Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Explorations in the Science of Flourishing

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Donna’s Blog

September 11, 2019SubscribeDanielle Campisi

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Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Donna Jackson Nakazawa4 hours ago

Truth talk. I recently had my second vaccine and the process of getting vaccinated, for me, took the time (three months) and it was full of contradictions: hard on my body even as it offered needed layers of protection. Because of my history of neuromuscular autoimmune disease and my body's reaction to the vaccine, my medical team had me space both shots out. For some of us with immune-mediated disorders, there have been no good answers for how to stay safe during the pandemic. For me — and it's different for everyone — even though the vaccine was challenging it was well worth it. I can finally resume a fairly normal life with friends and family, something I've missed terribly. I still mask in public/grocery stores. When we have friends/ family over we sit outside and take our masks off. This is the path I choose to protect my own health. We all find our comfort level based on our own unique story.

I've heard from so many of you asking me about my vaccine process, but I've hesitated to post about my experience because mentioning the word vaccine can stir up controversy. I'm sharing this with you all because I always want to be honest about what it means to navigate serious chronic illness and tricky health decisions, and, as I've shared in so many of my books, that means being honest when we're in the messy middle with no perfect answers. If we don't talk about that complexity, our journey can feel very lonely indeed. If I had one wish it would be that we could have a more open and kind-hearted discussion about the difficulty of this time for those of us with underlying conditions.

My husband took this photo six weeks after my first shot when I started to feel better. Wishing you all a wonderful summer filled with self-care, compassion, and love, whatever choices you've made to find safety in this phase of pandemic life. ❤️
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If you’re dealing with unresolved childhood trauma or feeling chronically stressed and want to learn how to rewire your brain for health and build resilience back into your life, then click the link in my bio for my books and courses ❤️.

Thank you for being part of our community ❤️ Content by @donnajacksonnakazawaauthor

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Donna Jackson Nakazawa3 days ago

The pandemic has caused a parenting crisis. Parents feel overwhelmed given the demands and stressors of pandemic life. Parents with developmental trauma may find it harder to modulate their own anxiety, fear, and over-reactivity in response to stressful parenting moments.
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When caregivers feel overwhelmed they often get out of synch with their child’s needs (they can’t soothe their child because they are so busy soothing their own anxiety or fear). When a parent is flooded with reactivity a child learns, “mommy/daddy can’t help me.”
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Safe attachment bonds are key to children’s health across the lifespan. Well-regulated adults are able to respond to stressful moments in ways that ensure kids aren’t caught up in fight/flight/freeze, and are able to go through both halves of the stress cycle (moving from fight-flight-freeze to rest, digest, and relaxation), allowing the amygdala to calm down, and the immune system (in both body and brain) to return to a state of homeostasis.
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Parents need more skills, resources and strategies to help them as they strive to help kids thrive, especially as we emerge from the pandemic. The presence or absence of adequate adult support can make a profound difference in determining whether childhood stressors are tolerable or toxic.

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If you’re dealing with unresolved childhood trauma or feeling chronically stressed and want to learn how to rewire your brain for health and build resilience back into your life, then click the link in my bio for my books and courses ❤️.

Thank you for being part of our community ❤️ Content by @donnajacksonnakazawaauthor

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Donna Jackson Nakazawa5 days ago

𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦; 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. — Michel de Montaigne

#4 on the list of 8 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢: 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 (𝑴𝑴).
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Our mental lives are primarily spent in the "non-present". Research shows that although 70% of our day is relatively good, 28% of it neutral, and only about 2% of what happens to us actually bad, we think about that negative 2% almost all of the time; it's what we ruminate over as we shower, drive, and fall asleep.
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The good news? We can change the automatic way our minds have learned to react. MM is a way of paying attention in the present moment — watching the quality of our experience — deliberately and non-judgmentally. The point is to notice and name what is happening in the body and mind without trying to change it. This helps to dismantle our habitual cognitive patterns. As we change our thought habits, we change our view from the inside-out. And then the entire way we see our world changes.
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This doesn't mean that the stressors go away. It doesn't mean that we don't take action and do what needs to be done. It just means we handle stressful situations as they arise with more awareness and creativity.
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Research on MM gives us hope that we can intervene, stop our mental chatter, engage in what's really happening right now, and feel contentment & joy. It tells us that much of our unhappiness — regrets about the past, disappointments about the present, fear about the future — is constructed by the mind. Composed by us. And therefore manageable by us. How inspiring!
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What MM practices have helped you the most? Share in comments👇

