Adverse Childhood Experiences and the path towards healing. You are not alone.
I share my trials, my victories, and my stories with you in hopes that if any of you were ever touched by childhood abuse or neglect, as I was, you will see yourselves in my experiences and feel strengthened to voice what you had not been able to before. I hope we can learn together why we respond to life through a particular lens, and that there are ways to climb out of this prison of pain, silence, and shame.
My name is Bess Hilpert

“I Am Sorry” Thoughts

Reducing the Number of Votes You Give “Sorry” … Have you ever stopped to count the number of times you say “I am sorry” in an ordinary day? Have you ever taken pause at that voice of self judgement quietly robbing you of your self-worth? James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits says: “Every action you take is… Continue reading “I Am Sorry” Thoughts

Self-Compassion Thoughts

“There is a Place in the Soul that Neither Time nor Space nor No Created Thing can Touch.” … Self-compassion.  My husband is brand new to exploring the connection between past experiences, his emotions, and the resulting behavior. But he is catching on quickly. 🙂 He shared a tool with me he learned in one… Continue reading Self-Compassion Thoughts

New Year’s Thoughts

Self-Compassion and Kindness, Aspirations and Hope… I don’t know about you, but I have begun pondering what this coming New Year means to me. What would be something I could incorporate into my life that truly filled my spirit and lifted me, daily, out of the quagmire of self-doubt and gloom? My counselor is constantly challenging me to find… Continue reading New Year’s Thoughts

Christmas Thoughts

Finding the “Pickle”… Several years ago, I found myself alone in our home staring at our Christmas tree so beautifully dressed and ready for Christmas.  I must admit Christmas does not hold the warm memories for me that it holds for most people, but I was graced with the love of a man who adores Christmas. He… Continue reading Christmas Thoughts

Faith, Hope and Love

Who Am I and Who Do I Want to Be? … In their thought-provoking research paper â€śRecognizing the Importance of Childhood Maltreatment as a Critical Factor in Psychiatric Diagnosis, Treatment, Research, Prevention and Education,” Martin H. Teicher, Jeoffry B. Gordon, and Charles B. Nemeroff call on us to recognize the importance of childhood abuse and the molecular… Continue reading Faith, Hope and Love

Trial and Victory, Fear and Connection

Gratitude is the Doorway to Divine Intervention… According to Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk, “The Body Keeps the Score”, “it takes tremendous energy to keep functioning while carrying the memory of terror, and the shame of utter weakness and vulnerability.”  So, for here, for today, in this space, you are not alone. “As the science… Continue reading Trial and Victory, Fear and Connection

The Power of Gratitude

Grateful for the People in my Life that Accept Me and all My Frailties… Today is a hopeful day, friends! Today I climbed out from under my weighted blanket and did not crawl back in. I sat in the quiet of the early morning hours and prayed, read and did a breathing ritual my counselor… Continue reading The Power of Gratitude

Prayer and Meditation

A Way to Self-Regulate and Achieve a State of Relaxation and Safe Surrender… I start my day in quiet time with God and a cup of coffee. I listen to the song of the birds welcoming the new dawn and calling me into participation in the world. I read. I pray. I meditate. I have… Continue reading Prayer and Meditation

Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire

The Path Towards Healing; You are not alone! … Welcome to my newsletter. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events, whether physical, emotional or sexual in nature that occur during childhood.  The Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE’s) Questionnaire (Felitti et al, 1998), which I have included below, is a ten-item questionnaire that measures childhood trauma. The… Continue reading Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire

Introduction

The Road Towards Healing… I listen to the rain falling heavily from the sky pounding the earth and my soul. I feel my years of tears married with this cleansing of the earth. Can this life-giving water cleanse me of the pain of my childhood? Can it free my heart from the years of bondage… Continue reading Introduction