Childhood maltreatment leaves a mark on our biology – impacting on our stress pathway
By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie).
Research is revealing that serious maltreatment in childhood can leave a mark on our health – resulting in a greater risk of long-term health problems in adulthood. If you want to read about it, take a look at last week’s article on the Observer’s website. How do things that happen early in life affect us so much farther down the line?
The Body Learns
The reasons these effects to ripple across a lifetime seem to be due to adaptations in the body’s internal regulatory systems (the nervous system, hormonal system and immune system are key here). Stress pathways play an important role.
Stress is a normal part of life, and we respond to many stressors throughout a normal day.
Children are primed to adapt and learn – this helps them to make sense of the world around them. Those who suffer from adverse experiences in childhood will ‘learn’ that the world is a dangerous and unpredictable place. This leaves a mark deep within their biology – their systems have learned to spot threats in the world around them (even when there are no threats).
This is a great survival tool – if you grow and develop in a dangerous and unpredictable environment where threats may lie around any corner, it is a good idea to have a highly active stress system. This, however, can impact long-term health.
Fight or flight VS rest and digest
I’ve written previously about the role stress plays in life. Without a stress response, we would not be here today – our ancestors would have died a long time ago. Stress is perfectly healthy in short, sharp doses. Problems arise when it is frequent and persistent. Traumatic experiences in childhood can result in a dysregulated stress system, resulting in more frequent and prolonged stress responses.
During a stress response, the body mobilises energy reserves (such as stored sugars and nutrients) and sends resources to the areas needed to survive (like the big muscles in the legs) – it prepares us for ‘fight or flight’. In doing this, it takes resources from the long-term building projects of the body – things like digestion and the repair and maintenance of cells, tissues and organs (ever wonder why some people lose hair or have digestive issues flare up during prolonged stressful periods?).
When we are in a relaxed, low-stress state, it is said we are in ‘rest and digest’ mode – when those medium to long-term projects such as healing, digestion and maintenance thrive. Perhaps you can appreciate why persistent stress over months and years can put people at risk of developing health problems.
What to do?
How might we, as a society, confront this problem? How might we reduce the impact of maltreatment in childhood? And how might we help those who have suffered receive the right help to ‘train’ their stress systems to cope with the world around them? We will explore this next week
It is my opinion that (while the healthcare system has a role to play) political, regulatory and economic policies are key. A fairer, more equitable society where people feel safe, supported, engaged and connected is a general goal to work towards.
If anybody needs support or help with any of the issues raised here, please do inform your GP or local mental health support providers.
