The Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

I don’t always speak forcefully on topics of mental health but this one is too important to side-step or minimize.

Victim-blaming is a byproduct of ignorance.

I am continuously disheartened by the indiscriminate and cruel approach of many supposed wellness coaches who claim that a clean diet & exercise is the only answer to chronic illness; suggesting that marginalized communities are somehow “too lazy” or “too ignorant” to tend to their own health. This is not only categorically false but also a deeply privileged and dangerous approach to public health.

We need mass education on the ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). ACEs are categories of traumatic events that happen in childhood with wide-ranging ramifications for the health and well-being of the individual throughout their whole life.

The CDC & Kaiser conducted a large-scale study on this topic, here are the results.

The more categories of these experiences a child faces, the more likely she/he is to experience these negative outcomes: