This TED Talk Changes Lives...

Did you know that early life experiences impact how you make decisions as an adult? I often re - read this post that I wrote in 2019 when I produced content for a local radio show. I was glad to hear from so many that it really made a difference!

photo: Marc-Olivier Jodoin/unsplash

I had been studying on the topic of trauma for some time, curious as to why there were some people who had experienced major trauma and had difficulty overcoming it, while there were others who rebounded so quickly it was as if the trauma never happened?

I later came a across the work of a phenomenal physician, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, who has highlighted her very important work regarding ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences). I had been at the intersection of business, learning and development, education, coaching, and community support for many years, and I was amazed by my discovering of this new (to me) scientific perspective regarding childhood trauma and its level of impact into adulthood.

Trauma is known as a deeply disturbing or distressing experience. It is so powerful that it shapes the way we see the world, it secretly affects the way that we respond to adversity, and it influences the decisions that we make every day.

According to her research a fascinating accidental discovery was made in the 1980’s that changed the way physicians looked at treating obesity. During that time, the Kaiser Permanente Obesity Clinic in San Diego (now the Positive Choice Integrative Wellness Center at Kaiser Permanente San Diego) noticed that the dropout rate for participants working toward weight loss was about 50%. It seemed odd to the staff, since so many of the participants in the clinic were very successful with weight loss. Dr. Vincent Felliti, who was head of Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Preventive Medicine in San Diego, conducted interviews with people who had left the program. He was shocked to discover that a majority of the people he interviewed had experienced childhood abuse.

His findings suggested that weight gain was possibly a coping mechanism for the abuse. Participants could trace back to various traumatic situations in their lives as children and relate them to the time they began gaining weight. His findings determined that food comforted them and helped relieve symptoms of depression, fear, and anxiety. Further, the weight was a protector, and losing it would change how they defined safety. This set the doctors on a new path of discovery.

Dr. Felliti, along with Robert Anda from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, began the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, one of the largest studies on difficult childhood experiences and its impact on health and well-being later in life. The study took place from 1995-1997 and included 17,337 participants living in California. Participants were asked 10 specific questions relative to childhood adversity.

photo: Giulia May/unsplash

For every "Yes", participants received a score of 1 point (with the highest score being a 10). Each point represented a traumatic childhood event. Whatever the total was, that was the participant’s ACE Score. An astounding 87% of the participants reported at least 1 ACE score.

The number of ACEs was strongly associated with adult high risk-health behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, obesity, promiscuity, depression, heart disease, chronic lung issues, and cancer. Even if a person didn’t have unhealthy practices, the stress and trauma early in childhood created chemical changes in some of the people, which still impacted their body and put them at risk for health concerns.

So, this begs the question, can a person really overcome traumatic childhood adversity, and if so, how?

Absolutely! Many of us know people who have had major childhood adversity and trauma, yet they are thriving! The reason is most likely due to the number of protective factors they received along the way, that far outweighed the negative trauma (or risk factors.) Perhaps their grandmother was dependable, loving and stood in the gap. Maybe a neighbor, pastor, teacher, or coach saw their potential and mentored them.

Life can be hard, and as the statistics show us, anyone can have one or more early childhood trauma experiences. However, we know that incorporating protective factors in childhood or adulthood helps create resiliency and better health long-term.

Protective factors such as: supportive social networks, support for basic needs, nurturing adults and friends, building stable relationships, having access to health care, supportive social services and counseling (and also using it as needed), along with access to education, and other changed behaviors, are some of the many things that help a person conquer adversity and be his or her best self.

I look forward to exploring this topic more deeply and discovering the depth of its impact on minorities. If you would like to know more, please view Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’ powerful here → How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime | Nadine Burke Harris | TED

© 2019 Desiree Williams, All Rights Reserved