Childhood Trauma

1. Adverse childhood experiences include physical, emotional or sexual abuse, physical neglect
parental illness, incarceration, divorce. High-risk behavior and ACEs are common in adults and
adolescents. ACE is associated with high-risk behavior because of the maltreatment adults and
adolescents have experienced, such as substance abuse, sexual abuse, or domestic abuse. There
is a real neurologic reason behind it is that people that are exposed to high doses of adversity
are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviour. ACEs can alter brain development and
negatively affect the body's ability to respond to stress. ACEs is associated with chronic health
problems, mental illness, and substance abuse in adulthood. So, the higher your ACE score
would be the worse your health outcome would be.
2. The fight or flight response is an automatic response to an event that is perceived as stressful or
frightening. In response to a perceived threat, the nervous system and an acute stress response
are triggered, preparing the body for fighting or fleeing and releasing adrenaline, which then
results in increase in heart rate, breathing rate and dilated pupils.
3. A child who repeatedly experiences the fight-flight response will likely result in health issues as
the response becomes maladaptive and unhealthy which can cause anxiety, depression and
other health issues. Children are more sensitive to this repeated activation of response as their
bodies are growing and developing.