ipl-logo

Early Life Experiences

1469 Words6 Pages

Before starting the psychiatry module, I had very little understanding of the extent to which our early life experiences can impact on our mental health as adults. My personal belief was that mental illness as an adult was the result of a genetic or biological predisposition that emerged as a result of a stress or adversity in adulthood. However, epidemiological research suggests that the onset of psychiatric disorders in up to one third of cases may be attributable to adverse early life experiences1. Taking this into account, it raises the questions; do both positive and negative early life experiences affect our mental health as adults? If so, how do they do so? And what does this mean for our society as a whole? The question of what exactly …show more content…

Read et al3 describe that in the past, the effects of childhood abuse on mental health was largely underestimated3. Looking at the literature that exists today, there have been numerous studies on how childhood adversities affect adult mental health. I feel one such study that highlights the global extent of the issue was a study carried out by the WHO in 20104. This was aimed at investigating the correlation between mental health and childhood adversities across 21 different countries4. It assessed over 50,000 adults from different social and cultural backgrounds4. Their data showed, that childhood adversities were responsible for 29.8% of all disorders across the countries4. They concluded “Childhood adversities have strong associations with all classes of disorders at all life-course stages in all groups of WMH countries.”4 This evidence is mirrored in many similar studies. To me it is very striking and highlights the close relationship between our early life experiences and adult mental …show more content…

I met middle age man, who was suffering from severe depression. When talking about his life, he divulged that at a young age his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the following 4 years, he watched his mother struggle to beat the disease before finally passing away. In his grief, he had sought the help and guidance from a clergy member who was a family friend throughout his mother’s illness. However, instead of being a figure of support, this clergyman sexually abused the boy throughout his teenage years. As a result of these adversities, he turned to alcohol and drugs and dropped out of school. When questioned, he believed without doubt that his current illness was the direct effect of his troubled childhood. He explains he has never fully recovered from the death of his mother and he has struggled to develop any trusting relationships in his

Show More
Related
443 Words | 2 Pages

In the video "How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime," Nadine Burke Harris explains the effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on people's physical and mental health later in life. ACEs are defined as "potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood" and might include abuse, neglect, and dysfunction in the home. Burke Harris says that ACEs can have a major and long-lasting effect on a person's health, raising their risk for a variety of detrimental consequences like substance misuse, heart disease, and depression. Burke Harris raises several important observations, one of which is the prevalence of ACEs, with around two thirds of Americans reporting having had an ACE.

Read More
2397 Words | 10 Pages

It should also trigger assessment of revictimization” (Cotter 1). This is more evidence supporting again how childhood trauma cause mental health problems when the person gets into adulthood, but also says that it can lead to

Read More
1208 Words | 5 Pages

From the scenarios provided, I have chosen scenario 2, Susan the 22-year-old art student and her history of urinary tract infection and thrush. I have chosen to examine, using the PICO method, whether or not her decision to take cranberry juice will affect her diagnosis and treatment of the urinary tract infection, and whether or not it will affect her chances of developing thrush again. To develop a PICO question style question, I have broadened the population to include all young women (who are more at risk of developing both a urinary tract infection and thrush, due to their shorter urethra), and will endeavor to focus on any studies I can find that relate specifically to students in an 18 to 30 age bracket. The intervention in this scenario

Read More
784 Words | 4 Pages

Dr. Bruce Perry began his book The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook – What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing with a statement about children and their resilience. Much like what we discussed in class, Dr. Perry touched on how children were thought to be naturally resilient and that they seemed to bounce back quickly. However, he continued with the statement that even the slightest bit of stress can impact an infant's development. Likewise, we discussed numerous things that can impact the welfare of children, such as attachment, education, and poverty.

Read More
1074 Words | 5 Pages

This viewpoint is corroborated by many mental health experts, who state that ‘In those first seven years, in particular, our brains are being programmed just like a computer – but sometimes it all gets wired up in the wrong way with devastating consequences.” (Centres for Health & Healing) If one spends these significant years in an abusive house, their personility will affected in a destrucitve way. At the start of one’s life, one will be under the influence of their parents in developing their inner beliefs about themselves. (Centres for Health & Healing)

Read More
809 Words | 4 Pages

It examines the effects of childhood abuse and neglect on later healthiness and mental well-being reflects the Victor-monster relationship in the modern era. The ACE score, a total sum of categories of abuse, is used to assess the cumulative stress on a child. The study reveals a “graded dose-response” relationship between an increased ACE score and negative health and well-being throughout one’s life (CDC). Because Victor insulted & humiliated, society assaulted and wounded, and the monster lived alone with no feelings of love and importance, he would have rated relatively high in this study (ACE). This is assuming society as a pseudo-parental entity, that teaches and influences in the absence of Victor.

