Judith Haire - Blog

How Childhood Trauma Affects The Brain

03/27/2012 08:08:00

Healthy bonding and attachment are crucial to development from the first days of life.

Well cared-for babies are able to process and integrate both positive and negative experiences. This helps them add adaptive learning to their repertoire of behaviours and attitudes allowing them to more readily manage the stressors in life.

In addition, positive early experiences are crucial to optimal organization and development of right brain mediated functions.When healthy attachment and bonding does not occur and/or if the child lives in a situation of neglect or abuse, these life circumstances will be processed through the right hemisphere as highly charged emotions and body sensations

. Persistent fear and the child’s overall responses to that fear can alter the brain’s development, resulting in changes in physiological, emotional, behavioural, cognitive and social functioning.The developing brain is very sensitive to stress and childhood trauma.

Studies show that exposure to violence and unpredictable or chronic stress results in functional deficits.

These include:

Smaller than average cerebral cortex

Decreased size of the hippocampus

Decreased size of the corpus callosum

Decreased GABA (neuromodulator required to calm the limbic system )

Underdevelopment of the orbito- frontal cortex

Poor integration of the left and right hemispheres

An integrated brain requires connections between the hemispheres by the corpus callosum.

The poor integration of the hemispheres and the underdevelopment of the orbito-frontal cortex account for such symptoms as difficulty with impulse control and emotional regulation, an inability to accurately recognize emotions in others, and to articulate one’s own emotions

Chronic childhood trauma cause elevated levels of neuro-endocrine hormones.

High levels of these hormones can damage to the hippocampus, which is critical for memory.

The effects of early maltreatment on a child’s development are profound and long lasting. They interfere with attention and retention of information and thus affect the child’s learning abilities. They interfere with the child’s ability to form positive relationships, thus resulting in the child’s inability to move into their teens and adult years as a well adjusted human being

Childhood Trauma As A Risk Factor For Psychosis

03/27/2012 08:05:00

It is well documented that children who experience difficulties in childhood are at increased risk for various negative mental health outcomes. In the last decade many population based studies have suggested that childhood trauma is a risk factor for psychosis. The link is now well accepted. What do we mean by childhood trauma? Emotional abuse, physical abuse, general abuse, sexual abuse and physical neglect.Possible pathways are the relationships between negative perception of the self and negative affect, and biological mechanisms such as dysregulated cortisol (a stress hormone) and increased sensitivity to stress. Psychotic patients with a history of childhood trauma tend to have post traumatic stress disorder, high levels of depression and anxiety and are responsible for more suicide attempts.Children who have been abused are more likely to seek abusive partners as adults as they unconsciously repeat pattens of the past. They are likely to have very low self esteem and be non assertive.Statistics show that 1 in 4 of us will experience mental health problems; our children are at risk - nearly 12 million of them. That's why it's vital that the government provides adequate mental health services for children. Currently only half of all local authorities provide mental health services for children and this is due to government cuts. Recently the government pledged £22m for children's mental health services but frankly this is a drop in the ocean. If we fail our children and do not protect their mental health we are looking at a ticking time bomb.The greatest gift you can give to a child is to listen. Not medicate, label and ignore, but listen to what they have to tell you.The government has to review its spending on children's mental health or the consequences will be catastrophic.

In My Eyes

03/27/2012 08:03:00

According to my local Primary Care Trust, psychiatrists cannot be expected to know about the side effects of the medication they prescribe. What? Yes, it's a given that medication has side effects. I wonder how many people know that lens opacity/cataracts is a side effect of some anti depressants, anti psychotics, and steroids?I was 48 when I was diagnosed with cataracts. When I saw the ophthalmologist he said my cataracts were not the usual ones he saw and asked if I'd ever taken the drug Chlorpromazine. I'd taken large quantities of Chlorpromazine ten years previously, while sectioned under the l983 Mental Health Act. The ophthalmologist said the Chlorpromazine had caused my cataracts.I have had surgery on both my eyes and had artificial lens implants fitted. But, had I been informed of the risks perhaps I'd have had other choices available to me, who knows. I took anti depressants and anti psychotics between l993-2000 and it's been suggested to me that I should take the medication all the time......but what about the side effects I said. Well you can take medication for those was the answer. But what about my eyes I said. I'm still waiting for an answer to that question.

