The term “Adverse Childhood Experience” refers to a variety of bad situations that a kid may encounter or witness as he or she grows up. What are their impacts, and how can you cope with them?
Childhood is a sensitive stage in our lives, and what occurs to us has long-lasting consequences. When you think of a kid, you generally envision a young person who is resilient and quick on their feet. These characteristics may lead you to believe that situations have no long-term impact on children’s emotional health; nevertheless, this is not the case. If unresolved, your emotions from a traumatic childhood experience can live in your subconscious mind.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic occurrences that happen to children. ACEs can have a long-term negative impact on a person’s physical, emotional, and mental health. The more ACEs someone has, the more difficult it may be to overcome them.
Read on to know more about their impact and some helping ways to deal with them.
What are ACEs?
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are painful experiences that children endure before the age of 18 that can have long-term consequences for their mental health, physical health, and overall well-being. They include events that directly hurt a child (for example, sexual or physical abuse) or have an impact on the environment in which they live (e.g. growing up in a house with domestic violence). Long after the event, the accompanying trauma might continue to harm people as adults.
ACEs can be many different types of childhood traumas. ACEs include the following:
- Abuse, either physical or emotional
- Neglect or abandonment
- Growing up in a home where there was substance addiction or alcoholism
- Having a parent who is mentally ill
- Having a parent who is imprisoned
- Being a divorced or separated parent’s child
Adverse Childhood Experiences are a severe problem that affects children, many of whom may struggle in various ways as adults. High-stress levels in children and young people due to ACEs can result in lifelong challenges with relationships, jobs, and depression. And that stress can “alter brain development and influence things like attention, decision-making, learning, and stress response.”
Effects of ACEs
ACEs can produce “toxic stress,” which occurs when the stress that floods the body is so powerful that it alters one’s metabolism, immune system, cardiovascular system, as well as the brain and nerve system. When it comes to toxic stress, there is a cumulative effect, and the more ACEs a child experiences, the greater the impact on their mental and physical health.
Toxic stress can damage skill and brain development when repeatedly exposed to high stress (especially in the absence of safety). Living in a state of constant dread (or the desire to secure safety) can effectively reduce our window of tolerance, making us vulnerable to chronic health disorders.
Toxic stress is not the individual’s fault; it results from a lack of healthy and secure development. As a result, a kid may lose out on many key abilities and experiences that help build resilience, or his or her brain may be badly damaged in ways that become widespread later in life. Toxic stress, especially in the absence of supporting caregivers or healthy role models, can lead to less-than-ideal coping behaviors that might harm our health. This has the potential to have long-term health consequences.
Children exposed to toxic stress may struggle to build healthy and secure connections. They may also have a history of precarious employment as adults and struggle with finances, jobs, and depression throughout their lives. These consequences can also be handed down to their children. Some children may be subjected to additional toxic stress due to historical and continuing traumas caused by systematic racism or the effects of poverty caused by limited educational and economic possibilities.
Ways you can cope with the effects of ACEs
Recognize and acknowledge the trauma for what it is.
Victims of ACEs frequently spend years minimizing or rejecting the experience by pretending it never happened or succumbing to feelings of shame or self-blame. The best way to start healing is to admit that a traumatic event occurred and that you were not to blame.
Discover the real meaning of acceptance and letting go.
Acceptance does not imply that you are embracing your trauma, or that you like or agree with it. Acceptance implies that you’ve decided what to do with it. You have the option of allowing it to govern your life or letting it go. Letting go means no longer letting your terrible childhood memories and sentiments keep you from living a decent life now.
Take back control.
Feelings of powerlessness can persist throughout adulthood, making you feel and act like a constant victim and forcing you to make decisions based on your past sorrow. When you’ve experienced ACEs, the past has taken control of your present. However, once you’ve overcome your pain, you have complete power over the present. There will always be a conflict between the past and the present, but if you’re prepared to let go of the old barriers and crutches you used as a child to navigate your trauma, you’ll be able to reclaim control of your life and heal your pain.
Be kind with yourself.
When it comes to adults who have had ACEs, self-criticism and guilt can be highly common. Some may wonder why I act the way I do. What’s the matter with me? I could have handled this differently. These cognitive processes might result in feelings of pessimism and dissatisfaction. The idea is to pause and reflect: you were not to blame for what happened. Your childhood trauma has left a scar, and you’re doing everything possible to heal. However, like with any wound, it is critical to allow adequate time for healing. Be gentle and kind to yourself.
Seek help and avoid isolating yourself.
Many trauma survivors’ natural instinct is to withdraw from others, but this will only worsen matters. Connecting with others is an important part of the healing process, so try to maintain your relationships and seek assistance. Speak with a trustworthy family member, friend, or counselor, and consider attending an ACEs support group.
Childhood is a fragile time in our lives. It is critical not to underestimate the influence of our past on our present. If we consider our lives to be structures, our upbringing and the events that surround them serve as the foundation.
The only way to discover who we are is first to discover who we are. This begins with examining the circumstances that have shaped us into the people we are now. We will discover a wealth of useful information during this procedure. It is critical to “normalize” trauma and be modest enough to go through it in therapy.