Adverse Childhood Experiences

Evidence supporting the correlation between mental and physical health is staggering. Working as a Therapist, I've seen first hand what that looks like. Early childhood trauma can have life lasting impacts. Not only mentally but physically as well. According to The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention ACE's study,  "The higher your ACE score, the higher your risk of health and social problems. With an ACE score of 4 or more...the likelihood of chronic pulmonary lung disease increases 390 percent; hepatitis, 240 percent; depression 460 percent...".

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse Childhood Experiences are toxic/traumatic events occurring before the age of 18. According to research data, there are ten types of traumatic experiences. Five are measured by personal experiences. The other five are measured by exposure to experiences of other family members. These traumas can be directly and indirectly damaging and include:

1. Abuse: Physical, Verbal, Sexual, Emotional or Physical Neglect

2. Drug/Alcohol Exposure 

3. Disappearance of a caregiver due to death, divorce or abandonment

4. Incarceration of a family member

5. Witnessing domestic violence

6. Family member diagnosed with a Mental Illness

To take an ACE screening: click here.

What's the Correlation?

The scientific data is important but I won't get into much of it here. I will however, draw some conclusions based off of my experience as a Therapist. Children who are exposed to trauma at an early age will be affected in some way. These affects can cause spikes in anxiety, depression, and/or changes in social development etc. The toxic stress from the physical symptoms of anxiety and depression can weigh on our body. When children do not have healthy outlets, supports or coping skills they may choose to engage in unhealthy relationships with peers or become involved in other high risk behaviors such as smoking or excessive alcohol use. These behaviors put them at even more risk for chronic illness such as COPD, Diabetes, Hepatitis C and others. Toxic stress affects four of the major systems of our body: cardiovascular (blood pressure, heart disease, stroke), immune (infection, inflammatory), nervous (cognitive impairment, regulation, memory) and endocrine (obesity, puberty).

Why do we need to know?

Many professionals have started assessing adverse childhood experiences in children and adults. But not as a means to diagnose. Being informed about ACE's helps to identify risk factors and forces patients' to do some self reflection. This hopefully leads to patients' obtaining the additional support they need. It does not factor in other key areas such as genetics, unhealthy habits or diet etc. Having a high ACE score is also not a predictor of someones definite fate. You may have ACE's but had healthy supports, early intervention or high resiliency. The key is being aware and also doing the work. If you find yourself identifying with any of the 10 types of traumas or you have an ACE score of 4 or more, ask yourself:

-How has this impacted my life?

-Am I living a healthy lifestyle?

-What are my physical ailments?

-Can I regulate my emotions?

-What are my unhealthy coping mechanisms?

-Are my relationships suffering?

-Do I sleep well?

-What ways can I improve my life, holistically?

When we are aware of our own traumas, we can heal. We are able to work on building resiliency and increasing healthy protective factors in order to lead a healthy life. We have the power to break the cycle. 

Resources

To find out more about how ACE research began: https://acestoohigh.com/2012/10/03/the-adverse-childhood-experiences-study-the-largest-most-important-public-health-study-you-never-heard-of-began-in-an-obesity-clinic/

Pictures

https://medium.com/publishous/childhood-is-not-like-vegas-797f42975770

http://actiononviolence.org/projects/resilient-scotland