{"id":506262,"date":"2018-01-21T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2018-01-21T07:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=506262"},"modified":"2018-01-21T00:01:57","modified_gmt":"2018-01-21T07:01:57","slug":"healing-from-damage-of-childhood-trauma-is-possible-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/01\/healing-from-damage-of-childhood-trauma-is-possible-experts-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Healing from damage of childhood trauma is possible, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Reading about adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress can be, well, stressful. The problems they cause &#8212; brain impairments, mental illness and disease &#8212; are enough to make things sound hopeless.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article is part of <a href=\"http:\/\/searchlightnm.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Searchlight New Mexico&#8217;s<\/a> year-long journalistic investigation into child well-being in New Mexico. Read the series, Raising New Mexico, <a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/series\/raising-new-mexico\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>They\u2019re not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not victims, and we\u2019re not unchangeable,\u201d said Christina Bethell, co-author of a 2017 report aptly called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cssp.org\/publications\/documents\/Balancing-ACEs-with-HOPE-FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Balancing ACEs with HOPE<\/a> (Health Outcomes for Positive Experience). Bethell, the director of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cahmi.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative<\/a> at Johns Hopkins University, works in what she calls \u201cthe science of thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Positive, loving experiences build brain health and resilience in children; they act as a buffer against the bad things. They also counterbalance the harm from toxic stress, her research shows.<\/p>\n<p>A groundswell of other researchers, brain scientists and mental health professionals say damage from ACEs is reversible and people of all ages &#8212; particularly those age 0 to 3 &#8212; can recover.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as throwaway children,\u201d says Deborah Harris, senior consultant for New Mexico\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cyfd.org\/behavioral-health\/infant-and-early-childhood-mental-health-services\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Infant Mental Health Teams<\/a>.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Childhood trauma is a serious matter. If you\u2019ve experienced it, experts advise getting help from a trauma-informed specialist, someone experienced in helping people recover from toxic stress.<\/p>\n<p>But everyone can begin the path to wellness.<\/p>\n<p>Healing can start with simple steps like deep breathing. They\u2019re as basic as cooing to your baby.<\/p>\n<p>All manner of solutions and research in this realm &#8212; as well as simple <a href=\"https:\/\/developingchild.harvard.edu\/resources\/three-early-childhood-development-principles-improve-child-family-outcomes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tools<\/a> for parents &#8212; are available at prominent institutes, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/developingchild.harvard.edu\/resources\/three-early-childhood-development-principles-improve-child-family-outcomes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Helping your baby<\/h3>\n<p>The mantra is \u201cthe earlier the better.\u201d Here are ways to promote brain healing while creating a loving, nurturing relationship:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Build positive experiences, whether it\u2019s through a game of peekaboo or a reading of \u201cGoodnight Moon.\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coo, babble, point, and make silly faces. Scientists call this \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">serve and return<\/a>,\u201d and it\u2019s key to building brain health.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kiss, hold and talk to your baby. Repeat. Repetitive positive experiences build healthful new neural pathways that get stronger over time.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ban tobacco at home.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Breastfeed.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Share a family meal at least four days a week.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limit children to two hours of screen time a day.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read to young kids daily. Insist that older children do their homework.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Participate in your children\u2019s activities.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t worry about being a perfect parent; be a \u201cgood enough\u201d parent. What\u2019s good enough? Bethell found that children who are most resilient are those who can say \u201cMy family stood by me in hard times; I had someone I could talk to about difficult things.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Helping yourself<\/h3>\n<p>Adults also need to reduce stress. Here\u2019s what helps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Breathing: Yes, breathing. Inhale deeply. Exhale. Repeat.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meditation: One of the top recommended interventions, it\u2019s restorative for the brain.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.anxietybc.com\/sites\/default\/files\/MuscleRelaxation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Progressive muscle relaxation<\/a>: An effective way to relieve tension and anxiety by simply clenching and releasing muscles.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exercise. Crunches and half-marathons are not required. The goal is to move and get outside: Research shows that simply touching a tree or hearing a bird sing reduces stress.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get enough sleep, eat nutritious food, listen to music and spend time with loving (non-stressful) friends and family.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hypnosis: Find a certified clinical hypnotherapist at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.asch.net\/Public\/CertificationInformation\/FindCertifiedProfessionals.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. <\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EMDR: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.emdr.com\/what-is-emdr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing<\/a> has been used for decades to help people heal from traumatic memories.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.traumacenter.org\/clients\/yoga_svcs.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trauma-Sensitive Yoga<\/a>: This form of yoga was developed by the Massachusetts-based Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Write the wrongs: Vincent Felitti, co-founder of the ACE study, recommends that patients write their autobiographies.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try <a href=\"http:\/\/www.apa.org\/monitor\/2016\/03\/cover-feedback.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">neurofeedback<\/a> or its cousin, <a href=\"http:\/\/certify.bcia.org\/4dcgi\/resctr\/search.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">biofeedback<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talk to a compassionate person; get treatment from someone trained in trauma care. Or walk into your doctor\u2019s office with the ACE survey.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The problems adverse childhood experiences cause &#8212; brain impairments, mental illness and disease &#8212; are enough to make things sound hopeless. They\u2019re not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[234,142],"class_list":["post-506262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-children","tag-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506262\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}