I’m Peter Winslow, a life coach and health consultant in private practice. Lately my Naturopathic doctor has been talking a lot about how adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) are responsible for the majority of the issues he encounters in his patients.
Did you have an “adverse childhood experience”? As a child, were you exposed to emotional or physical abuse, substance abuse, mental illness or some other household dysfunction? Did you know that the stress you sustained in childhood is now known to be a root factor for many illnesses?
The illnesses include, but are not limited to: heart disease, cancers, eating disorders, substance abuse, phobias, multiple personality disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune disorders, and others. These findings are consistent with many recent studies which reveal the impact of childhood stress on inflammatory responses later in life.
If you suffer with any of the conditions listed above, you may have had an ACE when you were a kid, and the buried, chronic stress from that event is still damaging your body. Sadly, there is no pill to cure ACE’s, and there’s nothing your doctor can really do about that. Yet there are solutions to be found in practices like mindfulness, forgiveness, and self-acceptance, as well as other healthy lifestyle choices.
Even if you didn’t have to deal with stress when you were a child, it’s helpful to know how chronic stress like this plays a major role in many health issues your friends and loved ones may be contending with. Information like this can lead you to a better understanding of your own health, and make a world of difference to you and the quality of your life going forward.
