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Traumatic Childhood? Welcome to the (Really Big) Club
Filed under: In The News, Health
Say "ohm." Relax. You're not alone when it comes to carrying mental baggage. Credit: Getty
Here's a bit of news to perk up your holiday spirits: The majority of people out there are as messed up as you are.
A survey by the Centers for Disease Control reveals 59 percent of adults still tote about emotional and psychological baggage from childhoods that profoundly sucked.
Misery may not always love company, but at least you can quit moping about feeling abnormal.
Abnormal is the new normal, and, for someone as messed up as you, you're probably doing bloody well under the circumstances.
Those circumstances include being beaten, berated, molested or bullied as a kid -- or watching those things happens to other people. Or maybe your particular brand of poison includes divorced parents, drug abuse, mental illness or the death of a loved one.
Whatever bad craziness goes down in childhood, more than half of those surveyed tell the CDC it continues to haunt and affect them to this day.
CDC researchers say it's good to get these skeletons out of the closet. By knowing so many people have them, according to their report, health care providers can boost their efforts in child abuse prevention, parent programs and other means to spare children the trauma their parents endure.
Researchers surveyed 26,229 adults from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Tennessee and Washington state, and participants were asked about their childhood experiences. Some of the particulars:
- 29.1 percent reported substance abuse by themselves or a family member
- 14.8 percent reported physical abuse
- 12.2 percent reported sexual abuse
- 26.6 percent reported parental separation/divorce
- 19.4 percent reported living with someone who was mentally ill
- 16.3 percent reported witnessing domestic violence
"State-based surveillance of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) can provide guidance for the allocation of maltreatment prevention strategies and trauma-related intervention services," the authors write in MMWR. "In addition, more research is needed to disentangle the specific role each ACE plays in the development of health problems later in life."
Meanwhile, relax. Yes, you're messed up. But it's a messed-up species.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-20-2010 @ 2:26PM
Alicia said...We're all f*cked. Go to therapy and live your life. Trust me, the best revenge against abusers, harassers, bad parents and worse circumstances is succeeding in spite of it all. Every new boyfriend and every morning is another shit in the face of my rapist and molester.
Reply
12-29-2010 @ 4:52PM
Janice said...Amen!!
Reply
1-05-2011 @ 9:28PM
Nora said...My tormentor was a narcissistic father who was physically and emotionally abusive. Sadly, my eldest bro got the worst of it, but it runs downhill, including to me, the youngest.
My dad's "thing" was making sure none of us was ever "enough." He would say things like, "Anyone with an IQ of 4 would know not to do (whatever I had just done), or "Why can't you be like Uncle Tom's kids? (our dad's wonderful, very nice brother). Finally when one of my bros was a teen, he responded to that one with, "Why can't you be more like Uncle Tom?" Fisticuffs ensued.
I've spent most of my life trying to be "enough," so that one day my dad would tell me he was proud of me. When it became apparent (after some counseling) that would never happen, I decided the best thing I could do for myself was simply not to communicate with him. Every contact was simply another opportunity for him to tell me how I was a failure (despite three degrees with honors, successful in my field, homeowner, normal person who mows the lawn and brings the trashcans in on trash day, never been a guest of the department of corrections; just a normal person).
Stopping contact was the best thing I ever did for myself. He can't continue to hurt me (emotionally) if I don't let him. It works for me. It may not be right for you. Do what's right for you.
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