Jessa Cripsin

“Medicine is a science i.e., a discipline we uncritically assign to the domain of rational thought & as a result ritually treat as an impartial undertaking, protected against unconscious bias of any kind.” Jessa Crispin.

But bias abounds!Women have higher rates of high ACE scores. Women have higher rates of PTSD.

Women’s physical & mental health is often minimized, dismissed, or pathologized. Same with people of color.

Same with many marginalized communities, which when all added up together aren’t actually all that marginal but actually more like majority.

And yet…

“Study after study has shown that doctors are less likely to take women’s symptoms seriously-& when women complain of pain, dr’s are more likely to dismiss their symptoms as “psychological” than is the case with their male counterparts.”

Another example is with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

“Why isn’t this disorder (chronic fatigue) taken more seriously by individual doctors, researchers, & govt. institutions like & ? .. clear to me, like & the patients she interviews. – related to the fact that 85% of its sufferers are women.”Jessa Crispin

“…maternal deaths from complications in childbirth are rising in the U.S., even as they are falling worldwide (especial for black women). Women die giving birth in the U.S. at more than twice the rate they do in the UK, ” More on how black women, in particular, are most mistreated here.
There is sometimes some talk of addressing structural oppression, including and understanding the pair of ACEs so that we know that ACEs stand for adverse commuhnity experiences such as: as well as adverse childhood experiences (physical, emotional and sexual abuse, physical and emotional neglect, a parental loss in the form of divorce, separation or abandonment, having a family member who is imprisoned, having a family member battling mental illness or addiction, or a child who witnesses a parent/step-parent abuse a parent/step-parent).
However, social justice issues, equality and the ways trauma disproportionately impacts some more than others is often ignored completely.
Here and there we hear things such as, “If it’s not racially just, it’s not trauma informed,” or how we must talk about trauma caused my the culture or systems as well as the trauma that happens in homes. But, these conversations are consistent and centered around the experiences of trauma survivors who have experienced the most types of trauma. Therefore, the issues, needs, concerns, safety, voice and perspectives of those most impacted by the most trauma is also not commonplace.  What if high ACE scores are used against parents and families? What if high ACE scores are used to identify who might be a high healthcare utilier or an expensive person to insure?
What protections exist to ensure that sharing ACEs scores of histories will not harm people?
While I don’t trust medical systems to screen general populations I do trust people.
We can arm ourselves and one another with information about the ACE study and our own ACE scores and make changes in our lives, health, families and communities.
Lots of us are interested in trauma-informed change and trauma-informed justice and when the world and our systems are different, maybe universal screening will be helpful, healthy or wise.
But we have way more to do together first. I worry there’s too much risk and danger in sharing ACEs scores and a history of trauma and more risk and more danger for some than others. Is that risk worth changing medical and healthcare policy? Not for me.
Might people be further marginalized, mistreated, diagnosed, and dismissed? That’s what I worry about.
Those with the most adversity have in fact, been treated poorly and often systematically and consistently.

Things have not been good for women, people with disabilities, people of color, people who have experienced trauma as adults, as kids, for generations (or all of the above). There are lots of marginalized communities I’ve not mentioned. Native Americans. The LBGTQ community. There are other communitities as well. Many, many others.

But again, we can still benefit from knowing what ACEs are, how common they are and what their impact.

What WE DO with the information, inspiration and public health data can change, transform, inspire, and heal.

What WE can do with it in our own communities, selves, and families – is what I do trust.

It gets me up and all excited every single day work. It’s where I believe is where the social change and social justice can be.

IN US.

It’s us, the collective us, who must decide if, when, how and whether or not we want to share our ACEs scores and histories in medical systems and settings that have historically not served our health or well-being all that well. Instead of ACEs scores being used to support parents and people, I’m afraid it will be used instead to stigmatize, label, or discriminate against people, especially those who have already been most stigmateized, labeled and discriminated against even when not presenting with a trauma history or symptoms of trauma.

Our systems have to change.

A medical system that calls itslef trauma informed isn’t enough, though it may be the first step in a longer process that leads to bigger changes.

But if we don’t have systems that recognize where, how often, and that certain people and communities are regularly and routinely traumatized and why often the response is punitive rather honoring, healthy, respectful I’m dubious about how beneficial sharing ACEs scores will be.

We, collectively, as a society has way more to do , dismantle and change together before I support universal ACEs screening from/by systems and organizations.

Which doesn’t mean we are hopeless or helpesss. We can keep sharing all we know and use ACEs-related information in our lives, work, families, communities to make changes and improve health and well-being and healing. We can be reminded that we aren’t alone, broken, flawed, weak or damaged because we’ve been traumatized or suffered symptoms during and after adversity.

We can use all we learn to affirm and heal and restore and rebuild and make newer, better, and different systems completely. I believe it’s possible with what we learn and share and realize and do together. It can’t be imposed or forced, diagnostic or prescriptive. It’s for and with us all. Every single one of us. #ACEs
#metoo #informedbytraumasurvivors #traumainformed