

Trump takes no responsibility for the current 3.68 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 141,000 deaths in the U.S. Since sociopaths have no feelings of empathy, Trump revels in attention, domination, and cruelty. I believe this is one of the worst results of childhood trauma. Since Trump thinks he is an expert on everything, there will be no moment of enlightenment to change his behaviors. To heal from trauma we are required to go deep inside our minds, bodies, and spirits to create a life with new morals, beliefs, and values. I doubt Trump will ever do this.

So how do we treat a traumatized and psychopathic U.S. president? We must repeatedly push back at Trump, calmly and persistently.

Never give up …

Child Abuse: An Unfathomable Travesty

Mary Jo holding THE BEAR book

 

 

Mary Jo with THE BEAR                                                      

Hello Wellness Seekers:

Did you know that my life’s mission is to bring awareness and healing to adult survivors of child abuse? I’m doing everything in my power to bring resolution and justice to those of us who were abused as children. This is difficult work, especially since the United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nation – losing on average between four and seven children every day to child abuse and neglect.

Source: https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse-statistics/

Since the release of my book, THE BEAR: In the Middle of Between, I’ve been experiencing daily inspirational moments. Many of the people who read THE BEAR have been sharing their reviews and comments on child abuse with me. I’d like to share one with you to showcase why this book is so vital in the healing of this travesty.

From Mary Jo Wiseman, CMP | Author | The Meeting Planning Process: A Guide for Planning Successful Meetings

The Bear in the Middle of Between by Alexis Acker-Halbur is the compelling story of a young woman named Claudia.

Physically and sexually abused by her father from the time she was a small child, and with no support from her family, Claudia sees no way out other than to end her life. In the course of attempting to do so, she encounters a mystical presence in the form of a bear who leads her on a path of discovery and recovery.

Abuse of any kind is unacceptable, but when the initiator is the father who also happens to be a well-respected minister, the situation is an unfathomable travesty. Through her connection with a mystical bear and real-life counseling, Claudia is able to come to grips with her situation, confront her abuser, make amends with her siblings, and find joy in living.

I encourage anyone who is or has been a victim of abuse or knows of someone who is being abused as we speak, to read and share this book. Abusive behavior is a pattern, the chain of which needs to be and can be broken, one person, one family, one generation at a time.

Available at Minnesota-based Kirk House Publishers, publishing books for a cause. https://www.kirkhousepublishers.com/product-page/the-bear-in-the-midlle-of-between-by-alexis-acker-halbur

I hope you enjoy THE BEAR. Never give up!

NEW Fiction Book Now Available

A book titled The Bear

Hi Wellness Seekers:

My life mission is to offer you healing tools to help you resolve trauma in your life. My new-to-be-released, fiction novel, THE BEAR: In the Middle of Between, is the story of a young woman who can no longer live in a world of abuse. You will find this novel filled with hope and encouragement. If you have ever dreamed about taking your abuser to court, this novel is for you.

Filled with magical realism and real life events, THE BEAR will help you understand the complexity of trying to survive trauma. If you read and loved the book, The Shack, by William P. Young, this story enhances the ideas of survival vs. death and faith vs. fear.

Published by Kirk House Publishers, who print books with a cause, you can order the novel by clicking on this link: www.kirkhousepublishers.com

I hope you will order my novel today. Orders will be sent out after May 20, 2020.

Thanks!

Alexis Acker-Halbur

While COVID-19 Cases Increase — So Do Cases of Abuse

Children in front of an angry man

It seems our world is being devoured by pandemics. One pandemic that you don’t often hear about is childhood and domestic abuse. Here’s a recent update from nomore.org I thought you’d be interested in.

As more cities go on lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, NO MORE and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) have teamed up on a new public awareness and action campaign to respond to a challenging byproduct of isolating at home: victims of domestic violence are increasingly trapped with their abusers.

National and local domestic violence hotlines in the U.S. expect huge increases in calls as states take more drastic measures to quarantine. The Hotline is hearing from survivors that COVID-19 is already being used by abusive partners to further control and abuse.

Like COVID-19, the signs of domestic abuse are not always visible. However, now that people are spending almost 24/7 at home, they might hear more coming from their neighbors’ homes than usual. That’s why NO MORE & The Hotline created #Listeningfromhome — a campaign that aims to heighten people’s awareness of the problem, learn to recognize the signs, and encourage them to safely get help if they do hear or observe incidents of domestic abuse.

“We want people to take COVID-19 seriously and be vigilant in staying home and trying to stay healthy, but while they’re home, we hope to enlist them as allies in the effort to stop the epidemic of domestic violence—now, and beyond this immediate crisis,” said Pamela Zaballa, Global Executive Director of the NO MORE Foundation. “It is an effort to do the most good possible during an especially scary, uncertain time.”

The campaign also calls on those who can to donate to The Hotline. The Hotline’s entire team, more than 150 people, began working remotely last week so that they can continue to provide critical, life-saving services for hundreds of thousands of survivors — no matter what happens.

Copyright © 2020 The NO MORE Foundation. All rights reserved.

Thank you NO MORE for this enlightening article. Keep up the great work that you do for abuse survivors.

Trauma and Health in a World of COVID-19

A picture of a little girl

I was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in 2007. I truly believed that the cancer was caused by childhood trauma I had experienced. I began writing my book, Never Give Up: Break the Connection Between Stress and Illness, and made the bold statement that: Unresolved Childhood Trauma Causes Health Conditions in Adults. Several medical people said my statement had no statistics to support my belief. Still, I continued to work on my book to explain how I survived cancer. In 2014, when my book was published, I continued to get feedback from people saying there was no evidence to support my belief.

I never wavered in my belief that adults can resolve childhood trauma, and survive it without becoming ill.

In a May 2020 article in TIME Magazine, I found this amazing information: According to a 1998 landmark study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC, childhood trauma is strongly correlated with a person’s health as an adult. The study explored Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, surveying more than 9,500 adults insured by Kaiser Permanente about ACEs they may have faced as children. These included ‘psychological, physical or sexual abuse,’ ‘violence against mother,’ and ‘living with household members who were substance abusers, mentally ill or suicidal, or ever imprisoned.’

These study findings were from 1998 – that’s nine years before my diagnosis with cancer. I wish I had known about this study earlier. Nonetheless, my belief that childhood trauma affects adult’s health IS very accurate. (Note: Even one ACE in childhood increases adult health risks.)

Luckily, a company like Kaiser Permanente is investing in efforts aimed at reducing the number of ACEs in our communities.

It’s Time for TRUTH!

I would like to invite the people at Kaiser Permanente to consider my T.R.U.T.H. Program. (The Road to Unresolved Trauma Healing.) The T.R.U.T.H. mission provides trauma survivors with the opportunity to resolve issues to achieve a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

All over the world, we’re trying to eradicate the coronavirus. Why not end adverse childhood trauma, too, since over 60 percent of adults in the U.S. experienced at least one ACE in childhood, while 1 in 6 experienced four or more.

To find more information on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) please click on this link: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy