Childhood, Disrupted, and How we Can Heal Communities, Families, and Ourselves

In my keynote for the 2019 New Jersey Prevention Network Annual Conference in Atlantic City, I explain how childhood adversity can change body and brain, triggering epigenetic shifts that affect physical and mental health later in life; why girls are at higher risk for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and later autoimmune disease and chronic pain; the truth about seemingly “mild” trauma; and our cutting-edge understanding that chronic stress can lead to a loss of neural connectivity in the brain – due to the actions of a tiny immune cell, called microglia, which, when triggered by stressors in the environment, can prune needed synapses, leading to anxiety, depression, addiction, and cognitive disorders later in life. I also share that although the Science of ACEs can be scary, there’s so much good news emerging: the brain remains plastic for life and can heal from trauma that occurred decades ago, if we know how to intervene.