Read More
440 Words | 2 Pages

Many others experience severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bi-polar, dissociation and psycisomatic illnesses (McIntyre and McKeich, 2009). These illnesses are still seen in the generations of the stolen children. Children that were removed from their families show a higher rate of emotional distress and poor physical health, which affected the rest of their

Read More
692 Words | 3 Pages

Most children are entering foster care in the early years of life when brain growth and development are most active. It is known that emotional and cognitive disruptions in the early lives of children have the potential to impair brain development. Child maltreatment during infancy and early childhood has been shown to negatively affect child development, including brain and cognitive development, attachment, and academic achievement. The experiences of infancy and early childhood provide the organizing framework for the expression of children 's intelligence, emotions, and personalities. When those experiences are primarily negative, children may develop emotional, behavioral, and learning problems that persist throughout their lifetime, especially in the absence of targeted interventions.

Read More
282 Words | 2 Pages

Orphanages were commonly utilized for orphan children before foster care systems emerged in the 19th century (Herman, 2012). As dependent youth have been removed from homes which commonly abuse and neglect them, foster care is known as the current system which child welfare institutions currently use to place these dependent children. As it is commonly known, foster care is a safe haven for dependent children, however many of these children experience trauma and mental health diagnosis. As one examines the trauma and mental health interrelationships in the current literature available, the common themes which are prevalent among research in this area of study are complex trauma, PTSD ,PTSD and internalized symptoms and mental health comorbidity.

Read More
2305 Words | 10 Pages

In the United States, about one in six children between the ages of three and seventeen have one or more developmental disabilities. With such a high rate one must wonder what causes these problems to happen to so many children. The point of this paper is to show how things children go through at home affect the way they develop. From looking at where a child lives, their parents, and whether they have experienced abuse, it is clear that a child's home life can affect their development in many ways. There are four types of development, physical, cognitive, emotional, and social.

Read More
1766 Words | 8 Pages

Abuse is another thing that has been linked, to problems in a child 's development. The earlier abuse and neglect occur in a child 's life the more severe the impact. Furthermore, the stage of development, while the abuse occurs will influence the type and severity of the consequences. Additionally, the more chronic and long lasting the abuse and neglect, the more harmful it is. When the abuse and neglect are caused, by parents or another significant figure a child, becomes confused because their supposed source of safety is the source of their harm.(Frederico 343).

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Later on in the story, when his mother asks him what is wrong, he lies and tells her he doesn’t feel well. He’s ashamed of what he’s become and does not want her to find out what has happened to him. At the end of the

Read More
1018 Words | 5 Pages

A very close cousin of mine grew up in a home in which his father would physically and emotionally abuse his mother and himself. He was in and out of hospital due to the beatings given to his mother by his dad would sometimes land her in hospital. He struggled to cope in school and matters worsened when his father grew sick and eventually passed on because his mother blamed him for their loss. In the end he moved to an orphanage, but he never recovered from the trauma of his childhood. This family problem is not unique as there are a lot of children and parents that have depression, this

Read More
1684 Words | 7 Pages

In terms of emotions, the child may be on the “baseline of unease, intermediate states of anxiety or extreme panic, fury and despair” (108). This may be because of an unsteady attachment in childhood due to the fact that most child abuse happen in a family-like environment. Herman mentions that the emotional and behavioral impact of chronic child abuse go hand in hand. People who experience chronic child abuse or neglect believe that the only way to end the emotional state that they are in is through self injury (109). The earlier on in childhood the abuse or neglect was, the more repetitive and severe the self harm is (109).

Read More
826 Words | 4 Pages

In the contemporary times, great importance is given to the significance of early years of a child’s life. It is widely acknowledged now-a-days that the early childhood years are a predominantly receptive phase in the developmental process. This stage is responsible to lay a foundation in early days and later years for cognitive functioning, learning process, physical wellbeing, and self-regulatory capacities in both personal and social lives. In simple words, “the period from birth to age 5 is one of opportunity and vulnerability for healthy physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development” (Karoly, Kilburn & Cannon, 2005). However, it is also a fact that many children go through several stressors during their developmental years due to which their healthy development may be impaired.

Read More

More about Early Life Experiences

Related Topics

Open Document