The Path Towards Healing; You are not alone! …
Welcome to my newsletter.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events, whether physical, emotional or sexual in nature that occur during childhood.
The Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE’s) Questionnaire (Felitti et al, 1998), which I have included below, is a ten-item questionnaire that measures childhood trauma. The questionnaire assesses ten types of childhood trauma measured in the CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE study. Five are personal: physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect and emotional neglect. The other five pertain to issues within your childhood home or family.
Each “Yes” answer from the ten questions should be totaled to provide a net score at the end. My score on the ACEs questionnaire is 8 out of 10. What is your ACEs score? Leave it in the comments box.
As a result of my experiences, I have had a lifetime of trials and fails, hurts and deep depression. Anxiety and I hold hands. Does this sound familiar to you? I never understood why I looked the same as everyone on the outside, but inside it was very difficult to be me. Very difficult to make it through a day.
Thanks to burgeoning research in the field of trauma related behavioral healthcare, I am beginning to understand why I respond to situations the way I do and did. I am learning that I am not alone. And I have finally found meaningful connection.
This I wish for each of you, if you or someone you know has been touched by childhood maltreatment.
I will share with you my struggles and my wins and the science that supports both. I hope this will provide you with insight into your own struggles. Please feel free to reach out and share, if you need. You can leave comments below and remember to let me know what your ACEs score is.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Questionnaire
- Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often… Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you? or Act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt? Yes No
- Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often… Push, grab, slap, or throw something at you? or Ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured? Yes No
- Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever… Touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way? or Attempt or actually have oral or anal intercourse with you? Yes No
- Did you often or very often feel that … No one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? or Your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other? Yes No
- Did you often or very often feel that … You didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? or Your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?
Yes No - Was a biological parent ever lost to you through divorced, abandonment, or other reason? Yes No
- Was your mother or stepmother: Often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her? or Sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard? or Ever repeatedly hit over at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife? Yes No
- Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic or who used street drugs? Yes No
- Was a household member depressed or mentally ill? or Did a household member attempt suicide? Yes No
- Did a household member go to prison? Yes No