How we were parented impacts us all — for life

In a blog post a couple of months ago, I spoke of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs. There are several different categories of ACEs, but two of the most prominent are abuse or neglect suffered by children at the hand of a parent or parents.

I recently came across a very powerful post on the ACEs Connection Network website, which is dedicated to preventing ACEs, healing trauma and building resilience in those who have been victimized by them.

The author, Christine Chrissy White, points out that any discussion of ACEs can’t just end when the person who has experienced them becomes an adult. As she says, experiences at the hands of abusive or neglectful parents affect “[h]ow we feel in our skin. How we move through the world. How we regard relationships, at all. Relationships with ourselves, others and of course, children, whether we have them or not.”

Ms. White’s post is long, but very much worth reading. There is also a video by Dr. Vincent Felitti, author of the statement you see to the left, that speaks to recent research into ACEs that shows how widespread an impact ACEs have on our society.

I recommend this post highly. You can see it here.