Guest Post By Roger Smith : Whitney Houston – How Much Can We Learn About The Dangers Of Mixing Sedative Drugs?

03/27/2012 07:59:00

Whitney Houston's death has been ruled to be an accidental drowning. Heart disease and chronic cocaine use also contributed. March 22, 2012The above is the headline that has flashed around the world . The message seems to be, “Look after your heart and avoid cocaine" Not many people are going to be looking at the details of the coroner’s report.Did she die of a heart attack? “…plaque in her arteries… …common in drug users… …wasn't clear whether Houston had a heart attack on the day she died.” - http://ibnlive.in.com/news/whitney-houston-died-from-drowning-coroner/241874-45.htmlThey seem pretty sure it was not a heart attack. It seems she simply fell asleep in the bath. It could happen to any of us. It is however, a rare thing for anyone who is not under the influence of sedatives.What about prescription drugs? What part might drugs available on prescription and used by Whitney Houston have contributed to her early demise?“Several bottles of prescription medications were found in her hotel room, but coroner's officials said there weren't excessive quantities.” - same web page as above http://ibnlive.in.com/news/whitney-houston-died-from-drowning-coroner/241874-45.htmlWhat does, “…weren't excessive quantities.” mean and was cocaine the only drug affecting the singer at this time?“Cocaine was found in her system as were traces of marijuana, Xanax, Flexeril, and Benadryl although they did not contribute to her tragic passing.” And “…several pills were found on the scene including Xanax, Ibuprofen, and Midol. However, investigators found no evidence of cocaine in the hotel room.” - http://www.pep.ph/news/33496/whitney-houston-dies-of-accidental-drowning-and-cocaine-use

Clearly marijuana (cannabis) can lead to some health problems, but what of the prescription drugs that presumably Houston had taken not so long before she died?Xanax: It was detected in her body. Also known as Alprazolam
“Alprazolam possesses anxiolytic, sedative, hypnotic, skeletal muscle relaxant, anticonvulsant, and amnestic properties.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alprazolam
Side effects include: Drowsiness, dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, unsteadiness and impaired coordination. It does not sound like a good thing to be taking before having a bath.Flexeril: It was detected in her body. Also known as Cyclobenzaprine
Side effects: significantly increased rates of drowsiness (38% of patients)
Another thing probably not to take before having a bath.Benadryl: It was detected in her body. Active ingredient Diphenhydramine
“…may also produce anticholinergic effects, antiemetic effects, and significant sedative side-effects.
In the United Kingdom, Benadryl products contain either the non-sedating antihistamine acrivastine (marketed as Benadryl Allergy Relief) or the non-sedating antihistamine cetirizine (marketed as Benadryl One a Day Relief).” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BenadrylClearly the drug companies believe it is sedating else surely they would not be marketing less sedating varieties of Benadryl.Is it possible that the different formats of Benadryl in different countries leads to the debate about whether it can be used to put children to sleep on plane flights:
“I’ve totally given Benadryl as a way to get the kids to go to sleep when they were littler… …I think I did it about a month ago even. I would do it on a flight if I thought it would make them less freaked out.” - /the_benhttp://www.salon.com/2012/03/21adryl_solution/singleton/

