Posts Tagged ‘ACEs’
Fears for Children When Divorcing an Alcoholic
The thought of divorcing an alcoholic * is terrifying for so many reasons, but when one has children, it can be paralyzing. Time and again I receive phone calls and emails from spouses expressing fears like these: “I am terrified to divorce because my children aren’t safe with him/her they drink.” “He drinks and drives…
Read MoreEarly Trauma Can Change a Child’s Brain
Early trauma can change a child’s brain. These brain changes can alter the physical and emotional health of that child across their lifetime. Seriously. And why might readers of BreakingTheCycles.com be interested in this topic? Because trauma – also referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – is often at the root of alcohol and…
Read MoreThe Link Between Sexual Trauma and Addiction
The link between sexual trauma and addiction can be significant. As I wrote in my article, “Treating ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Helps With Addiction Recovery,” Treating ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences, which are extremely stressful or traumatic events occurring before the age of 18, can go a long, long way to helping a person with addiction…
Read MoreLandmark Congressional Hearing on Childhood Trauma
What a landmark Congressional Hearing on Childhood Trauma last Thursday! I imagine Doctors Vincent Felitti and Robert Anda, co-principals of what is now known as the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study, were heartened and deeply moved by that July 11, 2019 House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on childhood trauma. Twenty-one years after their study findings were…
Read MoreBuilding Resilience Through Understanding Substance Use Disorders and Their Impacts on Others
Building Resilience Through Understanding Substance Use Disorders and Their Impacts on Others was the topic of a 3.5 hour presentation I delivered to three different organizations this spring; these organizations were also the program sponsors: San Joaquin County Office of Education and the San Joaquin County Children’s Services Coordinating Commission (Stockton, CA, March 5, 2019)…
Read MoreWe Can’t Treat Cancer in 30 Days. Why Do We Think Treating Addiction is Any Different?
I’ve tried to verify who came up with the idea that addiction* could be treated in 30 days. One version was reported by Shari Roan in her November 10, 2008 Los-Angeles Times article, “The 30-day Myth,” in which she wrote, Dr. David Lewis…who in the 1970s helped establish the first addiction treatment program in the U.S. Air…
Read MoreI Could Have Developed Alcoholism | I Developed Bulimia Instead
I still look back with great sadness on the 11 years I spent binging and purging (bulimia) and the year I spent “dieting” (anorexia) — my lost years from ages 16-28. To the person whose never been bulimic, it’s impossible to understand why someone would “choose” to eat huge quantities of food and then throw…
Read MoreWhen Mommy or Daddy Is the Problem – Alcohol Misuse | Secondhand Drinking
When mommy or daddy is the problem, a child can experience childhood trauma, aka Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). And the problem I’m talking about is a parent’s alcohol misuse or the other parent’s coping with their drinking behaviors. In other words, a parent whose drinking (alcohol misuse) changes their behaviors and/or a parent experiencing secondhand drinking — the…
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