Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.
Videos
Living Amends – VIDEO
I recently saw the movie The Monuments Men and thought it was fantastic. I especially loved the part that in this movie, one of the characters, 2nd Lt. Donald Jeffries is a recovering alcoholic who basically allows God to change his life so that he can serve as part of this unit of troops dedicated to saving works of art during World War II.
The plot of this movie has been pasted below courtesy of Google:
During World War II, the Nazis steal countless pieces of art and hide them away. Some over-the-hill art scholars, historians, architects, and other experts form a unit to retrieve as many of the stolen masterpieces as possible. The mission becomes even more urgent when the team learns about Hitler’s “Nero Decree,” which orders destruction of the artworks if the Third Reich falls. Caught in a race against time, the men risk their lives to protect some of mankind’s greatest achievements.
What I saw in this movie was a great example of someone in recovery writing an Amends Letter as well as displaying the concept of Living Amends. This is a great example for someone working Step Nine of the Twelve Steps on how to make amends to those that we cannot or should not contact.
I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I enjoyed creating it. As always, take what you like and leave the rest.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, & education, etc. This constitutes a ’fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED! All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their owners.
Baby Steps – VIDEO
I love movies that deal with mental health in a comedic way. When I entered recovery, I used to get offended by this type of comedy as making fun of people like me, but now, thanks to significant healing, I can watch them and laugh along with others and understand exactly what is going on. One of the items I like about this movie is the term the “Baby Steps” that is used by Richard Dreyfuss’ character, Dr. Leo Marvin. This is the same term I use with the men who attend Castimonia regarding any progress that is made in a positive direction no matter how small. Sometimes we need to take “Baby Steps” to move forward in our recovery, not huge leaps. Even a small step in the right direction is progress. Another way we use the term “Baby Steps” is to learn to live in the present, one minute, one hour, one day at a time and take small baby steps towards our goal of a full day of sobriety.
The plot of this movie has been pasted below courtesy of Google:
Before going on vacation, self-involved psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) has the misfortune of taking on a new patient: Bob Wiley (Bill Murray). An exemplar of neediness and a compendium of phobias, Bob follows Marvin to his family’s country house. Dr. Marvin tries to get him to leave; the trouble is, everyone love Bob. As his oblivious patient makes himself at home, Dr. Marvin loses his professional composure and, before long, may be ready for the loony bin himself.
What I saw in this movie was the comedic, yet truthful, evidence of living life one small “Baby Step” at a time, learning not to get overwhelmed by everything that occurs in our life all at once, but looking at these events in small manageable parts.
I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I enjoyed creating it. As always, take what you like and leave the rest.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, & education, etc. This constitutes a ’fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED! All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their owners.
The Twelve Steps – VIDEO
Drama and suspense have never really been my favorite genres of movies but I am a big fan of Liam Neeson ever since he played a Jedi Knight in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. And then there were the Taken movies where he single-handedly fights human trafficking! I watch a lot of movies, not sure if you can tell and some have recovery themes and some do not. Nevertheless, watching any movie with my “recovery glasses” allows me to spot recovery themes. These themes can include alcoholism, drug addiction, support groups, honesty, courage, selfishness, selflessness, redemption, etc… that are portrayed in the movie.
A Walk Among the Tombstones is one of these movies. The plot of this movie has been pasted below courtesy of Google:
Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson), formerly part of the NYPD, now works as an unlicensed private detective. His latest client is a drug trafficker (Dan Stevens) whose wife was kidnapped and brutally murdered, and as Scudder delves deeper, he finds that the crime’s sequence is the modus operandi of the perpetrators. Before they can strike again and destroy other lives, Scudder races through the back streets of New York to catch the killers, blurring the lines between lawful and criminal as he goes.
I’ll be honest. The only reason I posted this movie was because Neeson’s character was a recovering alcoholic and he actively attends meetings and works on his recovery. I really enjoy a movie that openly acknowledges the Twelve Steps even if the plot of the movie is not about recovery. What I like about this movie is that Neeson’s character has suffered through a lot of trauma, especially against the brutal murderers in this movie and he still works his program, attends meetings, and believes in the promises of AA.
I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I enjoyed creating it. As always, take what you like and leave the rest.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, & education, etc. This constitutes a ’fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED! All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their owners.
Courage – VIDEO
I love fantasy, but not the fantasy I used to engage in. This is the genre of fantasy full of dragons, knights, castles, or in this case, Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, and Orcs! As a child I watched the cartoon version of The Hobbit by Rankin and Bass and loved the music and funny characters. I was then able to read the book and then watch the movies by Peter Jackson. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until entering recovery that the Holy Spirit gave me some special “recovery glasses” that have allowed me to spot recovery themes in various media; music, movies, photographs, etc… These themes can include support groups, honesty, courage, selfishness, selflessness, redemption, etc… that are portrayed in the movie.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of The Hobbit Trilogy is one of these movies. The plot of this movie has been pasted below courtesy of Google:
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is a fantasy novel and children’s book by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in a time “Between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men”, The Hobbit follows the quest of home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the Dwarven treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug.
I thought the courage exhibited by Bilbo Baggins to go on this dangerous journey was a parallel to the courage it takes to enter and stay in recovery. Recovery isn’t easy, in fact, it is very difficult. Therefore, it takes a lot of courage to enter meetings where you finally accept that we are not perfect and we are wounded human beings.
I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I enjoyed creating it. As always, take what you like and leave the rest.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, & education, etc. This constitutes a ’fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED! All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their owners.
