Well Hello There! I’m sending my May newsletter in June. How novel!
First of all, I have some important news to share. As of July 1, 2026, I will be working out of a new location. You will find me at Davenport Acupuncture 2322 East Kimberly Road, Suite 240 West, Davenport, IA on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons 2pm-6pm(ish) and on Saturdays by request. I am looking forward to working with you in this beautiful location with the MOST excellent vibes (IYKYK)! I will be updating my online scheduler over the next few weeks. If you cannot find a convenient time while booking online, please contact me, and we will get something worked out!
Secondly, I would like to share something that really resonated with me on a deeply personal level. On May 8th I attended a mental health conference sponsored by the Vera French Foundation. The speaker was Nzinga Harrison, MD, who wrote the book, “Un-Addiction.” Wow. She was a SUCH an amazing speaker, and I learned so much from her about addiction, and I am no stranger to addiction. It has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and in talking to my clients and friends, I know it is incredibly common everywhere. Dr. Harrison provided such a compassionate view of addiction, as well hope that it CAN be successfully treated.
I appreciated her careful use of language. For example, she noted that addiction is a chronic illness. It’s not a moral failure. It’s a chronic illness. And as with other chronic illnesses like arthritis or diabetes – it’s an illness that is a byproduct of our biology, psychology, and environment. It’s so important to shift how we view addiction because it opens the door to healing; stigma and shame are barriers to recovery.
Here are some salient notes I took from the presentation. Forgive me if these are not 100% accurate; I was writing as fast as my little fingys could move:
- Our risk for addiction is driven from:
- Inherited risk factors: Biological (e.g. parent’s use of drugs/alcohol),Psychological (seeing parental violence as a child), and Environmental (the proximity of liquor store near childhood home) and
- Acquired risk factors: Biological (e.g. depression), Psychological (experiencing microagressions), and Environmental (e.g. college drinking culture).
- Having a parent with alcohol use disorder biologically raises the child’s tolerance to substances. Note – She did not say, “having an alcoholic parent” – she said having a parent with alcohol use disorder; again, such a loving and kind way to think about this and to verbalize it.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences Study: This is a study that showed that negative experiences in childhood (abuse, neglect, addiction, household dysfunction, etc.) have a strong correlation to behavioral, physical, and mental health problems later in life. And the more ACEs we have, the greater the risk for these health problems. In the link above you can look at the specific questions that were part of the survey. I was surprised by how common many of these experiences are. I don’t mention this study to be a Debbie Downer. I mention this because I think it provides validation and context for the physical and emotional pain many of us carry. Understanding this connection between things we experience as a child (when we have very little agency) and our adult health, can help us see ourselves with more love and compassion. And we ALL need SO MUCH more of that.
But what really lit me up about this presentation was the introduction to PCES: POSITIVE Childhood Experiences. These are experiences that we can have (or even create as adults) that help mitigate the PCES. This is the magic sauce! Here are the PCES that were studied:
- Felt able to talk to their family about feelings
- Felt their family stood by them during difficult times
- Enjoyed participating in community traditions
- Felt a sense of belonging in high school
- Felt supported by friends
- Had at least two non-parent adults who took genuine interest in them
- Felt safe and protected by an adult in their home
Depending on how I interpret the questions of the ACES test, I have a fairly high score, but when I look at this PCES score, I realize how fortunate I was overall. I had almost ALL of these PCES growing up. As Robert Frost wrote, “and that has made all the difference.”
Dr. Harrison invited the audience to contemplate how they could be this type of an adult for children in their lives. She also pointed out that if we did not have this kind of support as children, we can proactively seek this support as adults. This really struck me, because in my Organic Intelligence training, we are taught the tremendous value of recognizing when a client experiences a resource while in a coaching session. As humans, we are so distracted by the “What’s Wrong Attention,” that we miss the huge elephant in the room, which is all the resources and supports that are also available to us as every moment. Orienting to these resources as they arise and proactively seeking out resources that are missing from our repertoire can help us increase our capacity and our joy in living. I want more joy, and I want EVERYONE to have more joy!!
So that is my takeaway from the presentation – how can I serve as a resource to others, and how can I invite in more connection, community, curiosity, and belonging for myself?
I hope you are enjoying this rainy, hot and humid Sunday.
With love,
Hlo
Ways to work with me
- You can book a bodywork session here.
- You can book an OI+Bodywork session here.
- You can book a free consultation here, if you want to chat about how we could work together.
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