The Safe Center

All of this is based on a landmark study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE study). Most of us have at least one category of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), but those of us with three or more were at significantly increased risk for substance abuse, depression, anxiety, as well as physical ailments like heart disease, cancer and even diabetes. We’re meant to deal with stress in short amounts, but suffering child abuse and neglect can raise levels of our stress hormones for days, weeks or months at a time, well beyond levels that the body was meant to handle. For more information on the Adverse Childhood Experiences study, Google search the CDC’s study, or check out ACES TOO HIGH, a site that is helping to spread the word about how brains and bodies are affected by trauma and abuse.