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Posts Tagged ‘emotions’

Former First Responder Details Path Toward Healing From PTSD and Overwhelming Life Events

Former First Responder Details Path Toward Healing From PTSD and Overwhelming Life Events

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As a police officer for 25 years, Norm Wielsch witnessed his share of trauma and would later fall into a downward spiral following his own diagnosis of PTSD. He served 8 years of a 14-year sentence on corruption charges and emerged from federal prison determined to help others — particularly first responders — heal from trauma.

Wielsch’s new book, Christ Centered Healing of Trauma: Healing a Broken Heart (and companion small group study guide), teaches foundational principles and tools for resolving issues related to traumatic life events.

Readers will learn how trauma affects the heart, body and soul; how to manage emotions; how to identify the root cause of emotional pain; and how to begin the healing process.

Through a bible study portion, readers will learn God’s plan for salvation and healing. Included are numerous sample prayers to guide readers through the healing process.

Wielsch’s Christ-Centered healing method was originally designed to minister to first responders and combat veterans but is also appropriate for counselors, pastors, chaplains and anyone whose lives are impacted by trauma.

“This book is not only for the victims of trauma, but for their husbands, wives, daughters, sons and parents who suffer right along with them,” Wielsch said. “They are wounded people as well. Hurt people, hurt people. Since our families are the closest to us, we tend to hurt them more than we intend.”

About the Author
Norm Wielsch was a law enforcement officer for over 25 years — 16 of those as an undercover narcotic agent. In 1998, he was diagnosed with an incurable neuro-muscular disease, and after more than 30 surgeries, he became addicted to opioids. Wielsch was diagnosed with PTSD, and then his daughter was diagnosed with a serious illness and given a poor prognosis. In a downward spiral, Wielsch made a series of bad decisions that landed him in federal prison.

While incarcerated, he obtained a master’s degree in Theology and Counseling, a Doctorate in Christian Counseling, and a Drug and Alcohol Counseling Degree. He currently works at a men’s residential treatment facility as a registered alcohol and drug counselor and pastoral care provider. He is a working credentialed chaplain who hopes to one day launch a first responder ministry.

Wielsch also has a master’s degree in Law Enforcement Management and is an expert in law enforcement tactics, criminal investigations, pursuit driving, high risk search warrant service, PTSD and the police culture.

Learn more at www.Christ-CenteredHealing.com, or purchase a copy at www.ChristCenteredHealingBook.com. Follow the author on Facebook (@ChristCenteredHealing), Instagram (Christ_Centered_Healing) and Twitter (@Christ_Trauma).

Christ Centered Healing of Trauma: Healing a Broken Heart
Publisher: Leadership Books
ISBN-10: ‎ 1951648064
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1951648060
Available from https://leadershipbooks.com

Christ-Centered Healing of Trauma: Study Guide
Publisher: Vision Group, Ltd.
ISBN-10: ‎ 1951648080
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1951648084
Available from https://leadershipbooks.com

Trish Stevens
Stacy Hawkins
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone

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Dying to Survive: Not in Vain, A Promise Kept Explores Life and Death Impact of Patient Advocacy

Dying to Survive: Not in Vain, A Promise Kept Explores Life and Death Impact of Patient Advocacy

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They were killing her mother with negligence, Melissa Mullamphy recalls. And eight months later, Mullamphy’s mother succumbed following a cancer battle fraught with frustration, medical missteps and the endless bureaucracy that goes hand in hand with navigating our complex healthcare system.

Not in Vain, A Promise Kept is Mullamphy’s candid account of her mother’s journey and the family’s roller coaster of emotions. Readers will witness the mistakes that compounded their pain, the small victories that gave them hope, and above all, the love that kept them going during an indescribably difficult time.

Each chapter in Not In Vain, A Promise Kept represents one month from her mother’s diagnosis to her passing. Mullamphy recalls the experiences with vivid detail (the names of doctors and nurses have been changed), hoping to prompt others to ask the tough questions and learn by her example.

