Building a Resilient Community

In this day and age many of us walk around with baggage that no one sees. Sometimes, we don’t even recognize the source of the baggage we carry. Stress, anxiety, and depression are all wrapped up in what we have experienced through our lives. Some people reach out for help from our medical community or mental health professionals and some of us live with the culture of “We don’t talk about it.” or “Walk it off.” Or “You’ll be fine.” Frankly, I think there are way too many people who are “just fine.”

When the East Shore District Health Department surveyed the residents of the communities of Branford, North Branford and East Haven in 2016 about their health and habits that affect their health a shocking statistic was revealed. When asked if they have been told by a health professional that they have either anxiety or depression, 20% of our respondents answered that they had. I was particularly struck by this relatively large proportion, because these were the respondents who admitted to having mental health struggles. I know there were probably more out there. While we are not mental health professionals at the health department, we are involved in population health and addressing health threats that we are seeing in large proportions of our community. In creating our Community Health Improvement Plan, I had one question, “How can this be addressed?”

The documentary “Resilience” opens our eyes to the fact that many people were raised with childhood traumas. The Adverse Childhood Effects (or ACES) survey has revealed to us how are common these traumas are in our communities. What is not common knowledge, is the effect that these childhood traumas have on our brains and how they are wired.

This one-hour documentary explores Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and a new movement to treat and prevent Toxic Stress. Now understood to be one of the leading causes of everything from heart disease and cancer to substance abuse and depression, extremely stressful experiences in childhood can alter brain development and have lifelong effects on health and behavior. Find out how people across the country are working to address Toxic Stress.

Join us for a free screening of RESILIENCE: THE BIOLOGY OF STRESS AND THE SCIENCE OF HOPE, a film about childhood trauma and the adverse effects on health over a lifetime — and the role that everyone in the community can play in reversing them. The East Shore District Health Department with our partners at the Blackstone Library in Branford, the Hagaman Library in East Haven and the Smith Library in Northford are sponsoring showings in each town.

Tuesday, November 27 – 6:30-8 pm Branford Fire Station Headquarters 42 Main Street, Branford

Wednesday, December 5 – 6:30-8 pm Hagaman Memorial Library 227 Main Street, East Haven

Thursday, January 10 – 6-7:30 pm Edward Smith Library 3 Old Post Road, Northford

I urge everyone to see this film. In this world of hate and “My opinion counts more than yours,” we can only improve as a community if we start to understand ourselves and treat each other with compassion, respect and understanding.