Ibuprofen: In hotel room.
This is a common drug used all over the world for pain relief and there is a lot of evidence to say that it is one of the safer drugs around when used correctly. There is this, “Infrequent adverse effects include: esophageal ulceration, heart failure…” on Wikipedia. As there is nothing about finding Ibuprofen in her body this does not seem to have anything to do with her death.Midol: In hotel room.
According to: http://www.midol.com/pm.html
“Active ingredients (in each caplet)
Acetaminophen 500 mg = Pain reliever
Diphenhydramine citrate 38 mg = Nighttime sleep-aid”Midol contains acetaminophen is known as paracetamol in many countries. It is not usually associated with extra drowsiness, although I certainly find I get off to sleep quicker and sleep longer even just taking one paracetamol 500mg tablet. This effect is probably related to pain relief - that is, when we feel less pain we find it easier to sleep.Midol contains diphenhydramine is the same active ingredient as in Benadryl - see above. This brings us back to a question of whether this chemical could make it more likely for someone to fall asleep in a bath?
According to the sales web site at http://www.benadryl.co.uk/symptoms-and-advice
“At the recommended dosage, BENADRYL® products do not cause drowsiness in the majority of sufferers.” - It is interesting that one drug company says it does not cause sleepiness while another is marketing it as a “Nighttime sleep-aid”!It seems very likely that anyone taking two medications both containing this compound would be likely more likely to fall asleep in a bath as they may well exceed the recommended dosage.- - - -Overall, it seems there were a lot of drugs being used by Whitney Houston that could have each contributed a little towards her falling asleep in the bath. From this point of view I feel that a headline that focuses attention on heart disease (that certainly was not the main cause of death) and chronic cocaine use (which does not seem to have been significant in the drowning) seems mis-leading.It is leading us away from the truth, which is that deaths from mixing prescription drugs are becoming more common.In researching this subject I happened to find this article where the author is thinking along similar lines:
http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/1139522--how-anti-anxiety-meds-are-killing-celebrities

Here are just three examples from the article by SORAYA ROBERTS…Anna Nicole Smith, who died on Feb. 8, 2007 (Age 38) who had taken a mix of drugs including Benadryl
Heath Ledger, who died on January 22, 2008 (Age 28) who had taken a mix of drugs including Xanax
DJ AM (a.k.a. Adam Goldstein), who died on Aug. 28, 2009 (Age 36) who had taken a mix of drugs including Benadryl and Xanax
I do not wish to single out Diphenhydramine and Alprazolam as drugs that are any more dangerous than others. What I hope to do is to alert more people to the fact that too many quite young people are dying through taking prescription drugs without realising the dangers of mixing them.A final coroner’s report into Whitney Houston’s death is expected to be ready for release within two weeks.Roger Smithhttp://www.rethinkingbipolar.com

Guest Post by Stuart A Wooding - The unsupervised rejection of medication can result in terrifying visual and sensory hallucinations

03/12/2012 08:50:00

The unsupervised rejection of medication can result in terrifying visual and sensory hallucinations by Stuart A. Wooding

I haven’t had either a visual or sensory hallucination for many years but I now know that if I abruptly cease medication I risk both

I’m working now in the mental health field (www.stuartwooding.com) and I am doing some background research to enrich my offer and culture. I’m re-visiting Divided Self by R. D .Laing. The book takes me right back to when I first fell ill. It happened at the age of 46 in the midst of Italian political and financial intrigues

The stress triggered psychosis and I was assigned a psychiatrist who was a fanatic follower of Laing and for whom any medication had the same status as street drugs. True to Laing he befriended me and I passed a surreal but pleasant eighteen months in his daily social and family scene, and heavily under his influence. I was vulnerable and only too ready to accept that I wasn’t, in fact, suffering a severe mental illness which required medication.I returned to the UK and was immediately sectioned and following two incorrect diagnoses was eventually correctly diagnosed as suffering from affective bipolar disorder. However, the road to ‘enlightenment’ was not linear. In the UK hospital in which I was incarcerated I learnt to tell the professional staff what ‘they’ wanted to hear whilst in fact I was in a state of self-denial. Released I immediately ceased taking medication and talked myself into a Managing Directorship. Nice salary, shares, plush flat and a company car – but lots of pressure and responsibility. After about six months into the job I cracked. I was under pressure to finish a tender and was in an open space part of the office. All of a sudden everyone in the office but me was jumping up and down! I realised that this was untrue but it didn’t stop until I was in the ambulance being carted back to hospital. My rationale was that my food or drink had been laced! The loss of control was terrifying.I then passed a lengthy spell in a Mental Health Unit under section. I was eventually released and returned home, ceased the digestion of medication and passed my time with drinking acquaintances. After a short spell the really terrifying sensory hallucinations initiated. I have a double bed. Night after night the mattress appeared to depress and the duvet lift as if a person was getting into my bed to murder me. The sensory hallucinations were then accompanied by visual ones. A light appeared to appear on the wall opposite my bed. I spent a small fortune changing locks and eventually called the police who ‘frog’ marched me to their van and hospital.

I now enjoy an exceptional Care Coordinator and only require her support for one hour on a fortnightly basis. I take a mood stabiliser and a reducing dosage of an anti-psychotic and happily accept that I’m bipolar. I enjoy my work and life and only drink socially. I can even re-visit R. D. Laing out of intellectual curiosity. My Care Coordinator even paints a scenario in which I’m gradually, under supervision, weaned off medication but I find myself surprisingly risk adverse.

Guest Post by Lynn C Tolson - On Growing Up Catholic

02/29/2012 09:48:00

Guest Post by Lynn C Tolson – On Growing Up Catholic

Adapted from Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor’s Story © by Lynn C. Tolson

Like many Americans of Italian descent, my family was of the Roman Catholic religion. My grandmother had statues of saints on her dresser, and a picture of the Pope over her bed. My mother prayed with me, on our knees, before bed: If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Our family activities were based on the religious calendar.In parochial school, Mass was mandatory on Holy Days of Obligation. Each class marched single file to the church; nuns in habits led children in plaid uniforms. I learned words such as hypocrite and contradict and excommunication, and the language of the Catholic congregation: catechism, confession, contrition, communion, confirmation, and the rituals of the Catholic church: The stations of the Cross, the Cross on the Rosary, and the Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. That included all the important people, but what category did little girls fall into? There seemed to be no place for me, so whenever I was in church, I never felt right or good. I always felt guilty, because, I’d been taught, we were born with Original Sin.Confession was a real dilemma. What sins could an eight-year-old commit? Often I did not sin at all, but since Confession was mandatory, I invented sins, such as fibbing. To perform the rites of a good Catholic, I lied to the priest about how I had fibbed to my mother. How could premeditated lies be righteous?When I could decide for myself, I realized that a religious rituals were not for me. Some people feel stifled by institutions and some use church just to gain status. Religion may be a source of strength to others. The principles of religion, such as The Golden Rule or The Ten Commandments, serve to instill love. What if traditional religion had no significance to me? Would I live without love?I learned that there is a difference between religion and spirituality. The main premise of spirituality is the belief in a Higher Power. With spirituality, humans attain an awareness that acknowledges the soul because we are intrinsically spiritual beings in human form. I once thought the soul hovered above or around the body, but not quite in it. Then, I learned that the body is a vessel for the soul to inhabit. The soul is the essence of love as it manifests in the world.God’s love (your personal vision) is alive and present in your soul. Our spiritual connection is our unity with God, and the love of God in the universe. Every soul finds redemption as a child in God’s family because love is perfect and pure within all of us.Spirituality took on a new meaning, not as a means to get to Heaven, but as a way to get through each day on earth. It was a relief to learn that I’m not a heretic without hope of redemption. The love of God is not reserved for special people who perform certain acts. Love is not a matter of deserving. No list of accomplishments is needed to earn love. There is a purpose to life, which is as simple as experiencing love and extending that love to others.

Guest Post by Edward Davie, NSUN - Government is not delivering on mental health

02/24/2012 16:21:00

Government is not delivering on mental health

The government’s mental health strategy set out five key issues affecting mental health, but current policy across departments is failing to address them.

