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"It is impossible to overstate the impact of childhood trauma on adult mental and physical health." - Gabor Mate I have learned a lot from Dr Gabor Mate about the connection between early life trauma, the stresses and dysfunction of modern life, and both physical and mental disorders. He is one of today's leading thinkers on these subjects. Born in Hungary to the children of Holocaust survivors, he worked as a medical doctor in Canada. His international background gives him a unique perspective on how we treat physical and mental illness in the
West. He is author of, among other books: What follows is my adaptation of an article he wrote recently, How to Build a Culture of Good Health: Interactions between the brain and body determine
that adverse early childhood circumstances—even in utero experiences—leave us in the long term with more than just psychological and emotional effects. The physical impact of early childhood experiences can
also directly promote disease.
Studies from the United States and New Zealand have shown, for example, that healthy adults who suffered childhood mistreatment were more likely to have elevated inflammatory products in their circulation in response to stressful
experiences. Such overactive stress reactions are, in turn, a risk factor for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other illnesses. It is impossible to overstate the impact of childhood trauma on adult mental and physical health. Myriad
studies have demonstrated that early-life suffering potentiates many illnesses, from mental diseases such as depression, psychosis, or addiction to autoimmune conditions to cancer. One Canadian study demonstrated that childhood abuse raised the risk of cancer nearly 50 percent, even when controlled for lifestyle habits such as smoking and drinking. Addictions in particular are responses to early trauma. Whether to drugs, food, gambling, or whatever other form they take, all are attempts to soothe stress and emotional pain. The first question is never why the addiction, but why the pain? We cannot understand the addictions that beset our society without recognizing the suffering and stress they are intended to alleviate, or the childhood trauma at their source. In this light, the obesity epidemic now facing us reflects primarily an epidemic of pain and stress. FAMILY AND MULTI-GENERATIONAL DYNAMICS Individual family dynamics unfold in the context of culture and society. Just as families have their histories in which they transmit trauma across
the generations, so do societies. We can see, then, why the poor and the racially oppressed and the historically traumatized are more prone to disease. Need we mention the high rates of alcoholism, violence, obesity, diabetes, and overdose deaths amongst aboriginal populations in North America and, say, Australia, or the relatively unfavorable health outlook and life expectancy of black Americans? The effects of trauma become multigenerational through repeated psychological dysfunctions. The new science of epigenetics is identifying the mechanisms that even affect gene functioning. The children of Holocaust survivors, for example, have altered genetic mechanisms leading to abnormal stress hormone levels. Animal studies are showing that the physiological effects of trauma can be passed on
even to the third generation. Finally, family stresses, trauma, and social and economic deprivation can also affect human brain development in ways that lead to behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and mental illness. CT scan studies at the University of
Wisconsin showed that brain centers responsible for academic performance were up to 10 percent smaller in children who grew up in the poorest homes. WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? Why? Because the human brain itself is a social organ, shaped in its neurophysiological and neurochemical development by the child’s relationships. In the words of a recent article in Journal of Pediatrics: “The interaction of genes and experiences literally shapes the circuitry of the developing brain, and is critically influenced by the mutual responsiveness of adult-child relationships, particularly in the early childhood years.” Parents stressed by multigenerational trauma, relationship issues, economic insecurity, maternal depression, or social disconnection are simply unable to give their children the “mutually responsive” attuned interactions that optimal childhood development requires. The result is the epidemic of developmental disorders among our children that we are now witnessing. In line with the prevailing ideology, the medical response is mostly pharmaceutical. Rather than considering the environment that, throughout childhood, shapes the brain, we seek to manipulate the child’s brain chemistry instead. NEXT ACTION:Today's action step is to examine your life for any traumatic experiences and consider how they may have impacted your brain. It's possible you've already spent
time reflecting on these questions in the past. Does anything new come up after reading the article?
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