KEY POINTS
- October is Emotional Wellness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
- Adverse childhood experiences can increase risk for a number of illnesses in adulthood.
- Consistent stressors on the part of the parent can affect the growing child.
October is Emotional Wellness Month, and it’s also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many factors come into play in the discussion between emotional wellness and cancer. While it would be presumptuous and harmful to presume that an early, challenging parent–child relationship could result in cancer later in life, there’s evidence that stressors encountered in childhood may contribute to health challenges at a later date.
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic experiences encountered before the age of 18. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023), we know these experiences can include neglect, violence, or abuse; witnessing violence in the home or community; and having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Astonishingly, approximately 64 percent of adults in the United States have reported at least one ACE. What essentially occurs is that the stressor activates or triggers a surge in the stress hormone cortisol…
