Acceptance the first step in overcoming ACEs
Traumatic childhood events such as abuse, neglect, witnessing experiences such as crime, parental conflict, mental illness, and substance abuse are called ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) can create dangerous levels of stress and derail healthy brain development; resulting in long-term effects on learning, behavior and health. A network of leaders in research, policy and practice are developing approaches to prevent (ACEs) and mitigate their impact through building resilience.
Preventing the consequences of ACEs starts with knowing your risks. You can check your risks here if you are on a desktop or tablet.
Blog posts on ACEs
Middle-aged white men are dying from “diseases of despair” like suicide and overdose
Middle-aged white men are dying, en masse from “diseases of despair” like suicide and overdose. What are we doing to prevent it?
Adverse Childhood Experiences: Why Kurt Cobain is not the only one
Kurt Cobain’s story isn’t one of personal failure, but one of a person succumbing to his ACE score and the laws of statistics.
Bill Cosby and the “look how well I turned out” defense
Bill Cosby joked about being abused as a child, and the punchline was “look how well I turned out”. That argument deserves re-examination.
Mass shootings have become our new “norm”
Mass shootings become our new normal. Is this new normal because of violent movies and video games? Can we prevent mass shootings in the US?
They break, you know
They break, you know. These children we leave behind. Foster care kids have high Adverse Childhood Experience scores. Like all children they thrive on love.
Sex offenders. Should we castrate them?
We all say we don’t like sex offenders, but we don’t like protecting kids from them, either
The story of surviving myself
A great life, the consequences of childhood trauma catching up, surviving and then going on to found the Stop Abuse Campaign
Why I Choose to be Fat
I will not be measured and weighed and found wanting. I’m going to be OK as I am, even if I am obese. Find out why I choose to be fat.
Substance-abuse doc says to focus on ACEs
Prominent addiction expert says we need to think of addiction as a response to childhood adversity. A ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking.