The Road Towards Healing…
I listen to the rain falling heavily from the sky pounding the earth and my soul. I feel my years of tears married with this cleansing of the earth. Can this life-giving water cleanse me of the pain of my childhood? Can it free my heart from the years of bondage and lost paths? Can I be “born again” and find the lost soul who never knew her footing?
It is now well established that childhood maltreatment, or exposure to abuse and neglect in children under the age of 18, has devastating consequences. Over the past two decades, research has begun not only to define the consequences in the context of health and disease but also to elucidate mechanisms underlying the link between childhood maltreatment and medical, including psychiatric, outcomes. Research has begun to shed light on how childhood maltreatment mediates disease risk and course. Childhood maltreatment increases risk for developing psychiatric disorders (e.g., mood and anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], antisocial and borderline personality disorders, and substance use disorders). It is associated with an earlier age at onset and a more severe clinical course (i.e., greater symptom severity) and poorer treatment response to pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy. Early-life adversity is also associated with increased vulnerability to several major medical disorders, including coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes, asthma, and certain forms of cancer. The net effect is significant reduction in life expectancy in victims of child abuse and neglect.
Together we will listen to the rain drenching the parched ground; and together we will learn to dance in it as we travel the road towards healing.
Until next time, friends.