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January 17 2008
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Scientific Proof that Your Childhood Traumas are a MAJOR Factor in Your All Your Illnesses

ace study, childhood trauma, abuse, emotional abuse, emotions and healthThe Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is an ongoing research project which is perhaps the largest scientific research study of its kind. Its purpose it to analyze the relationship between multiple categories of childhood trauma and health and behavioral outcomes later in life.

ACE is examining the effects of:

  • Recurrent physical abuse
  • Recurrent emotional abuse
  • Contact sexual abuse
  • An alcohol and/or drug abuser in the household
  • An incarcerated household member
  • Someone who is chronically depressed, mentally ill, institutionalized, or suicidal
  • Mother is treated violently
  • One or no parents
  • Emotional or physical neglect

To learn more about the study, and to calculate your own ACE score, take a look at the link below.



Dr. MercolaDr. Mercola's Comments:

I have long maintained that your emotional state plays a role in nearly every physical disease -- from heart disease, to depression, to arthritis and cancer.

Even the conservative Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 85 percent of all diseases have an emotional element, but the actual percentage is probably much higher. Other scientists and medical doctors who have left their conventional medical and scientific dogmas behind -- once they saw the proof for themselves -- claim that 100 percent of your current health status is due to your mental and emotional reactions to events that take place during your lifetime.

Notice that this ACE study was published nearly 10 years ago? So how come you haven’t heard all about it already?

For the same reason that Dr. Geerd Hamer’s breakthrough “German New Medicine” hasn’t hit mainstream, even though he’s been at it for nearly 30 years. Or the reason why Bruce Lipton’s “New Biology” isn’t taught at schools everywhere even though his research spans across the past 20 years.

Removing an ingrained dogma is difficult, takes time, and requires people who are strong enough to teach an unpopular truth. People died for saying the earth was round not flat, and Dr. Hamer has been imprisoned for his medical treachery, which has an astounding overall 92 percent success rate.

However, I believe we’re nearing the point of breaking through. Soon, there will be no denying the fact that your physical health is deeply connected to your mental projections and beliefs. I think this is exciting news – it puts the power back in your hands! But it may scare many who are not ready to take responsibility for how they feel, what they think, and their beliefs about their world.

How Traumas Affect Your Health, According to the ACE Study

The ACE study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that both the prevalence and risk increased for severe obesity, physical inactivity, depressed mood, and suicide attempts as the number of childhood exposures to trauma increased.

They also found a strong relationship between the number of childhood traumas and the number of health risk factors for leading causes of death in adults. In particular, they found a significant relationship between the number of childhood trauma exposures and the following disease conditions:

  • ischemic heart disease
  • cancer
  • chronic bronchitis or emphysema
  • history of hepatitis or jaundice
  • skeletal fractures
  • poor self-rated health

How Does This Correlate With German New Medicine?

GNM, developed by Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer, M.D., operates under the premise that every disease, including cancer, originates from an unexpected shock experience. The ACE study questionnaire indicates what some of those experiences might be, such as physical abuse.

However, Dr. Hamer’s research indicates that the experience that affected you does not necessarily have to appear traumatic to others, and it doesn’t have to be a repeated event. It’s more about how you react to an unexpected, and to you shocking, experience. Someone else may not react or deal with it in the same way.

Drawing some conclusions from these various discoveries, I’d have to say Dr. Hamer’s research can account for why you increase your risk of deadly heart disease or cancer if you were repeatedly traumatized as a child, and here’s why.

According to GNM, the resolution (healing) phase is as long as the trauma phase. And GNM claims that all “diseases” are in fact your body going through the resolution phase, meaning it is healing itself.

However, serious trouble can arise if your trauma phase was quite extended, as your body will need the equal amount of time to heal as it took for the damage to take place.

In addition to ACE’s conclusions of how trauma leads to heightened risk of certain diseases and premature death (see figure 1), Hamer’s findings also explains these correlations, but on a biological/physical level, more so than the sociological level (such as adopting risky behaviors).

ACE study, emotional trauma, adverse childhood experiences
Figure 1 The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Heal Thyself – From Within 

If your emotions play such a significant role in your health, and I’m convinced they do, treating your emotions becomes an essential part of optimal health. 

Learning how to use energy psychology tools, such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can help you get a better handle on your emotions and buried pain, including the stress from unexpected tragedies. One of Dr. Hamer’s main pieces of advice for optimal health is this: 

Deal with, and resolve your emotional traumas as quickly as possible! Don’t let them linger and fester.  

