https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk
kris notes. OMG. Just OMG. This ted talk sent multiple chills down my spine throughout the talk. This is one of the most important talks I have watched thus far. I mean they are all important but damn. Ive watched this one 3 times.
A study performed in the mid 90’s by the CDC and an insurance company discovered a dramatic increased risk of 7 out of 10 of the leading causes of death in the united states. In high doses, it affects brain development, immune system, hormonal system, and even the way our DNA is read and transcribed. Folks that are exposed in very high doses have triple the lifetime risk of heart disease, lung cancer, and a 20 year difference in life expectancy. And yet, doctors today are not trained to treat this.
The exposure she is talking about is not a pesticide, or a packing chemical,……..
Its childhood trauma.
This is not failing a test, or losing a basketball game. (minor stuff)…….
She is talking about threats that are so severe or pervasive, they literally get under our skin and change our physiology. Things like abuse, neglect, growing up with a parent who struggles with mental illness or substance dependence.
Most doctors either look at this as a social problem(to social services) or a mental health problem(refer to mental health services). This is incorrect diagnosing.
She had a hard time diagnosing so many kids as ADHD etc, Most of the kids she saw had experienced such severe trauma, it felt like something else was going on.
If you see 100 kids who all drink from the same well and 98% of them get sick, you can either prescribe medication, or you can LOOK IN THE WELL(bone chill #1 moment for me).wowowowow
So she started reading EVERYTHING she could about how excessive exposure to adversity affects the developing brains and bodies of children.
Research study- “The adverse childhood experiences study”- well all need to know what this is. 17,500 adults were asked about their history of exposure to what they called “adverse childhood experiences” or “ACE’s”
ACE’s include: physical, emotional or sexual abuse, physical or emotional neglect, parental mental illness, substance dependence, incarceration, parental separation or divorce, or domestic violence.
For every YES, you would get 1 point on your ACE score.
Then they correlated these ACE scores against health outcomes.
IT WAS STRIKING!
ACE’s are incredibly common. 67% of the population has at least 1 ACE, 12.6%, or 1 in 8 had 4 ACE’s. The higher your ACE score, the worse your health outcome. A person with an ACE score of 4 or more their COPD was 2.5 times that of someone with an ACE score of 0. For hepatitis, it was also 2.5 times higher, for depression, it was 4.5 times higher, for suicidality, it was 12.5 times higher. A person with an ACE score of 7 or higher had TRIPLE the lifetime risk of lung cancer, 3.5 times higher chance of heart disease, the #1 killer in the US.
Most people would say something like- “of course if you had a bad childhood you are more likely to drink and smoke and have bad health, this isn’t science its just bad behavior etc etc”.
It turns out, this is EXACTLY where the science comes in.
We now understand better than we ever have before, how exposure to early adversity affects the developing brains and bodies of children. It affects such areas as the pleasure and reward area of the brain that is implicated in substance dependence. It inhibits the prefrontal cortex which is necessary for impulse control, and executive function, a critical area for learning. On MRI scans, we see measurable differences in the brains fear response center.
It’s pretty clear how folks who have been exposed to high levels of childhood adversity are more likely to engage in high risk behavior. BUT IT TURNS OUT… even if you DON’T engage in high risk behavior, you are STILL more likely to develop heart disease, or caner! (spine chilling moment #2!!).Its due to the brains stress response system. It governs our fight or flight response.
How does it work? Imagine you are walking in the forest and see a bear. Stress hormones are released. Adrenaline, cortisol etc… and your heart rate rises. Your pupils dilate,your airways open up and you are READY TO FUCK SOME SHIT UP!…..either fight the bear, or run from the bear. This is GREAT……………..if you’re in a forest…….. and there is a bear………spine chill number 3!.…… YOU’RE NOT!!…. the problem is when this system is activated OVER and OVER… with no bear. WOW. It goes from being ADAPTIVE, or life saving to health damaging. Children are especially sensitive to this stress activation, BECAUSE THEIR BRAINS AND BODIES ARE JUST DEVELOPING. High adversity not only affects brain development, but the developing immune system. Hormonal systems, and the way our DNA is read and transcribed.
THIS SCIENCE MUST BE USED FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT!
Adverse childhood experiences(ACE’s) are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today. When we can recognize the crisis, we can come up with the right tool kit and solutions. Addressing this is going to take DETERMINATION and commitment(WOOOOOOOOO bone chilling #4 son!!!!)
So the big question, why are we not taking this seriously????????
Do we marginalize the issue because it does not apply to us? “that’s an issue for those kids, not mine”- which is weird, because the DATA doesn’t show that! WOOOO!!!! (I love data). The original ACE’s study was done on a population 70% white, and 70% college educated.
BONE CHILLING MOMENT #5!!!- Maybe we marginalize the issue because it DOES apply to us. Its easier to not look within, but to look outward. Because we don’t want to look at it, we would rather be sick. Just wowowowowowowowowowowow
THE SCIENCE IS CLEAR! EARLY ADVERSITY DRAMATICALLY AFFECTS HEALTH OVER A LIFETIME. THIS IS TREATABLE. THIS IS BEATABLE.
- I am so pumped up right now, this ted talk was awesome.
- I can relate to this.
- I just want to do some pushups right now
- Maybe dome ab crunches
- And eat some almond butter
- With celery
- And maybe ill do some laundry.