“My goal in writing this book is to keep the promise that I made to my mom … to share her story so others don’t go through what she and my family went through,” Mullamphy says. “You can have input, control and make a difference in your loved one’s healthcare.”

Mullamphy shares shocking lapses in her mother’s care, including blood clots the doctor fails to notice, the confusion surrounding her mother’s DNR order, the time she found her mother wearing another patient’s bracelet and the unspeakable heartbreak of learning that that all along, the hospital had used the wrong type of chemotherapy drug for her mother’s specific cancer.

Not In Vain, A Promise Kept is not without moments of hope, such as when the family is told the tumor has shrunk and when her mother’s last-ditch surgery to remove the tumor is declared “wildly successful.”

Ultimately, Not In Vain, A Promise Kept pays homage to a life well-lived and a woman well-loved, and it’s Mullamphy’s aim to help other patients and their loved ones find their voices, understand their rights and learn how to navigate a deeply complex, imperfect healthcare system.

“Use your voice, and remember that you are not there to make friends,” she adds. “Sometimes you have to be the biggest mouth in the room, but speaking up can save your loved one’s life.”

Author Melissa Mullamphy has a master’s degree in clinical psychology and has worked in psychiatric emergency rooms and step-down houses. Forever a student of mental health, she has also worked with many nonprofits, including those benefiting military veterans. For almost 20 years, she worked as a domestic operations manager for a major corporation. Following her experience with her mother’s cancer diagnosis and treatment, she began blogging about current events as they relate to healthcare.

For more information, visit http://www.melissamullamphy.com, or follow the author on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/melissamullamphy/.

Not in Vain, A Promise Kept
ISBN-10: ‎ 1734802634
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1734802634
Available from Amazon.com, BN.com, http://www.melissamullamphy.com and many other online outlets

Trish Stevens
Corinne Walker
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone

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Navy Veteran and Retired Doctor Shares Powerful Message of Perseverance

Navy Veteran and Retired Doctor Shares Powerful Message of Perseverance

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By all accounts, Dr. Tiffanie Tate Moore shouldn’t be where she is today. Born and raised in Compton, she has survived being shot in the back during a drive-by shooting, serving in the U.S. Navy during the Global War on Terrorism, pericarditis and a respiratory code.

After a hand injury forced her to retire from her beloved job as an OB/GYN in 2019, Dr. Moore faced yet another challenge.

“Who was I without my profession?” she queried. “After spending more than half of my life working toward and achieving my goal of becoming a physician, I went through a depression.”

Dr. Moore immersed herself in her children, her church and her sorority. Her injuries coupled with six surgeries in two years left her with mobility limitations and chronic pain. And yet, she continues to walk in half-marathons despite tremendous physical discomfort.

The ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles seems to be woven into Dr. Moore’s DNA. But she says she draws her strength and resilience from a much more powerful force.

“God is still speaking to us in this day and age; we just need to open our spiritual eye and ear to see and hear Him,” Dr. Moore says.

In addition to leaning on her faith, Dr. Moore began writing as an outlet for her emotions. Her new book, FloweTry: A Collection of 108 Poetic Flows on Life, Love, and Liturgical Issues, candidly and poignantly dives into the topics of our times, including COVID, politics, Black history and police brutality. She also speaks of love and community, and includes an entire section of verses intended to encourage readers to take a closer walk with Christ.

Dr. Tiffanie Tate Moore is a first-time author from Compton, California. She is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in cellular and developmental biology, with a Black studies minor. After earning her medical doctorate degree from Meharry Medical College and completing her OB/GYN Internship at Naval Medical Center San Diego, she went on to serve as a General Medical Officer for the Sea Bees. She served during Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism. Dr. Moore completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and practiced for 20 years before sustaining a hand injury that led to her medical retirement. Her life experiences, including those she’s shared with her friends, have overflowed into FloweTry.

Connect with Dr. Moore on social media at https://m.facebook.com/DrTiffanieTateMoore/.

FloweTry: A Collection of 108 Poetic Flows on Life, Love, and Liturgical Issues
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing
ISBN-10: ‎ 1638746060
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1638746065
Available from Amazon.com and BN.com

Trish Stevens
Haley Winters
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone

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Secrets Threaten to Unravel Family Ties in The Wool Over Their Eyes

Secrets Threaten to Unravel Family Ties in The Wool Over Their Eyes

(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet or used by any means of social media sharing.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

At 18, Natalia Foster knew seven things about the biological father she’d never met: he was tall, dark, handsome and Italian. He was also married to someone other than Natalia’s mother, had three children and, clearly, no morals. Now, at age 28, Natalia knows something new: her father is dying.

The Wool Over Their Eyes, from Dione Martin, is an authentic, heartfelt story about complex family dynamics and the emotions that must be unpacked when long-buried secrets push their way to the surface.

Illegitimate and bi-racial, Natalia is the secret that her father, Joe, planned to take to his grave. His wife and family know nothing of Natalia’s existence — or that her mother is Black — but when word spreads that Joe has only months to live, Natalia feels compelled to meet him and salvage what little time with him she has left. But at what cost to Joe’s devoted wife, Rosa, and their grown children?

In the midst of Natalia’s family drama and pain is also a love story. Natalia must choose between two loves — a long-lost one and a new one. Her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Davis, who captured her heart and connected with her soul, resurfaces. But she meets a handsome doctor, David Duplessis, who’d cared for her father. Just as the relationship begins to blossom, David commits an act that severs her trust and sends her spiraling further into her dark abyss.

The Wool Over Their Eyes is loosely based on Martin’s personal experiences. She drew upon her own memories and insights of growing up without her biological father and being betrayed in her own marriage to inform her narrative and give her characters depth and authenticity.

“I wrote The Wool Over Their Eyes for fatherless girls, for women who have been betrayed, for those who have been rejected because of their race (or otherness) and for families that have been torn apart by secrets, lies and deception,” Martin reflects. “Healing is possible – through change, through empathy, through faith and through forgiveness.”

Author Dione Martin was born and raised in New Orleans, where she spent much of her childhood and teen years reading. She earned her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Minnesota-Morris and her Master’s in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a senior communications director at Brinker International. She lives in Dallas with her two daughters and enjoys running, cooking, performing arts and attempting DIY projects. The Wool Over Their Eyes is her debut novel, and she is working on her next one.

For more information about the author, please visit www.dione-martin.com or follow her on Twitter (@DioneMartin30), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/dione-martin/) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/dionehmartin).

The Wool Over Their Eyes
Publisher: Inspire on Purpose
ISBN-10: 1948903539
ISBN-13: 978-1948903530
Available from Amazon.com

Trish Stevens
Chelsea Smith
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone

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Chasm Between Father and Son at Center of Compelling Story of Love, Loss and Forgiveness

Chasm Between Father and Son at Center of Compelling Story of Love, Loss and Forgiveness

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Bill Smith’s father is an enigma. Could his praying and preaching the wholesomeness of Christianity be a cover for something unspeakably dark in his past?
Each man’s lifelong struggle to retain his own integrity while learning to respect the other forms the foundation of The Home Stretch, a compelling exploration of a difficult father-son relationship and the complexity of bridging seemingly unbridgeable differences.

Award-winning author Wayne M. Johnston’s thoroughly absorbing, reality-based story is presented through the voice of everyman Bill Smith (loosely based on Johnston himself) who, throughout his life, is confronted with extraordinary circumstances. Raised in a religious cult, Bill’s unconventional upbringing and strained relationship with his father inform his life experiences and underwrite his formidable urge, from a young age, to simply escape this life altogether.

Bill struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, and embarks upon a career navigating the rough waters of the Pacific on a tugboat. His tales of weathering gale-force winds and violent storms at sea provide metaphorical undercurrents for Bill’s fraught relationship with his father, his failed early marriage, his father’s descent into Alzheimer’s and his own battle with leukemia, which he is told will kill him.

Just when Bill has come to believe he has put the worst of it to rest, he learns something more about his father that opens everything up again, except this time, Bill’s sister is the victim.

Ultimately, The Home Stretch is a powerful coming-of-age story for grownups that poignantly captures the unresolved emotions that surface when our past and present selves collide. Johnston gives readers candid glimpses into life-defining moments of reckoning that many of us will have to face head-on, such as retiring from a career that defines us, becoming a caregiver to a parent and contemplating our own mortality. The Home Stretch serves as a stark reminder that the peace we hope for as we age is often shoved aside to make room for another crisis, but it is also an inspiring tale woven with themes of forgiveness and survival.

Wayne M. Johnston taught English, Creative Writing and Publications at La Conner High School for 19 years. Prior to that, he worked on tugboats for 22 years, usually as chief engineer, towing freight barges between Canadian and West Coast American ports. In 2011, he won the Soundings Review First Publication Award for his essay, “Sailing,” and has published other essays locally. For his debut novel, North Fork, he drew from years of experience reading student journals to reproduce the way kids voice serious matters to a trusted adult. North Fork was released in 2016 as a YA novel. The story is told through the voices of three 17-year-olds as journal entries for their English class. Bill Smith, the protagonist in The Home Stretch, is their English teacher, and The Home Stretch (book two in a planned trilogy) is his back story.

Johnston lives with his wife, Sally, on Fidalgo Island in Washington State where he is working on another book.

The Home Stretch
Publisher: Black Heron Press
ISBN-10: 1936364344
ISBN-13: 978-1936364343
Available from Amazon.com, BN.com, Target.com and anywhere books are sold

Trish Stevens
Stephanie Williams
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone

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Terminal Illness Causes Family Secret to Surface in Heartfelt Story of Severed Trust and Forgiveness

Terminal Illness Causes Family Secret to Surface in Heartfelt Story of Severed Trust and Forgiveness

(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet or used by any means of social media sharing.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Natalia Foster is the family secret that her biological father, Joe Russo, was supposed to take to his grave. But when Natalia learns that Joe, an Italian man she’s never met, is dying of a terminal illness, she’s forced to confront the truth of her parentage and make a difficult decision: Should she remain in the shadows or make herself known to Joe and his family?

The Wool Over Their Eyes, from Dione Martin, is an authentic, heartfelt story about complex family dynamics and the emotions that must be unpacked when long-buried secrets push their way to the surface.

Joe’s immediate family, including his devoted wife, Rosa, know nothing of Natalia’s existence. Her gray eyes — exactly like Joe’s — and simple math prove that Natalia is a product of Joe’s infidelity, making a mockery of Rosa’s marriage. If his family discovers the whole truth — that Natalia is not only illegitimate but also Black — family bonds will be shattered.

In the midst of Natalia’s family drama and pain, another life-changing decision emerges. Natalia must choose between two loves — a long-lost one and a new one. Her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Davis, who captured her heart and connected with her soul, resurfaces. But she meets a handsome doctor, David Duplessis, who’d cared for her father. Just as the relationship begins to blossom, David commits an act that severs her trust and sends her spiraling further into her dark abyss.

The Wool Over Their Eyes is loosely based on Martin’s personal experiences. She drew upon her own memories and insights of growing up without her biological father and being betrayed in her own marriage to inform her narrative and give her characters depth and authenticity.

“I wrote The Wool Over Their Eyes for fatherless girls, for women who have been betrayed, for those who have been rejected because of their race (or otherness) and for families that have been torn apart by secrets, lies and deception,” Martin reflects. “Healing is possible – through change, through empathy, through faith and through forgiveness.”

Author Dione Martin was born and raised in New Orleans, where she spent much of her childhood and teen years reading. She earned her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Minnesota-Morris and her Master’s in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a senior communications director at Brinker International. She lives in Dallas with her two daughters and enjoys running, cooking, performing arts and attempting DIY projects. The Wool Over Their Eyes is her debut novel, and she is working on her next one.

For more information about the author, please visit www.dione-martin.com or follow her on Twitter (@DioneMartin30) or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dionehmartin).

The Wool Over Their Eyes
Publisher: Inspire on Purpose
Release Date: March 5, 2021
ISBN-13: 978-1948903530
Available from Amazon.com

Trish Stevens
Carrie Myers
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
281.333.3507 Phone

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Break the Fear Cycle: Brain Expert Shares Advice for Building Resilience During Challenging Times

Break the Fear Cycle: Brain Expert Shares Advice for Building Resilience During Challenging Times

(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Forced social isolation, shuttered businesses and canceled or scaled-down worship services have contributed to an overwhelming sense of loss and fear among people all over the world. And there’s a scientific reason for these emotions, explains Timothy R. Jennings, M.D., board-certified psychiatrist, master psychopharmacologist and founder of Come and Reason Ministries.

Dr. Jennings is a much sought-after speaker who regularly addresses non-medical professionals on the subjects of Spirituality in Medicine, Depression and its Spiritual and Physical Connections, and Alzheimer’s Dementia. He also speaks to medical professionals on the topics of Psychotherapy in Clinical Practice, Major Depression in the Primary Care Setting, and the Neurobiology of Depression — among many others.

He describes how the measures taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 can have physiological and psychological impacts that, like dominoes, will topple our sources of strength and resilience.

“Research shows that social rejection, isolation and loneliness activate the brain’s stress pathways, thereby increasing inflammatory factors, diminishing immune response and increasing vulnerability to viral infections and cancer, and make you less resilient in life,” he says.

In the shadow of government mandates that restrict our interactions with others, what can we do within our four walls to build our resilience and guard our overall wellbeing?

Dr. Jennings suggests we can boost our resilience through physical exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting regular sleep, cognitive training, having a healthy relationship with God and spiritual development — measures that can actually alter the way our brains react to stress.

“Healthy spirituality confers resilience in a multitude of ways,” he says. “It develops your higher cortex, which calms your fear circuits. You have less fear and you’re less anxious if you’ve got a developed prefrontal cortex. And if you have a loving relationship with a God you trust, that’s part of your prefrontal cortex. And if people have more love, they have less fear.”

Another part of our prefrontal cortex is altruism — something those with healthy spirituality are more likely to engage in — and helping others also calms fear circuits.

Our ability to face a crisis and bounce back is, in part, inherited from our parents and even grandparents through our genetic makeup, Dr. Jennings explains. But through a combination of mental, physical and spiritual adaptive measures, we can boost our resilience and improve our ability to overcome life’s challenges.

Dr. Timothy R. Jennings operates a private practice in Chattanooga and has successfully treated thousands of patients. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and Life-Fellow of the Southern Psychiatric Association.

He is also a prolific author whose books include The God-Shaped Brain: How Changing Your View of God Transforms Your Life; Could It Be This Simple? A Biblical Model for Healing the Mind; The Aging Brain: Proven Steps to Prevent Dementia and Sharpen Your Mind; and The God-Shaped Heart: How Correctly Understanding God’s Love Transforms Us.

To hear his presentations and to learn more about Dr. Jennings and his approach to brain and body health, please visit: www.comeandreason.com.

Possible discussion topics for Dr. Jennings:

  1. How do positive social interactions reduce our inflammatory markers?
  2. How does wearing masks contribute to feelings of social isolation?
  3. Explain epigenetic markers and the role they play in our ability to be resilient.
  4. Explain how our life experiences can alter our gene expression and lead to improved resiliency.

Trish Stevens
Helen Cook
Senior Publicist
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
903.654.0938 Direct
281.333.3507 Office
[email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com

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