How Adverse Childhood Experiences Affect You As An Adult
None of us have any control over the situations we are born in. However, an auspicious beginning doesn’t necessarily mean a successful ending, and having challenges early on doesn’t mean things won’t turn out well. Adverse childhood experiences can have a significant impact on a child and continue to reverberate throughout their life. Healing and hope can be found, and the negative effects of these childhood experiences can be mitigated. What are “Adverse Childhood Experiences”? The term “Adverse Childhood Experiences” (ACEs) refers to a broad range of negative experiences that a child has or that they are exposed to while they are growing up. These stressful and traumatic experiences happen between the ages of 1 and 17 years, and some of these experiences include: Emotional or physical neglect. Emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. Witnessing domestic violence. Witnessing violence in one’s community. Having family members with serious mental health disorders. Parental separation or divorce. Having a parent or caregiver with a substance abuse disorder. Living in a household with an incarcerated family member. Having a family member attempt or die by suicide. These experiences affect a child’s sense of safety, and they can significantly disrupt their development. The unfortunate reality is that ACEs are common. Nearly 1 in 6 (17.3%) U.S. adults reported that they had experienced four or more types of ACEs, and around 64% reported they had experienced at least one type of ACE before they turned 18. By strengthening families, providing greater community access to resources such as those addressing homelessness, addiction, or maternity services, and by encouraging wider awareness about ACEs and their impact in childhood and into adulthood, they can be responded to much earlier and hopefully reduced as well. The impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences in adulthood. When a child experiences trauma or other [...]