In severe cases you might not be able to perform EFT satisfactorily on yourself, in which case I would highly recommend you seek out a trained professional. Dr. Patricia Carrington provides a list of certified EFT practitioners across the world, plus helpful advise on how to chose a practitioner that is right for you.


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Community Comments ( 94 )
Comment on this Article
  
  
Islander
[ Joined on 03/07 ] [ Posted on January 2, 2008 ]
27 Points        
   
 
Moderator User
I'd be curious to know what the "behavioral outcomes later in life" are supposed to be. I took their little screening tool and came out with a high number. But I left home at 17 and never looked back...I "got over it," which my half-sister did not...my life has been successful, my health excellent, my attitude confident. I think my message is that you can let life events shape you...or you can turn around, grab life by the throat and make of it what you want.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Phantom O' Banjo
[ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on January 3, 2008]
6 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Like to see Dizzy weigh in on this with her knowledge on energies........
Mercola
  
Kissamee
[ Joined on 12/07 ]  [ Posted on January 3, 2008]
13 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
PPar gamma girl you are so funny, I wish I could just hug you.
I'm so sorry you had all those problems, I don't believe people can pull themselves up by the bootstraps, as one person told me to do once, yet, I do believe we can live with hope. And someday live in freedom.  I met a lady once who said she had multiple identity syndrome or however it is labeled these days as a result of her traumatic childhood.  She told me she would never get over it, but I think it was something she wanted to hang on to.

Kel
Mercola
  
KathieJamisonCote
[ Joined on 04/07 ]  [ Posted on January 3, 2008]
4 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
How true Islander........
I say "grab that throat"

How true GammaGirl...... 
your humor bites reality right on the butt ;)

How true Kissamee.......
hope and freedom,
we need both so desperately
Mercola
  
Sheila C
[ Joined on 12/06 ]  [ Posted on January 3, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
Has anyone checked out the German New Medicine that Dr. Mercola has posted about?  This article just confirms what the "scientific evidence" of  German New Medicine has said about trauma.
Mercola
  
ozseppo
[ Joined on 06/07 ]  [ Posted on January 17, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

I scored on all the factors, and I reckon I turned out pretty fine, thank you very much!

I was able to disappear into books, which leads to education, ande embrace a physical lifestyle.

Education and exercise are the answers.

Mercola
  
Vilca11
[ Joined on 10/06 ]  [ Posted on January 17, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Islander, you are a "savvy user" on this forum, so I wanted to ask you: 1) I did not find a solid evidence or serious testimonials on GNM web - the "more than 40K cases", "more thank 92 cure/success", that Dr. Mercola mentioned - where I can see it, do you know? May be I just did not spend enought time there... 2) How come some comments predate the date we got the article? And what is the purpose of the point system here? Thank you in advance for taking the time. SN  

Mercola
  
dressagefreak
[ Joined on 12/06 ]  [ Posted on January 17, 2008]
       
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

Where did you find this screening test?

  
  
Michael J. .
[ Joined on 01/08 ] [ Posted on January 3, 2008 ]
12 Points        
   
 
Novice User
This is interesting in the context that someone, I think it was Candace Pert, talked about how Dr Kandel won a Nobel Prize in 2000 partly for discovering that memories are stored in cell membranes and synapses all over the nervous system (not just in the brain).

So, we have some very early intriguing evidence that there is a physiological basis to the storing of trauma, and I think Dr Mercola is right to comment on it as he does.
 
However, this particular questionnaire seems a little bit arbitrary to me. There are so many other possibilites as to what could be a traumatic trigger in a child's life, in addition to the big life stresses. It might be even work negatively in encouraging people to rake over and over traumas that may or may not even exist. 

I think we would all agree that someone who comes from an abusive, violent background has a higher probability (although nothing like a certainty) of suffering physical and/or mental illness as an adult. What we are most interested in is what to do about it! Along with supportive counselling I know that EFT and Human Givens therapy both appear to produce very good results.

Has anyone had experience of other therapies/techniques?

