Do you know an adult struggling with depression at middle-age? Are you that adult? You are SO not alone, especially if you’ve had five or more adverse childhood experiences in childhood.It’s not just me saying so. This slide is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kaiser ACE study done in the late 1990’s.
It was done on over 17,000 mostly middle-class people.
So, YOU ARE STATISTICALLY NOT ALONE. 
In fact, it is actually only a tiny % of people who did not struggle and need pharmaceutical support by midlife after an adversity-filled childhood.
You are not “making excuses” to look at the impact of the past on present health. You are not failing to be positive or failing to find a good therapist or failing to have a clean enough diet.
If you are NOT on antidepressants after five or more adverse childhood experiences, you are in the minority. But if you are, you are in the statistical normal and on target with your peers and totally average.
This does not mean I’m pro medication. It does not mean I think medication is the only thing that helps people. It means people with multiple adverse childhood experiences ROUTINELY suffer mood disorders and need support.
I actually think the statistics on talk therapy to help PTSD are actually not good and that traditional talk-only treatments have failed or been insufficient for many. And I think drugs too have caused lot of side effects and problems.
What I’m clear on though is that this is a serious and widespread problem. There’s some serious cause and effect happening a whole lot of the time but it’s not the way we talk or think about or address mental health issues.
How many people struggle in private, alone or in doctor’s offices whispering and feeling like a failure or depleted? Why isn’t this statistic more widely shared or known in and out of doctor’s offices?
Might it be a form of validation for those suffering? Might it people feel rather s/heroic if they’ve managed at all? It sure as hell can help reduce the shame and self-loathing that some feel when “succumbing” to depression or anxiety or PTSD or whatever.
I know it would have helped me. I SPENT years trying not to be, admit or feel anxious or depressed. I spent years trying to come up with my own coping and brews to make it less hard or more tolerable.
I thought it was “just me” being weak or lame or not resilient enough and I surely wasn’t trying hard or well enough.
How many others feel this shame without being educated on even some basic stats around since the late 1990’s?
How many others don’t know that there’s a whole lot of power we have as parents just by providing a ton of stability for our children? To me, it’s empowering. Look at all we do for our children, worrying about diet and social media and sleep and friends? What about these things that predispose them to a life with physical and mental health risks? We can’t prevent all pain and trauma and hurt but we do have some ability to influence and protect our children and that’s a positive thing. It can be.
I know ALL depression isn’t the result of childhood adversity. But there is a relationship and it’s important to see, note and understand. Context matters. As a child. As a parent. In a medical office.
This context helps me see that education and self-love are acts of radical self-care but we also need to share this news with others who think it’s “just them” not doing better at being happy.
This is far less about personality or a personal issue to be delved into in talk therapy. It’s actually super consistent and across the board for those of us with lots of childhood adversity no matter what else about us is different.
This shocked me and made me cry at the same time. It wasn’t “just me” struggling.
So I share it and pass it along and hope this little PowerPoint slide makes you have a bit more understanding and compassion for yourself and others. That’s what it does for me. It also pisses me off and fuels my activism.
And another nod to the feminists because the personal still is political. Always.
More research:
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/
http://www.acestudy.org/
http://acestoohigh.com/
http://www.acesconnection.com/
You Matter Mantras
- Trauma sucks. You don't.
- Write to express not to impress.
- It's not trauma informed if it's not informed by trauma survivors.
- Breathing isn't optional.
You Are Invited Too & To:
- Heal Write Now on Facebook
- Parenting with ACEs at the ACEsConectionNetwork
- The #FacesOfPTSD campaign.
- When I'm not post-traumatically pissed or stressed I try to Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest.
Yesterday, I have convinced school principal of my kids to run ACE score test on a sample of students as a part of becoming a Trauma Informed School (TIS). This project that took place in some schools already (http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2013/09/12/theres-thing-bad-kid-six-spokane-wa-trauma-informed-elementary-schools/ )has inspired me to try it myself. Also, as a professional soft skills trainer, I offer companies and organizations to become Trauma informed and change thier HR policies based on statistics of ACE study related to impact of child abuse on work performance. I hope this study gets what it deserved of recognition and implementation.
Yesterday, I have convinced school principal of my kids to run ACE score test on a sample of students as a part of becoming a Trauma Informed School (TIS). This project that took place in some schools already (http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2013/09/12/theres-thing-bad-kid-six-spokane-wa-trauma-informed-elementary-schools/ )has inspired me to try it myself. Also, as a professional soft skills trainer, I offer companies and organizations to become Trauma informed and change their HR policies based on statistics of ACE study related to impact of child abuse on work performance. I hope this study gets what it deserved of recognition and implementation.
Wow! Thanks for sharing. I love hearing how the ACE research and test are being used in work places, educational settings and personally!