Earlier this year, when I was looking for answers… grasping at straws for something to explain what I was feeling, going through and experiencing, I came across a Ted Talk – by way of a dear friend.  The ted talk featured Dr. Nadine Harris – who talked about how childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime.

Only because a friend sent me the link did I listen to this while driving.  Shortly into the Ted Talk, I had to pull over, this doctor was hitting way to close for drive time.  I ended up listening to this podcast two more times at home the same night, and immediately bought her book "The Deepest Well" and listened to it fervently on audible over the next two days. 

The ACEs score is a metric on a scale of 1-10 (10 being worst) that tallies up the types of trauma you may have experienced as a child.  According to Dr. Harris, 64% of adults in America have an ACE Score of at least 1. The numbers get more chilling as the higher your ACE score gets.  

Did you experience, before the age of 18 any of the following?

1. Emotional Abuse, recurrent
2. Physical Abuse, recurrent
3. Sexual abuse, contact at least once
4. Physical neglect
5. Emotional neglect
6. Substance abuse in the household
7. Mental illness in the household
8. Mother treated violently
9. Divorce or parental separation
10. Criminal behavior in the household

I feel your pain and shock.  Any one of these would be a shame for any child to experience.  But multiple?  That's where the ACES study and Dr. Nadine's work really takes off.

Dr. Nadine and her colleagues were able to draw a definitive scientific line between high ACE scores and bad health outcomes in adults.  What kind of bad health outcomes?  For starters, there's obesity – check for me and hubby.  Anxiety – check check.  Asthma – check for my hubby.  CPD – not yet but we are concerned.

So now what do you do with all this information?  For me, I started this podcast as I look for answers from guests on how to deal with my untreated PTSD and high ACE score of 9.  It's still such a new science with very little outcomes yet, that there's not a lot of literature.  Fortunately, we can take our cues from the military and how their returning warriors deal with their PTSD.  Many of them are working in the community sharing their healing tactics – because PTSD is not just for the military – it's for all of us normal people who experienced abnormal traumas.

RESOURCES

Ted Talk:

https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime

CDC ACE Study:

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/

BOOK "The Deepest Well"

https://centerforyouthwellness.org/the-deepest-well/

To learn more about our past podcasts, please visit us at savelori.org

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BE A CHAMP.  GET HELP NOW:

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (800) 422-4453

Report child abuse or neglect in your state, visit childwelfare.gov

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800) 273-8255

National Domestic Violence Hotline (800) 799-7233