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If you’re dealing with unresolved childhood trauma or feeling chronically stressed and want to learn how to rewire your brain for health and build resilience back into your life, click the link in my bio for my books and courses ⬆️

Thank you for being part of our community ❤️ Content by @donnajacksonnakazawaauthor

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Donna Jackson Nakazawa1 week ago

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. — Aristotle

Throughout my own healing journey, I've learned the importance of having a daily practice. Without practicing the tools in my toolbox, I wouldn't have the ability to effectively use them to keep a sense of equilibrium when adversity, stress, or the next health-related crisis (for myself, or someone I love) strikes. My go-to: expressive writing: asking myself questions and answering with whatever emerges in response, letting the complexity of my feelings arise, until, at last, my head feels clear, and my nervous system calms down. Try it!

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If you’re dealing with unresolved childhood trauma or feeling chronically stressed and want to learn how to rewire your brain for health and build resilience back into your life, then click the link in my bio for my books and courses ❤️.

Thank you for being part of our community ❤️ Content by @donnajacksonnakazawaauthor

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Donna Jackson Nakazawa1 week ago

The pandemic has been like pouring gasoline on an already burgeoning mental health crisis of skyrocketing rates of teen depression and anxiety.
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Kids have not been okay for a while now. Between 2010 – 2013 the rate of children diagnosed with anxiety disorders rose 72%; depression 47%. In 2017, a survey of 32 U. S. pediatric hospitals revealed the percent of children/teens hospitalized for suicidal thoughts/actions 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 in the past decade.
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The pandemic has accelerated this trend: rates of suicidal thinking and behavior among youth increased a staggering 25% in 2020 as compared to 2019.
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The number one protective factor is consistent, reliable, supportive relationships with caring adults. Data shows us that children and teens find "resiliency" because an adult provides an environment in which they feel known, validated, seen, safe. Often this is a parent, but it can be a grandparent, mentor, teacher, school counselor, coach, social worker, therapist, practitioner, or anyone in a child/teen's life.
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The incredibly popular rapper, Logic, once released a rap song titled, "1-800-273-8255". By doing so, he made the National Suicide hotline number famous as he talked about issues of mental health and suicide - a cause he championed throughout his career.
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Most adults lack the "cool factor" of Logic (I'll speak for myself), but we don't have to be cool to help kids feel they matter. And we don’t have to be a therapist to be “therapeutic” in a child’s life. Even decades later individuals recall who made them feel safe, seen, and known when they were young, even if it was an adult with whom they interacted for a short period of time in their lives. We can all be that person in a child's life.

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If you’re dealing with unresolved childhood trauma or feeling chronically stressed and want to learn how to rewire your brain for health and build resilience back into your life, then click the link in my bio for my books and courses ❤️.

Thank you for being part of our community ❤️ Content by @donnajacksonnakazawaauthor

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Donna Jackson Nakazawa2 weeks ago

Next up on the list of 8 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢: #3 → 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤
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One of the ways body and brain communicate is through the breath. Messages rise from the body to tell the brain if we're safe or not safe, and the brain sends messages to the body about whether we need to prepare for potential threats.
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If your breath is shallow, or coming quickly, as it is when you're stressed, the brain gets the message to act and respond as if you’re in physical danger. Respiratory messages take top priority when it comes to getting the brain’s attention. We take in 25,000 breaths a day!
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Breath Work can help us to regulate our inner states, and enhance and repair the connection between our minds and our bodies, helping to restore a strong, interior sense of self, which is critically important in healing.
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There are many medications that try to dampen down the sympathetic nervous system (fight-flight-freeze), but there is no medication that boosts the parasympathetic nervous system (rest, digest, a return to homeostasis).
Slow, deep breathing naturally boosts the parasympathetic nervous system. It's really nature’s best and oldest medicine with – zero side effects.
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According to research, the most beneficial breath sequence for stimulating the positive healing power of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), calming your brain and body, and managing anxiety is breathing in for 5½ seconds and breathing out for 5½ seconds. Lengthening the exhale so that it's longer than the inhale can also be really helpful when feeling anxious.
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In addition to the many resources for Breath Work available online & within the community, my online writing-to-heal and Neural Re-Narrating™ course dives deep into breath techniques that help quiet the nervous system. Link in bio ⤴️

What's your most useful Breath Work technique? Please let me know in the comments below 👏

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If you’re dealing with unresolved childhood trauma or feeling chronically stressed and want to learn how to rewire your brain for health and build resilience back into your life, then click the link in my bio for my books and courses ❤️.

Thank you for being part of our community ❤️ Content by @donnajacksonnakazawaauthor

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