Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Karin Weiri explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. It reduces life expectancy by 20 years if left untreated.