ACES and it's relevance to mental health.

The Adverse Childhood Experience Study (ACES) was conducted in the United States back in the 1990's. It was a huge survey that looked at childhood trauma experiences involving 17,000 participants. What that study found was groundbreaking as it illustrated the link between childhood trauma experiences and future physical/mental health outcomes. As an example strong links were found between high ACE scores and impaired health/mental health. Interestingly living or growing up in a household with someone suffering with a mental health illness was considered to be an adverse childhood experience!

From my own personal experience I can see the links myself. My ACE score is a 7 which is very high. My son's ACE score is a 5.

If you're interested in taking a quick ACE quiz here is a link:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/02/387007941/take-the-ace-quiz-and-learn-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean

More information and a link to a more extensive questionnaire is available from the World Health Organisation http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/activities/adverse_childhood_experiences/en/

This is also a fabulous Ted talk by Dr Nadine Burke Harris called How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime. This is a must see.

https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime?language=en#t-778

I firmly believe that alot of today's mental health issues began as a result of our exposure(s) to adverse events in childhood. I also believe that the future of mental health treatment has to look at the whole picture and start fixing things from the very beginning.

I'd love to hear thoughts from anyone who can see a link between the mental health of those we are caring for and their early childhood experiences.

Janna ❤️