Michael (healthrevolutions.com  
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Sheila C
[ Joined on 12/06 ]  [ Posted on January 3, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
Hi Michael, I know that I am going to be serverely beaten for this but...here goes.  I have been using Body Talk Systems for a number of years.  In Canada we are very open minded to alternative medicine.  It is even in our provincial laws that we can seek it and practise it.  My master herbalist practises Electrical Balance Analysis where by she can determine by using neuro muscular biofeedback, the structural, physical and nutritional needs of the body.  The Body Talk Systems have the same principles as the German New Medicine that Dr. Mercola has posted about.  But I am not sure if the protocol is the same.
Mercola
  
shiva
[ Joined on 10/06 ]  [ Posted on January 4, 2008]
4 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola

Michael J. - - There are many different modalities available in the world today to fascilitate the clearing of repressed "traumas" or what I like to refer to as "aberrations" from the body-mind or in other words, the psyche. Most of these modalities are actually simply modified versions of tools which have been available for in some cases thousands of years.

For one, hyperventilative breath-work has been used in the states and around the world now for some decades. I would give you names and sources of such modalities here, but the blog master here has threatened to give me the boot if I share such info. Here. They apparently consider it “Spam”. In the hopes of avoiding such retribution and censoring here I will abstain from sharing the names of the modalities I am referring to.

One form of such breath work was developed by a psychiatrist here in the states a few decades ago. There are other forms of it out there, .. but they are all based upon the principals of 'Pranayama', which is the science of working with the breath that is a major aspect of the ancient science of Yoga. ... The breath, .. when utiized properly, can fascilitate the release of deeply repressed trauma's from the unconscious.

The entire science of Yoga in fact is designed to facilitate the clearing of all ‘aberrations’ from the unconscious. In fact, the way that an advanced yogi achieves the well known extreme flexibility that is characteristic of advanced yoga, is through the systematic clearing of repressed fears and trauma's from the body-mind.

I would share with you that from what I have experienced, the body and the mind are one and the same. The physical body is merely a physical expression of the psyche. It is actually more an expression of the unconscious aspects of the psyche. A doctor of traditional Chinese medicine is very aware of this truth.

Continued ....
Mercola
  
shiva
[ Joined on 10/06 ]  [ Posted on January 4, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola

Continued from 1 st post ….

Doctors of Chinese medicine use diagnostic techniques that are all based upon an understanding of the fact that the body is an expression of the psyche and it’s relationship with the environment. And the Life Force.

Other modalities that are available today for clearing aberrations from the psyche are a number of different forms of body-work. (again, apparently I cannot provide the names here), A lot of the development of some of the 1 st forms of this type of bodywork here in the states began at a well known institute located on the Big Sur coast in California and many famous names in the ‘human potential movement’ were a part of those beginnings there.

I can tell you that certain forms of extensive and properly practiced meditation can also be very effective and powerful tools for clearing aberrations from the unconscious. There are centers located both in the states and in other locations around the world where individuals can both learn such practices and participate in different length meditation retreats of this sort. Such practices are typically only undertaken by individuals who are very serious about the quest for “inner healing”, as these types of retreats can be rather demanding and challenging to both experience and complete.

Continued in 3rd post ...

Mercola
  
shiva
[ Joined on 10/06 ]  [ Posted on January 4, 2008]
4 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
(Continued from 2nd post....) ....

There are many individual “healers” in the world today who are capable through the laying on of hands and by working with the bodies energy field off of the body as well, .. in helping to facilitate the release of repressed trauma’s from the unconscious. Some of these healers were originally trained in a specific modality and have since intuitively developed their own techniques. Others have come into their abilities as a result of their own healing process and their own unfolding of awareness. Each of them have different levels of development and ability. The more rare ones have absolutely profound, and for many, simply unbelievable ability.  They are in fact only displaying the beginnings of a potential which does in fact exist within  every one  of us.

I should also state that from what I have seen there have been perhaps a few scientists who over past decades have developed both an understanding of the bioelectromagnetic field and it’s role in the psyche of the body-mind. Certain scientific devices have been developed which are supposed to help facilitate the clearing of aberrations from the unconscious. .. Personally I have never experienced any of these devices, so I cannot attest as to whether or not any of them work, but I suspect there may be some effective tool or tools to be found there.

Perhaps someone here may find this information helpful.

Mercola
  
Jane66
[ Joined on 09/07 ]  [ Posted on January 17, 2008]
4 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Michael

I have noted in the past when this subject comes up that no-one refers to EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) for the treatment of trauma. It is an extremely effective intervention and, in the UK, is the only one recommended by NICE for the treament of post traumatic stress in children. Has anyone else on this site had experience of EMDR...?

Mercola
  
Masonsmama
[ Joined on 07/07 ]  [