Edward Davie
Guardian Professional, Thursday 23 February 2012 09.00 GMT
Article history

–
The government has outlined five key issues affecting mental health but has failed to protect them from cuts. Photograph: Matty/Alamy- Hide quoted text -A year ago the government’s mental health strategy, No Health Without Mental Health, was published, with the aim of ensuring all departments and agencies worked together to reduce the annual £105bn cost to the UK of psychological ill health.When the National Mental Health Development Unit was scrapped the month after the strategy was published, that work was given to mental health charities including Mind, Rethink and the NSUN network for mental health.As part of attempting to design a practical implementation plan for the strategy, NSUN has assessed what progress has been made so far on delivering No Health Without Mental Health’s objectives across government.The strategy clearly identifies five main predeterminants of mental health that must be improved in order to deliver the practical objectives of the strategy: employment, housing, education, community cohesion and physical health. An assessment of the state of each of these factors reveals that ministers appear to be wrecking their own strategy.Unemployment is now at an 18-year high and forecast to rise further while the latest Department for Work and Pensions’ impact assessment on their own benefit changes found that 310,000 people are at risk of losing their homes. Investment in social housing has halved with less than 500 new social homes built last year.Ofsted has recently been instructed to drop ‘wellbeing’ from the school inspection regime with schools minister Nick Gibb describing emotional and social education as “ghastly” and “peripheral”, leading to entire school counseling and health programs being scrapped. Likewise schools are no longer required to encourage ‘community cohesion’, another prerequisite for good mental health according to the strategy.On physical health, the first action Andrew Lansley took on taking office was to scrap the traffic light food labeling scheme and attack Jamie Oliver’s attempts to improve nutrition in schools. Public health bodies are united in rejecting the government’s ‘responsibility agenda‘ involving McDonalds, Tesco, Pepsi and the Portman Group of brewers and distillers in ministerial food and drink policy commissions.An email from health minister Earl Howe, recently published by the Guardian, revealed that he had asked the advice of tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris on how to resist imposing plain packets for cigarettes, despite the fact that people with mental health conditions smoke 40% of the tobacco in the UK.The strategy also calls for new local public health bodies to prioritise mental health but the first and largest, the London Health Improvement Board chaired by mayor Boris Johnson, has instead opted to concentrate on childhood obesity and problem drinking.While the DH would argue that it has invested £18m in continuing the anti-mental health stigma time to change campaign and sought to increase access to psychological therapies, these measures pale into insignificance in the wider context of worsening health and wider services.If we in the third sector are to have a hope of delivering a practical implementation plan for No Health Without Mental Health then we need a genuine cross-government commitment to its aims particularly from the Department for Education, the DWP and the new public health bodies, to promote good mental health in schools, create good quality homes and jobs and clamp down on junk food, alcohol and cigarettes

.Edward Davie is communications and engagement office for the NSUN network for mental health

This article orginally appeared on the Guardian Public Leaders Network

.NSUN is always looking for new members – it’s free and confidential to join and in return for emailing your name, address, email and phone number to info@nsun.org.uk you get a weekly ebulletin, regular members’ magazine and invites to conferences, training and events.

