The Body Remembers

New research reveals that trauma experienced in childhood has long-term damaging effects on quality of life and lifespan. But the same research shows that adults play a critical role in helping children overcome this damage.

READ: The Body Remembers | On Being

Here’s a quick experiment about your past that will tell you a vast amount about your future.
Check all that apply:

• Did you experience recurrent emotional abuse as a kid?
• Physical?
• Sexual?
• Did you experience physical neglect?
• Emotional neglect?
• Did anyone in your childhood home have substance abuse issues?
• Did anyone struggle with mental illness?
• Did anyone participate in criminal behavior and/or go to jail?
• Was your mother ever treated violently?
• Did you experience divorce or parental separation?

How many checks do you have? This is what clinicians call your ACE score. It stands for “adverse childhood experiences” and study after study has confirmed that it has a huge influence on your lifetime health. For starters: The life expectancy of individuals with ACE scores of six or more is twenty years shorter than it is for people with no ACEs. And a person with four or more ACEs is twice as likely to develop heart disease and cancer.


Editor Note: Being adopted is high stress, too. We have posted about ACE on this blog - use the search bar.