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Inmates who participated in a Bible-based trauma healing ministry program showed enhanced emotional well-being and a significant decrease in the negative consequences of trauma, a recent study by the American Bible Society and Baylor University revealed. [More]

In the American culture, dealing with loss, especially death, is a theme that few know how to handle. How long do I mourn? Am I allowed to laugh? These are among the questions that arise. There is, of course, no consensus as to what is appropriate. It is hard for mourners to accept that often the direction is dependent on the beliefs of the survivor. [More]

A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry looked at repeated Ketamine administration for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “This study was the first randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of repeated ketamine infusions in improving PTSD symptoms in individuals suffering with chronic PTSD,” study author Adriana Feder told us. [More]

What is evil? There are multiple lenses through which we can search for a definition: moral, spiritual, mystical, etc. When forced to choose a characterization of this trait there is no one description to rely upon. Evil is very much a subjective element that incites fear. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Black Studies explores the impact of publicized killings of Black men and boys by police shared in social media and viewed by underrepresented college students in the U.S. The study, titled: “The Only Thing New is the Cameras”: A Study of U.S. College Students’ Perceptions of Police Violence on Social Media, found that the majority of college students experienced emotional trauma watching the videos. They shared their fears about being pulled over by police. [More]

Looking back at the start of the pandemic, I witnessed two things. Shutting down- disengaging and stopping normal activities. Alternatively, doing too much- hoarding toilet paper, fighting people over cleaning wipes, and stocking up on food. Reading the news, it looked like everyone was losing their minds… me included. Understanding the polyvagal theory is helpful in understanding why people function the way they do in times of stress, and also why we as a society, have had a hard time regulating our emotions and behaviors again. [More]

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects eight per cent of adults in the United States. That means eight million Americans suffer from PTSD annually. Women are more likely to suffer from PTSD than men. While 10 per cent of women develop PTSD at some point in their lives, four per cent of men will experience PTSD. One of the responses to PTSD is anger as well as depression, chronic pain, sleep problems, substance misuse, suicide, and grief. A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience examined the link between traumatic stress and aggression. [More]

During the 2003 SARS outbreak, health care workers had concerns about infecting others and experienced stigma because they were in close contact with sick patients. A new study in JAMA looked at the mental health of 1,257 health care workers attending to COVID-19 patients in China since COVID-19 is our current concern. A large percentage reported depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress. Findings suggest that these health care workers are at a significant risk of developing mental illness. [More]

According to a human rights experts that performed psychological evaluations with immigrants, they stated that separation of families by immigration officials amounts to torture. In an investigation, “You Will Never See Your Child Again: The Persistent Psychological Effects of Family Separation,” Physicians for Human rights evaluated 17 adults and nine children from Central America who had been separated between 60 and 69 days. [More]

For Matthew Heneghan, author of the newly released memoir, A Medic’s Mind, writing became a way of letting the poison out. “I was not gifted with a natural ability to write,” Heneghan told us. “I merely endured the experiences required to give my soul the time it needed to learn how to cry. What you see on paper or page are not letters and phrases from me...they’re tear drops.” [More]