Guest Post by Dr Eoin Clarke: E Petition - Publish the NHS Risk Register

02/15/2012 16:41:00

WEDNESDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2012

E Petition launched calling for the NHS Risk Register to be published.Andrew Lansley is blocking the publication of the NHS Risk Register by appealing the Information Commissioner's order that the Register be published. He is doing so because it contains grave warnings about the risks posed by his Health & Social Care Bill. I promise you that the content of that Register warns about the potential surge in costs associated with the NHS. The Register details a lack of experience in commissioning as well as a diminution in buying power caused by the decentralisation and dismantling of the old structure. The Risk Registers warn about a Post Code lottery affecting certain regions as they lose out in the new 'slice up' of funding arrangements. Most gravely, the Register warns about the profit element of the private provision 'driving up' costs as they siphon off profits from the NHS.
Yesterday, I have submitted a government e-petition calling for David Cameron to order the publication of the Risk Register. I have done so to raise awareness among the ordinary public and also to give them an avenue to place on record their wish to have the Risk Register made public. This is not a Labour petition, there are many great people in the Conservative Party, Liberal Democrat Party and others, who want this Risk Register released. This is a cross party effort to promote transparency in government. We owe it to our children and elderly that people have a chance to read this risks raised in the Register before this bill is made public. MPs can sign EDM 2659 & vote in the HoC debate on the 22 February 2012. Lords can make their views known as the bill passes through their chamber. But we, the people, deserve a voice too.

This morning, I have discovered that my e-petition was rejected by the government because there is one already in existence. No matter, you can still sign that petition and make your voice heard. Please support this effort by signing the petition at this link. Please also share the petition widely.

Guest Post by Dr Eoin Clarke - The NHS Bill and Mental Health

02/10/2012 18:16:00

FRIDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2012

If the NHS Bill passes, this private company will care for our mentally ill. Be afraid, be very afraid

.Attendo is a Swedish private healthcare company, who operate elderly care homes that include mentally ill patients. In addition, they employ hundreds of nurses.

Below, I detail their scandal hit record of neglect that includes rationing of treatments, neglect of patients and ill treatment of staff. I explain how this company are financial backers of the Swedish Conservative Party, & how they fund the UK Tory Party's Deputy Chairman. This is the type of company, and in my view an actual company, that the Tories want to run our NHS. Take a long hard look at this data, and be scared, be very scared. This is the type of private health care that could be coming to a home near you if the Tory NHS Bill Succeeds. This data was provided by a Swedish grass roots politician @LeonardDriscoll who is so concerned with the damage the Tories are about to do to our NHS, that he got in touch with me to communicate his warnings.

1. Attendo health care is not solely concerned with health. They are actually owned by the risk capital company IK Investment. (see here)

2. IK Investment, and its founder Björn Saven, have faced actions from the state police in Sweden for tax dodging. (see here)

3. 20 Employees (nurses) of Attendo wrote to the Swedish board of health to complain about the conditions they worked in at one home for the elderly. (see here)
4. As a result, one of Attendo’s homes for the elderly (in Vintertullen in South-Central Stockholm) was closed down last Spring due to the seriousness of the allegations and the findings of inspectors. (here)

5. One man rescued his own mother from an Attendo care home after he found his mother, who suffered dementia, lying on a mattress in her own excrement (here).

6. In 2011, the Swedish government was forced to back down in its plans to give Attendo the contract to run another such home in Stockholm. (here)

7. Attendo run St Jörgens care home in Gothenberg also faced much criticism including breach of contract which you can read about (here).

8. Staffing levels at Attendo’s at St Jörgens care home are kept at a minimum and that limitations are placed on the number of 'nappies' and other resources they are allowed to buy in. As a result people in their care often don't get fed before 11 am and are forced to go to bed at 5 pm. Sometimes one person is forced to take care of 8 people with dementia. (here)

9. Attendo has had a very close relationship to the Conservative Party in Sweden. The CEO of Attendo is a brother to a former conservative minister and is an official adviser to the government in Welfare issues. As might be expected most of his advice has been to encourage privatisation. (here)

10. Attendo also have quite close links to the UK Tory Party. They Tory Deputy Chairman, Michael Fallon, is on their payroll, where he makes nearly £500 an hour for his services. You can read about that (here). Now, why would Cameron’s Spokesperson want to associate himself with a scandal hit Swedish healthcare provider? (here)

Are you happy that if the Tory NHS bill passes, this company, backed by the Tories, could be caring for one of your elderly loved ones who suffers mental health problems? Are you, as a potential medical professional, happy that the treatments you give your patients could be rationed to cut costs?

