We all experience stress throughout our lives. For a child raised with at least one healthy adult relationship, and a relatively trauma-free upbringing, experiencing normal stressors is a positive thing. They learn to adapt and grow to become resilient and functional adults who can navigate the everyday pressures of life. Althouigh, different outcomes emerge when a child is exposed to prolonged experiences of stress – child abuse, a chaotic home, community violence, social isolation, profound poverty and the like. Those very same brain responses that are adaptive in a child with a stable upbringing – flight, fight, or freeze – […]