Please if you are a Tory and support this bill go look yourself in a mirror and ask yourself, would our beloved NHS, & its patients and staff, be better off in a privatised healthcare provider like this, or should we drop the bill? Attendo private health care is coming to a loved one near to you, unless we can stop it.

Guest Post by Mike Skinner: Trauma, Abuse and Mental Health

02/06/2012 10:50:00

Hello folks,

Greetings to all…I am glad to be back and so grateful that Judith has asked me to write and share some things about myself and allowing me some flexibility with what I post.

I am mindful that this blog does some wonderful things in helping to raise awareness and highlight helpful ways and information for healing that pertains to the issues of trauma, abuse and mental health concerns and that will indeed be a part of this post. But….given the fact that Judith resides in the United Kingdom and I would imagine a lot of her readers are over there also, I thought a neat thing to write about would be the time I lived in England while touring all of Great Britain as a drummer with the hard rock band, “American Train.”

Music has always been a life-saver for me in so many respects, and I don’t say that lightly. It helped to bring me joy and some semblance of relief as a child and a teenager while growing up in a home that found me being subjugated to all kinds of horrific abuse [sexual, physical, emotional, and neglect] at the hands of both of my parents and some of their equally perverted friends. When I learned how to expand my musical ‘vocabulary’ by learning to play the drums, well that too helped me in so many ways in keeping me sane and healthy despite the cruelty I was experiencing.My drumming abilities came about with a lot of hard work and practice and this enabled me to start performing professionally at the ripe old age of twelve years old by playing at parties, teen centers and junior high dances with the local rock band, “Resistance.”

By the time I graduated from high school I was playing professionally in all kinds of venues that included rock clubs, outdoor shows and concerts and so much more – I was living the dream of a lifetime.Please know that my introduction to the hopes and dreams of being in the music business came from one of the most profound life-changing experiences in my life – “The Beatles”. When I saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show, I knew from that point on what I would do with my life; even though I was only nine years old. I would become a professional musician.I cannot convey the excitement I felt when given the opportunity to live and tour Great Britain back in January 1976….this was indeed a dream of a lifetime and it did bring about the thoughts and feelings of “pinch me I’m dreaming”. And to live in Liverpool, England, the home of my heroes, “The Beatles”, well, let’s just say that my happiness meter was off the charts.What was originally thought to be a three month tour ended up being two wonderful years of non-stop touring all over Great Britain. We got to perform in many of the same places as did the Beatles, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Nazareth, The Stones and so many other great bands. Back then we were also playing in many of the same venues as AC/DC.....it was a lot of fun and the experience of a lifetime!!!

You can learn more about these times and my musical journey by visiting my website – http://www.mskinnermusic.comThere are several articles you can read that go into more depth in regards to my musical endeavors and how it also applies to my advocacy work. I do have some pictures posted of me from back then and you can see some more by visiting Tom Howes’ website which is linked from mine in the Music Section. Tom was an incredible guitar player and musician - he also was in a band with Brad Whitford of Aerosmith. So there's lots of cool stuff to see and hear at his website. Sadly, he passed away several years ago due to some health problems but I will always be thankful for the time I got to work with him – I also owe him a deep amount of gratitude because he was the first person to encourage me to sing and to write songs. This was huge for me due to my lack of self-esteem from my childhood experiences.Perhaps the most significant piece to all of this and how it applies to healing was the simple fact of my being over there gave me the ability to feel safe – I had a whole ocean separating me from those who had hurt me. This was indeed the first time in my life that I ever felt safe and this gave me the ability to set about on my musical endeavors and my healing journey. Safety is so important for all of us if we are to heal from that which has hurt us

.Take care, Mike

ps. Please do visit the Surviving Spirit to help you in your own healing odyssey. This is the nonprofit I have created to help those impacted by trauma, abuse and mental health concerns through the Creative Arts, Advocacy and Education http://www.survivingspirit.com